For all who have sent a child to college...

[Lanshark]

We are currently in the process of buying stuff for DD's dorm room. I've read lists and I've made lists.

I'm sure after she's moved in there will be several things we just forgot about bringing/buying. What are some of those things? I was kind of shocked they had to bring their own TP. Glad I didn't space that one. Unfortunately the school is about 45 minutes from the nearest Walmart.

 

[pumba]

Because sometimes the kids would get fast food for a crowd.....I always made sure they had paper plates and napkins.forks and knifes and spoons plastic of course....paper towels for cleanups.., My son always said that this came in handy.
In Pampered chef items they have the microwavable pots with lids.....I make the instant macaroni and cheese in it ....also cleans up very easy. some dorms have microwaves in the common room.....

 

[Meriweather]

My kids loved their "hot pot"s.
neither of them had to supply their own TP
Lots of snack food They both had small fridges and micros in their room.

 

[Caradana]

Send her with about 40 bags of cookies. Cookies are a surefire way to make friends as a freshman.

 

[NewJersey]

Always send him/her back with homemade food when they stop home!

I'm a neat freak so I enjoyed having the clorox wipes to clean the bathroom and the lysol spray for a quick disinfection of the bathroom and the kitchen area. Swiffer is a great tool to dust with, but none my roommates cared about cleanliness so I was always the one cleaning!

Power strips are a must, most beds are XL so make sure to get the right sheets, a fan if the dorm isn't air conditioned, those gladware resuseable stack n store are great, a foldable laundry basket, those rubbermaid drawers that are see through but serve as a night table. That was great! I got a big one from costco when I was a freshman and it lasted me all 4 years.

Shower shoes...shower caddy.

So many things! Good luck!

 

[disneyfanatic60]

My son could not have a hot pot, George Forman and any hot surface including a microwave in his dorm room. Make sure you check exactly what items the college does not allow as I am sure they are all different.

I sent him off with a few boxes of snacks, a case of pop (he had his own refrig.), some juice, and other fav food items. I also sent a huge box of things like ziploc bags (small and large), paper plates and cups, small plastic disposable bowls with lids, straws, napkins, paper towels, etc. One thing he also had me send up to him was "Wet Ones." Made it easy to wash his hands in the dorm vs. running to the bathroom (they had community bathroom's not one in each room).

I also sent phone cards (to use other than his cell phone), stamps, all sorts of medicine--Imm. Ad, Pepto bismol, tums, headache/sinus meds, bandaids. Just made a small kit and put some items in I know he used a lot).

One thing I would invest in--a "lockable" box of some sort to store things like his wallet, keys, etc. He always put them in the box and carried the key around his neck. Thus, in case someone "visited" he never had to worry something would go missing.

Other things that come to mind--a small fan (most dorms are not air-conditioned) and hot, a box of blank CD's, I bought a few of his fav DVD's and snuck them into his box so he could watch whenever (he did have a TV/DVD player in his room that he took).

Hope some of these ideas help!

 

[Free4Life11]

Don't forget dress clothes! I didn't bring any and of course or my on-campus job I had to wear a shirt and tie! Plus you usually need to dress up for presentations.

Disposable utensils, plates, napkins

Fridge and microwave are a must

Shower shoes and shower caddy if they don't have private bathroom

The cleaning wipes come in real handy

Small coffee pot

Something that can lock (for money, valuables, etc.)

Fan

Laptop (saves so much space and a lot of campuses are wireless)

Money. I am not kidding, you wouldn't believe how much money you can blow through your first month on campus! I was just about bleeding money left and right....

 

[disneyfanatic60]

New Jersey--you have some great things that I also sent but forgot about. Add to that a small tool kit--hammer, things to hang items on the walls (if they can), funtak, screw driver (something always needed to be assembled). I agree with the cleaning supplies. We also had to have a broom/dustpan. Definitely a must on the shower shoes and caddy. Under the bed storage boxes work great to store things esp. if you buy the bed risers.

Laundry soap (at one time someone sold I think it was Tide individual packets, they worked perfectly). Rolls of quarters for vending machines, phones, etc. Also some Lysol and Fabreeze.

I would suggest a mattress pad XL (like the sheets). Most mattresses are not in the best shape.

 

[Lanshark]

Wow! Great ideas. I hadn't thought of a small lock box or several other things mentioned. We went to Walmart today and put together a first aid kit with cold medicines, bandages... I was shocked at how fast that stuff added up. I also hadn't thought of blank CD's.

She can have a frig and a microwave but that's about it. They can't even have extension cords so I'm not sure what they're supposed to do. I'll have to ask if power strips are okay.

Please keep the ideas coming.

 

[monarchsfan16]

TP? Is she in a suite where she has her own bathroom or something? If yes then she'll also need bathroom cleaning supples

Stuff I found helpful that I didn't bring with me initially:
A roll of paper towels
Duct tape
COMFORTABLE shoes
fan
bottled water- I seriously went through gallons of it in my first couple weeks
cold medicine
snacks-it's really nice to have familiar food
along the snack line: saltines or some type of err gentle cracker. The food on campus does a number on the stomach as you're adjusting to it

For lots of lists look over on the college board. There are a couple threads over there now that may have more info that could help you

 

[Briarprincess]

I live at home so I don't have to worry about any of this kind of stuff, but there's stuff I know everyone forgets and then spends a fortune on when they get to school- simple school supplies.

-Stapler with LOTS of staples
-Paper clips
-Binder clips
-Markers
-Pencils (whatever she likes, but make sure there are also standard #2 wooden pencils. I've had teachers refuse mechanical pencils from tests, even if they are #2)
-Pens in Black, Blue and Red Ink (again, profs have prefences)
-Blank cds and labels
-LOTS of folders
-A dry erase board for her wall/behind the desk (all of us have these. we make a chart in colored tape with Mon-Sunday on the top, and then write in our classes on the side, filling in each class/day with work and due date. none of my friends have missed an assignment using this method)
-Highlighters, and try for the ones that aren't so liquid-y looking since some textbook pages like to smear them
-Bookmarks
-Calculator
-Ruler
-Tape
-Pencil Sharpener
-Index Cards, variety of sizes
-Three Hole Punch

 

[Feralpeg]

I bought DD some plastic containers to put snacks in once they've been opened. Dorm rooms are known to attract bugs, so sealing snacks is a must!

We bought extra long sheets, blanket, pillow, bedspread, carpet, microwave, laptop, printer, large throw pillow for lounging on the floor, desk supplies, first aid supplies, cleaning supplies, TV with built in DVD, towels, posters and telephone.

DD will be in a single room, but will share a bathroom with one other girl. When we move her into her room, we will check with the other girl about bathroom items such as a rug, shower curtain, etc.

 

[Lanshark]

She's not in a suite. Her dorm room has two girls, including her, in it. A door opens to a VERY tiny toilet/shower that is shared with the two other girls on the other side of the bathroom who also have a door that opens to it.

As much as they stressed locking doors so things don't get stolen there is nothing you can do if you lock your room but the girls you share the bathroom with don't lock their doors. Someone could come into the other girls rooms walk through the bathroom and enter a locked room. Because of fire regulations you cannot put a lock on the outside of the bathroom door preventing someone from getting out of the bathroom.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Fast food gift cards
Phone Cards
Gas Cards(if there is a car)
Wal-mart/target-k-mart gift card
Stackable plastic drawers
Small trash can
Broom/dustpan or the little roller vaccuum thingy
Small tv

My "closet" was a cubbyhole looking thing that I hid with an expanable shower curtain rod and a floor length curtain.

Check to see if there is some kind of meal plan that you can add money to so she can eat on campus besides the cafeteria(if that's an option at her school)

Ask about the rules for hanging pictures. She may need the 3M sticky strip to hang pictures.

Did your daughter get a room assignment with a contact number for her roommate if she has one? She could contact the roommate and see who is brining what so you don't have 2 of everything.

 

[Michie]

Towels, thin, not fluffy ones. They take too much time~money to dry! everybody has great ideas!!

I think is less is better. I know the first years, my boys took too much. every year they go back with less!

 

[damo]

A foam pad to go over the very uncomfortable mattress!!! Then a nice comfy mattress pad and she will sleep like a baby.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Towels, thin, not fluffy ones. They take too much time~money to dry! everybody has great ideas!!

I think is less is better. I know the first years, my boys took too much. every year they go back with less!

Oh that reminds me, detergent and dryer sheets. LOTS of quarters. My mama sent me back with a roll of quarters everytime I went home. I knew I'd get a gift card, some quarters and some cookies lol.

 

[Lanshark]

I'm getting the idea that both quarters and cookies are very important.

 

[WDWFAN9]

extension cords/power strip

 

[Feralpeg]

Another student recommened one of those cloth shoe holder things that fits over the closet door. She said the pockets were great for things like hair dryers, curling irons, etc. as well as shoes.