At Washington University in St. Louis, a lot of people rent a POD to load their apartments up after they graduate. They have it shipped home when it's loaded.

Anonymous wrote:Lots of good tips here and plenty of time to sort this out. In the meantime, try to enjoy your child's senior year.

OP here. I appreciate the good tips. DD just finished first semester a a VA college but is a spring admit to a CA school. So while we tried to minimize what she bought here, she does have dorm stuff that I don't know if it's worth shipping or buying new there. She also has a fair amount of clothes and shoes. The girls dress nicely for class at new college, she has an internship lined up (needs conservative business attire), she works out, she wants to rush (claims sorority girls dress nicely) and on and on. So she has lots of stuff and different types of clothes (as I thought most 19 yr old girls have). She pays for most of it so I can't really complain.

Lots of good tips here and plenty of time to sort this out. In the meantime, try to enjoy your child's senior year.

Think Amazon Prime OP. Students get a discount on shipping. You'll love it. Stuff can be sent straight to college for pickup at the UPS college office or whatever your college has arranged.

I went to college in CA from here. I had initially packed up stuff I wanted shipped, but my mom kept it until I could get there and decide what I really wanted. I went to college with 2 suitcases. My dad flew out to visit like a month later and took me to Walmart to get some stuff for my room. Having that time let me think about what I really wanted.

If you have extra here and do not want to purchase there, start a list of items that you are loading up and packing.

You maybe able to search some of the sites for things to bring but think to yourself about categories:
Sleep, Toiletries and towels, study, decor, clothes, entertainment.

Make of list of what you are packing - and take pictures to remind yourself.

For dorm room needs, go to your local Bed, Bath and Beyond next July or August. They'll give you a scanner to record everything you want to buy. Place your order for pick-up at B,B and B nearest campus when you arrive for move-in. You can pack clothes and bring them with you or ship them as needed -- e.g., no need to take clothes for cooler weather -- you can ship them later or your kid can take them back after Christmas break.) Ship books. She/he will carry his/her laptop on the plane. It's not really that complicated, though some parents get very frazzled about it.

I'm laughing OP. I am a California resident who went to undergrad in California. I took my clothes etc and bought everything I needed at local schools. There is everything in ca that there is in dc. Trust.

They have target, Costco, bed bath and beyond, and Walmart in Ca. Pack up a suitcase of favorite clothes and buy the rest there.

Any words of wisdom regarding how much or what stuff to put in luggage or ship or plan to buy once there? We'll be traveling to California over Christmas and DD could store or ship stuff to my brother's house. And we'll also travel with DD in January. The college has convenient summer storage. Anyone BTDT?