College move in ?

[java]

Child number 2 is heading off to college in just a few days- At my oldest's school we were provided with huge rolling bins to get the stuff into the dorm. easy peasy.

Her school- nothing.

So the question? Should I buy a moving cart thing? I saw some on Amazon for like $30? Or do you think I will be fine just carrying stuff. It will be just my daughter and I. She has a lot of stuff but none of it is too heavy. Except the fridge I guess. Before anyone asks why we are doing this alone- the school is far away and only I can make the trip right now.

Normally there would be people to help move in but we are moving in a day earlier because of Rush week stuff. So I think we will be on our own to move in.

How did you move in your college freshman?

 

[Christine]

I got a dolly from my husband's work and used that so that I could load up several things at once and get them from the car up to the front of the dorm. It helped a lot. I don't know about these $30 carts but just make sure it's sturdy. Something cheap won't hold up.

 

[piglet too]

Will there be helpers there? At my son's school, the RA staff helps, as does the faculty and even the football team.

ETA - sorry, I missed where you said she was moving in early.

 

[Distinkt]

I have been through this with 3 children. We had a very nice dolly, that we have used over and over for each move. It was invaluable and when we just had movers load a truck for one of the kids, the movers salivated over our little dolly. It has some special wheels/tires according to my husband.

Anyway, a dolly makes it possible to stack tubs and boxes easily and transport. It works well for fridges too. I would get one before a cart. And honestly, if you are going to be moving her again at the same school or into an apartment it will be well worth it.

 

[EMAW_KSU]

I would recommend a Harper convertible.

 

[asta]

When we moved our daughters into the Univ of Georgia there were men in the parking lots that you could hire to carry things into the dorm rooms.

 

[tvguy]

This is my first August in 10 years that I am not moving a child into a dorm or college apartment.
If they need bins or a hand truck, they are bringing too much stuff IMHO.
DD went to school in England for a year with just one large suitcase and 1 carry-on bag of stuff. She did have to buy a set of sheets and a comforter when she got there, but that pretty much got her handled for the year.

 

[Christine]

This is my first August in 10 years that I am not moving a child into a dorm or college apartment.
If they need bins or a hand truck, they are bringing too much stuff IMHO.
DD went to school in England for a year with just one large suitcase and 1 carry-on bag of stuff. She did have to buy a set of sheets and a comforter when she got there, but that pretty much got her handled for the year.

We filled up the entire back of a Toyota Highlander with stuff. Glad I had the hand truck/dolly thing!

Comforter
Sheets
Towels
Summer/Fall Wardrobe
Storage Bins
Printer
Lamp
TV
....and more I suppose.

I guess there's nothing like a trip to Europe for school to restrict you but we had no restrictions and I saw no one, not even the guys, showing up with just 2 bags.

 

[Art 1]

The first semester I was like a pack mule moving all her stuff up into the dorm, it had no elevator. The second semester I found a large young man and handed him a $50 bill and asked if he could move all her stuff up, he said yes sir.

 

[tvguy]

We filled up the entire back of a Toyota Highlander with stuff. Glad I had the hand truck/dolly thing!

Comforter
Sheets
Towels
Summer/Fall Wardrobe
Storage Bins
Printer
Lamp
TV
....and more I suppose.

I guess there's nothing like a trip to Europe for school to restrict you but we had no restrictions and I saw no one, not even the guys, showing up with just 2 bags.

Yeah, I saw couches and Lazy Boy chairs and big screen TV's being hauled in. The furniture I didn't get since the dorms are fully furnished and have no room for anything more.
Far cry from when I was in college and everything in my dorm room fit in the trunk of my Pinto!

 

[LisaR]

Get the hand cart! Like your daughter, mine moved in a week early for her sophomore year and there was nobody around to help at all. Much, much different than moving in at the same time as everyone else. Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Child number 2 is heading off to college in just a few days- At my oldest's school we were provided with huge rolling bins to get the stuff into the dorm. easy peasy.

Her school- nothing.

So the question? Should I buy a moving cart thing? I saw some on Amazon for like $30? Or do you think I will be fine just carrying stuff. It will be just my daughter and I. She has a lot of stuff but none of it is too heavy. Except the fridge I guess. Before anyone asks why we are doing this alone- the school is far away and only I can make the trip right now.

Normally there would be people to help move in but we are moving in a day earlier because of Rush week stuff. So I think we will be on our own to move in.

How did you move in your college freshman?

We have a dolly that you can use upright OR it changes to a rolling hand cart position. Love that thing. It is worth the investment for us, we use it all the time.

Everything is packed in plastic totes or boxes and we load up the cart and move her stuff. She is on the top floor this yr. Yea us, lol.

The clothes are left on hangers with trash bags covering them (think make shift dry cleaner bags), so you just hang them up right away.

Things are taken out of packages, washed, packed and ready to be put on the bed, dresser, desk, etc. right from the totes. She is almost 100% packed.

We do have to pick up a fridge and microwave in her college town on move it day. We are having it shipped to the local Sears.

We just finished college shopping TODAY! Move in day is the 15th.

We also have a cheaper dolly that is just an upright that we use to move light weight things.

We love our dollies. DH and I need to use them because of our backs. No way am I straining myself if I can help it.

 

[HM]

We have a small fold up hand cart that we use for the boxes (we used paper boxes mostly). Other things get toted by hand. (Last year and this year my DD lives on the 9th floor....lots of waiting for the elevator).

As mentioned above, there are usually students that help with Freshman move-in and will be assigned to help get his/her belongings in their room with you.

 

[ndelaware]

When we moved our daughters into the Univ of Georgia there were men in the parking lots that you could hire to carry things into the dorm rooms.

When we moved my daughters in to the Univ. of Delaware there were hundreds of volunteers who would carry things to your room for you.

 

[Cheetie]

Pack everything you possibly can in suitcases with wheels. My son packed his clothes on the hangers so it was a quick unpack and we reused the suitcase for other clothes that were still in the car in space bags. Pack anything that needs to be in a container light enough for you to carry with no trouble.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Temple had bins, too. Although they were hard to come by.

 

[cabanafrau]

We have a dolly that gets plenty of use come moving time. We've had it for many years for home use and now it gets plenty of use for these college move-in/out years.

I cannot understand the need to disparage the experience and/or choices of others regarding these types of issues simply because their own(limited) experiences have been different. I always wonder what drives the insecurity behind the need to diminish different choices others make.

 

[Ceila]

This is my first August in 10 years that I am not moving a child into a dorm or college apartment.
If they need bins or a hand truck, they are bringing too much stuff IMHO.
DD went to school in England for a year with just one large suitcase and 1 carry-on bag of stuff. She did have to buy a set of sheets and a comforter when she got there, but that pretty much got her handled for the year.

Comparing a student who is studying abroad and must fly overseas with her belongings to a student moving a state or two away is absurd, as is the idea that just because two people would struggle to lug a dorm fridge up possibly several sets of stairs without a hand truck means they have "too much stuff."

I will never understand the need of some people to proclaim that however it was "back in my day" is always better.

 

[clutter]

So what does everyone use for boxes? We have been reusing plastic ones. Originally, I was planning to do a 'drop and run' (remember that thread?), but then realized she has no where to store the boxes. Ideas?

And yes, we will need a dolly.

 

[cabanafrau]

So what does everyone use for boxes? We have been reusing plastic ones. Originally, I was planning to do a 'drop and run' (remember that thread?), but then realized she has no where to store the boxes. Ideas?

And yes, we will need a dolly.

We use the plastic storage totes. She is able to fit two up in the super high shelf above her closet area and any others DH brings home. This move will be quite different and involve much more stuff as she is moving into her own studio apt. and all of her kitchen setup has to be moved in. She's so happy to have left the dorms behind for good!