How early will the mail room in the dorm accept packages? Our scheduled move in time was on a Monday at 8am, and the earliest the mail room would accept packages was the Saturday before- which gave me just one day to get it all delivered if I wanted it to be there when we were setting up the room.What is the mailing address for your student's dorm room? Whether you want to ship items in advance or send care packages later- find this information in the move-in packet and get it into your address book now.Have your teen work out upfront how they will split the cost and procurement of these rental items with their roommate. In our case, the university only allows specific vendors to provide some of these items, so we looked at the options online and placed our order over the summer. What kind of rental or purchase options can you take care of in advance? Bed lofts, area rugs, futons, fridges, microwaves can often be rented or purchased in advance and will be delivered to the dorm room before you arrive.There are some valuable things you can learn: Take some time and read through everything they send to you (even if your future college student has no interest!). Chances are- your teen's university has provided you with a move-in guide that explains the move-in date you are assigned and the process involved (Kyle's school offered something called “cruise ship move in” where you show up at a specific time with your car loaded with everything for your room, and people unload it for you and deliver it to your room, while you park your car and your student goes into the dorm to register and get their room key, etc.) Below you'll find all of the advice and tips I wished I had when I was getting started!ĭorm Room 101- Things to Know in Advance:īefore diving in and making a list of everything you think you might need- do some research first. So I turned online to find some shopping lists and consulted fellow Moms who had already walked this path.

So when I started to compile a list of what I thought he would need, and options for getting it to him- it all seemed so overwhelming! When we started to prepare to move our oldest son Kyle into his dorm room this past fall- we honestly didn't know where to begin! He attends a college about 1500 miles from home, and we decided to fly rather than drive to move him into school. Moving your teen into a college dorm room for the first time can be a daunting task! What will they need? How will they share this space with a roommate? How can you help them to get organized and stay that way? Below you'll find a free printable dorm room checklist, great tips on how to plan for your move-in day, advice for those moving teens into a dorm far away, and you'll also find 20+ fantastic organized dorm room ideas to get you started!

Dorm room needs checklist