2017 College Dorm shopping on a Budget

[Westcoastwild]

My DD will be a senior this year, so we have been around this before. Some suggestions we have found. Big Lots has wonderful mattress toppers for much less than other places. I know many people say no TV, but my DD loves having hers at school. In fact, she bought a big screen one black friday. She is an RA, and has movie night in her room lots of times. She also has a box of movies that they watch. She said it was much easier to have a printer in her room, she has a prime account and orders her ink and paper from there. She has found she does better renting most books. She gets many from Amazon. Also have your student find out if they have a text book trade facebook page. She has used that often.

Speaking of facebook, her school also has a ride page for kids that need rides home. I know she has taken kids to the airport many times when she has the time. I made her take a plunger with her and she fought me about it. She was the most popular girl on her floor once others found out she had one! She didn't want to take an umbrella, but once she needed it she was glad to have it.

She loves her hammock. She also uses her long board. It sounds like she has lots of things with her, but her room still has room in it! She rents a storage unit with her roommates so she doesn't have to bring it all home with her.

If she's an RA, though, she hasn't got a roommate. The problem with a TV is that there may not be a spot to put it. My roommate could only fit a small one in her closet that technically we both shared (I never watched much, but I would not have had a place to put one anyway.) I knew guys who had big screens and gaming systems but basically they had jointly decided they wanted that rather than desk space...and that's not something you'd soring on a roommate without talking it over first.

It's better arrive with less and then buy stuff to fit, than to buy stuff that you have no idea if you'll have the space for it. And that will depend a lot on how much the roommate shows up with (assuming that there is one, I haven't seen a post saying she's in a single).

 

[powellrj]

No, she got the big screen her freshman year and she has had a roommate every year even though she has never had to have one since she has been an RA. She even has one this semester because she has a friend who wanted to be in their townhouse, but it was full unless she took a roommate, so she has a roommate again. She showed up her freshman year with not much stuff and found that most people had twice what she had, so that is why she has taken more. We only live a couple of hours away, so its easy for her to take things back and forth. She has roommates from all over the country that fly back and forth, so its different for them. Her school is in a very small town, so there is no Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond to get things, that is another reason its easier to get things locally and take them.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I was trying to find these online...were they the Nike Kawa or some other ones? TIA

Yes, they were the Nike Kawa. They had a sale going, so they were reasonable (for Nike).

 

[Westcoastwild]

No, she got the big screen her freshman year and she has had a roommate every year even though she has never had to have one since she has been an RA. She even has one this semester because she has a friend who wanted to be in their townhouse, but it was full unless she took a roommate, so she has a roommate again. She showed up her freshman year with not much stuff and found that most people had twice what she had, so that is why she has taken more. We only live a couple of hours away, so its easy for her to take things back and forth. She has roommates from all over the country that fly back and forth, so its different for them. Her school is in a very small town, so there is no Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond to get things, that is another reason its easier to get things locally and take them.

Then she has definitely lucked out. I had roommates that had way more stuff than I did. The one year I was going to buy a fridge, my new roommate showed up with a massive fish tank that pretty much took up the only space and plug ins I could have used for the fridge.

But she doesn't even have a Walmart? That must be a small town indeed.

 

[dreamin_disney]

Don't forget Amazon Prime day on July 10th!

What going on July 10th?

Living away from home during college is supposed to be training wheels for being on your own when you (hopefully) have a job after college. Please encourage your child to become an adult during that time which includes filling his or her own medical prescriptions, making annual checkup appointments, buying his or her own laundry detergent, etc. It will be harder for your child to grow into an adult if you do everything for him or her during this crucial developmental period.

I disagree theres nothing wrong with helping out our kids. I'm looking up the stuff because I'm paying for it, She will have to sit in class and make good grades, that's taking responsibility. Plus she will do other things on her own. As a parent I'm happy to be able to help her. The load she took on in High School and fnishing with the grades she did was all her. She will always take a big load in college. Some might see this as do everything for her I see this as being support. When she's in the classroom, doing classwork, homework, projects and other duties I wont be there, she will be doing it on her own.

 

[mjkacmom]

Living away from home during college is supposed to be training wheels for being on your own when you (hopefully) have a job after college. Please encourage your child to become an adult during that time which includes filling his or her own medical prescriptions, making annual checkup appointments, buying his or her own laundry detergent, etc. It will be harder for your child to grow into an adult if you do everything for him or her during this crucial developmental period.

This is a very good point. Both of my college kids have monthly prescriptions they are responsible to get filled, plus they are in charge of making their yearly appointments. I still buy a lot of their stuff, but they are responsible fir getting it. They know my amazon password (plus they have their own cards on my account, I don't pay for everything).

 

[robinb]

What going on July 10th?

Amazon will be having their Prime Day sale for Prime members, like a summertime Black Friday. I'm sure lot of interesting things will be on sale. Last year I got a Kindle Paperwhite for a great price. I know that my DD wants an Echo Dot and she wants wireless Beats headphones.

I disagree theres nothing wrong with helping out our kids. I'm looking up the stuff because I'm paying for it, She will have to sit in class and make good grades, that's taking responsibility. Plus she will do other things on her own. As a parent I'm happy to be able to help her. The load she took on in High School and fnishing with the grades she did was all her. She will always take a big load in college. Some might see this as do everything for her I see this as being support. When she's in the classroom, doing classwork, homework, projects and other duties I wont be there, she will be doing it on her own.

I don't think that @tcufrog was talking about helping our kids, she was talking about enabling her kids to stay dependent on us. We can help in all the ways you're talking about (and I plan to) but I also want to have my DD take on more responsibility for herself. For instance, I had my DD enter her next dental appointment into her phone so it's on her calendar.

 

[lovewdwdvc]

Check during orientation. Usually computer companies offer discounts to students on computers and software

 

[sksjasams]

What about laundry?
Specifically, where do they store their dirty clothes, and what do they carry them to the laundry room and back in?

DS is saying he likes the idea of a laundry bag. I know a friend whose student/son uses a bag. I just can't imagine taking warm, clean clothes and stuffing them into a bag to carry them back upstairs...especially the same bag the dirty clothes were in. I prefer baskets, but not sure how they manage to fit in a dorm room. Is this a male/female thing? Do boys prefer laundry bags?

Experienced parents/students please chime in!
New parents, what has your student decided to go with?

TIA!

 

[Sagginit]

What about laundry?
Specifically, where do they store their dirty clothes, and what do they carry them to the laundry room and back in?

DS is saying he likes the idea of a laundry bag. I know a friend whose student/son uses a bag. I just can't imagine taking warm, clean clothes and stuffing them into a bag to carry them back upstairs...especially the same bag the dirty clothes were in. I prefer baskets, but not sure how they manage to fit in a dorm room. Is this a male/female thing? Do boys prefer laundry bags?

Experienced parents/students please chime in!
New parents, what has your student decided to go with?

TIA!

I live in an apartment and if you have to take your laundry to a laundromat pretty much everyone is using laundry bags. If you get lightweight nylon type one without holes you just pop it in the wash and then the dryer with the laundry (takes about 5 min to dry). Its then clean for the clean clothes to go in and you dont have to worry about the clothes getting dirty if you leave the bag on the ground once back in room. When I was in college I had a large pop up hamper and found it was easier to tote that down on my shoulder and back to the room as we had no elevators. Laundry bags don't often have good straps, if you find a backpack type one its worth the money.

 

[kymom99]

What about laundry?
Specifically, where do they store their dirty clothes, and what do they carry them to the laundry room and back in?

DS is saying he likes the idea of a laundry bag. I know a friend whose student/son uses a bag. I just can't imagine taking warm, clean clothes and stuffing them into a bag to carry them back upstairs...especially the same bag the dirty clothes were in. I prefer baskets, but not sure how they manage to fit in a dorm room. Is this a male/female thing? Do boys prefer laundry bags?

Experienced parents/students please chime in!
New parents, what has your student decided to go with?

TIA!

I bought my son a couple different things he can try. I didn't spend a fortune on them. One is a pop up type with 3 sections in it so he can sort it as he takes it off. The other is a mesh bag. He uses a large pop up hamper now at home. He has to carry his laundry down 2 flights of stairs because our laundry is in the basement

 

[sksjasams]

Check out this fridge on sale for $109.99.
Or this one for $139.99

https://www.target.com/p/whirlpool-...eba2ch1|related_prods_vv|mweba2ch1|17304429|0

We ended up getting this one! It was delivered today. It is a bit bigger than I was picturing, but super nice.

We also got DS a printer today. An HP Envy 4520 for only $29.99 when I replaced/upgraded our outdated desktop computer that still runs on Vista.

Two things checked off the list! Oh, plus DS picked out a comforter for his dorm bed - grey plaid with a little dark red...only $15. Boys are so easy

 

[sksjasams]

I live in an apartment and if you have to take your laundry to a laundromat pretty much everyone is using laundry bags. If you get lightweight nylon type one without holes you just pop it in the wash and then the dryer with the laundry (takes about 5 min to dry). Its then clean for the clean clothes to go in and you dont have to worry about the clothes getting dirty if you leave the bag on the ground once back in room. When I was in college I had a large pop up hamper and found it was easier to tote that down on my shoulder and back to the room as we had no elevators. Laundry bags don't often have good straps, if you find a backpack type one its worth the money.

I bought my son a couple different things he can try. I didn't spend a fortune on them. One is a pop up type with 3 sections in it so he can sort it as he takes it off. The other is a mesh bag. He uses a large pop up hamper now at home. He has to carry his laundry down 2 flights of stairs because our laundry is in the basement

Thank you both for the suggestions!

 

[wannabee]

I'm going to buy this the chipmunk laundry bag. Check it out on website of same name.

 

[tcufrog]

Both my roommate and I had bags that we hung on over the door hooks. We shared our laundry basket for clean clothes because we didn't have a lot of space and we never wanted to do laundry at the same time.

 

[debster812]

DS uses a laundry bag hung on a hook in the bathroom of his suite for his dirty clothes. It's got straps like a backpack, and a large pocket on the front to put in the bottle of detergent, laundry pods, fabric softener sheets, etc. He sorts in the laundry room when he's loading machines. He uses a large clear plastic tote to bring the clean clothes back up to his room.

He's a soccer player, so he has some gross workout gear, so he also has a small Tide Laundry Bag that he shoves his socks and shirts in after practice. These bags help to contain the smell

 

[robinb]

I'm going to buy this the chipmunk laundry bag. Check it out on website of same name.

Cute! But the price tag!!

 

[Westcoastwild]

What about laundry?
Specifically, where do they store their dirty clothes, and what do they carry them to the laundry room and back in?

DS is saying he likes the idea of a laundry bag. I know a friend whose student/son uses a bag. I just can't imagine taking warm, clean clothes and stuffing them into a bag to carry them back upstairs...especially the same bag the dirty clothes were in. I prefer baskets, but not sure how they manage to fit in a dorm room. Is this a male/female thing? Do boys prefer laundry bags?

Experienced parents/students please chime in!
New parents, what has your student decided to go with?

TIA!

They make collapsible rubber/plastic laundry baskets, and that's what I like the best. Bed bath and beyond. I prefer baskets because you can wipe them out. But I've also used a laundry bag; and then I used resizable laundry bags to bring the clothes home. Laundry bags can get gross, but they are easier to carry if her laundry room is pretty far front her dorm room.

 

[Limes96]

If you're near a Kroger, there's a digital coupon out for $10 off your grocery order when you buy 2 Staples gift cards totaling $50 or more. That amounts to 20% off plus fuel points. I haven't looked yet but Staples usually has some good deals out this time of year.

 

[dreamin_disney]

When is the IKEA BIG SALE for college students? I thought it was July 16 but now I can't find any info on it. Anyone know?