Advice on child fleeing the nest

Everyone has had good advice, here are a couple things that come to my mind remembering the days in dormitories...

There are definately restrictions as to what kind of appliances are allowed in dormitories, so you need to find out about that.

And one tip regarding plates and such: I loved the melamine plates & cups I had in College, they were just so practical. They would not break when washing in that little sink in bathroom (reality is I never bothered walking my dishes to basement to wash in real kitchen... or even cook there unless it was for a party of sorts.) I just noticed that the Sears Ty Pennington collection carries melamine dishes, so this is what brought this to my mind again.

If she has to share a bathroom, a small caddy for carrying bath essentials to bath and back is very handy, hardware department might have the best options. I think I got mine from Ace hardware back in the days ;)

And one of those small dirt devil vacuums or such is awesome. My roommate had one, and it was so handy.

If you want her a little something that makes the room feel like home, I think a small rug is always so neat. It is not a necessity, but makes the room feel more like home instead of dorm room. Then again, maybe you don't want her to feel too cozy ;)

I think Manny gave some of the best advice, check out what the college recommends. Some colleges don't allow toasters/microwaves and some do. Many colleges try to push microfridges because they save room and electricity. If you want to check out more about there, look here: http://www.microfridge.com/atschool.html. I have been warned though that there may be some malfunctions, such as milk combusting in the fridge portion. Another good idea may be bunking the beds. I don't know how your daughter or her future roommate feels about that, but it would definitely save some space.

Good Luck!

What is WITH college dorms requiring "extra-long" sheets? :cuss I had to get them when I went to school too. I don't even remember where we found the blasted things.

Anyway, I echo most of the advice already given; a minifridge and microwave will make her life much easier, and she should check with her roommate, once she's assigned one, to see who's bringing them.
How's the closet space? I'd definitely send her off with clothes for just late summer/early fall, and you can either mail her warmer things later or, if she can come home she can get them then. She might also find some extra storage space, like a foot locker, would come in handy.
She'll need a laundry bag, *definitely* shower shoes. And you can sometimes find a loft set-up that includes a computer desk, I think. Or drawers. :up
Good luck!

I was in the dorms for my first 2 years (this year was my 3rd year of university, but I was staying in a condo). First year was the traditional dorms, second year was apartment style. I'm thinking my traditional dorm experience will be more applicable to you.

A microwave is definitely a good idea, if it's allowed. I wasn't allowed one, but I had one :whistle Our floor was supposed to buy one with the money we had, but they never bought it until the second semester, so I got one before. I had flip flops and a shower caddy that hung off the shower head. I had the rent the fridge from the school as we weren't allowed to bring our own. Definitely get a laptop. I made the mistake of getting a desktop and it took up a lot of room on my desk.

My dorm required the extra long sheets as well, so you might want to check that out. I sewed the sheets and I would've loved to give them to you, but we already passed them on to a friend. :sad

Hmm, I think that's all I can think of for now, but if I think of anything else, I will post in here. I didn't really add much, the previous posters did a good job of it. :)

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What is WITH college dorms requiring "extra-long" sheets?

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Have you looked around and seen all the extra-tall people around these days, Lucy? :lol Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, so I'm shaking my fist at the system, too.

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Originally Posted by Mantenna

Have you looked around and seen all the extra-tall people around these days, Lucy? :lol Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, so I'm shaking my fist at the system, too.

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Yeah well I can understand it. When I go to AZ to visit my friend I get the pleasure of sleeping in her daughter's single bed. 6' 3" doesn't fit so well in a regular little single bed. It's so good to get home to the king again.

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Originally Posted by Mantenna

Have you looked around and seen all the extra-tall people around these days, Lucy? :lol Unfortunately, I'm not one of them, so I'm shaking my fist at the system, too.

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Here's to the system! As an extra-tall person (5'11" barefoot, thank you), I've slept many nights with cold feeties sticking over the edge of the eentsie weentsie mattresses the rest of you cozy up in. :banana

ITA about checking the school's restrictions. We couldn't have toaster ovens or hotplates, and microwaves were o.k. only if they were part of this microwave/refrigerator combo rented from the school. However, many people had microwaves in their rooms anyway. Refrigerators were o.k. even if not rented from the school (in its further attempt to extract tons of cash from us.)

As for space saving ideas, if the beds aren't attached to the walls (some dorms have built-ins) I recommend getting some small cinder blocks to put the beds on (provided they aren't bunk either!!!!) so your daughter can have added storage space under the bed. I actually was lucky and lived in the "big room" dorm for my college years, but this still helped quite a bit.

I'm sure she'll need cleaning supplies & laundry stuff when she gets to college too. Sometimes after summer's over, the dorm rooms are kinda funky so air freshener would probably be a good idea.

Also, my recommendation to her is to hold off on going full-scale on decorating the room straight away. In my freshman year, it was room mate musical chairs for about the first 4 weeks until all personalities settled down.

Everyone elses' ideas pretty much cover my experience too. Oh...make sure they have voice mail in their system, she has a cell phone, or you get her a landline phone & answering machine...you wanna be able to leave a message somewhere!

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Originally Posted by Lucy

How's the closet space? I'd definitely send her off with clothes for just late summer/early fall, and you can either mail her warmer things later or, if she can come home she can get them then. She might also find some extra storage space, like a foot locker, would come in handy.
She'll need a laundry bag, *definitely* shower shoes. And you can sometimes find a loft set-up that includes a computer desk, I think. Or drawers. :up
Good luck!

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Thanks, Lucy, this is great advice, too. Her *closet* is miniscule, so the trunk/foot locker is a great idea. We're definitely going to loft her bed, so she'll have some room underneath. Thanks for the ideas about her warmer clothes. We're native Californians here...we don't even know what cold is. :lol

Phonegrrrl, we'll take care of the air freshener as soon as we get there. :) Btw, I think it's hysterical (and appropriate) you are giving phone advice. :winkgrin Trust me, we'll have a phone system set up. Mr. Rose is even talking about getting web cams so we can see each other. :lol

I appreciate the advice on room decorating, too. It makes sense they could be switching rooms.

My parents got my extra-long sheets from K-mart - Martha Stewarts line - after searching at mulitple stores. I'm sure stores like Bed Bath and Beyond will have things, but you can often find the same things cheaper at other stores.

You may also want to supply a regular food/cash fund to supplement the meal plan. Student feeding hours don't always match the university's hours. :)