Moving In – Move it Move it Move it

Get Your Hand Trucks Ready to Move!

Once your student has been given their move-in date and dorm or residence assignment, the process of handling what can be a stressful, labor-intensive, and often expensive moving process begins. Traditionally, female students tend to take a full-on decorating approach complete with wall décor, signs, picture frames, string lights, desk accessories, and many other decorative items. Male students do not quite go that full in and often just want a comfortable bed, maybe a poster or two, and perhaps a rug. It is quite humorous after each drop-off, whether it is for summer or fall, to see my friends’ postings on Facebook and Instagram and see the obvious difference between guys and girls completed dorm room.

This may be a sticker price shock moment. According to the National Retail Federation, back to college spending averaged $976.78 in 2019. This is big business with college checklists resembling the lists usually reserved for wedding registries and baby shower registries. If you go to the many college dorm checklists, you will be faced with a list filled with items you may have never considered. Some, like gaming systems, seems a bit far-fetched. You are not looking to entertain your students for the next four years; just to set up a comfortable room where they can study, relax, and feel a bit of that home feeling they left behind. To prevent unnecessary expenses, let’s get into the moving tips.

Break It Down

These tips can be applied to both female and male students to help make moving easier.

If you have a student living in a dorm, the beds are not necessarily the most comfortable. You will want to get a mattress protector pad, mattress cover and for the best comfort, a memory foam mattress topper. You will find these at Target, Walmart, Bed Bath & Beyond, and many department stores. This can be considered a short-term item as many students who move into apartments their second year will probably have a full or queen size mattress. If your student is moving into Greek housing, many have Twin XL beds so, in theory, it could be used again; however, be prepared for your daughter wanting to pick out something completely new with her new roommate.

You will need a minimum of two sets of sheets plus pillowcases. No one is saying that they need the top thread count but certainly try to get a set that will not pill after one wash. They will want to wash their sheets once a week minimally (we hope) so two should be sufficient. Additionally, many girls love extra pillows and a throw blanket to decorate the room further and for extra comfort. To finish off with bedding, be sure to bring either a comforter or a duvet cover. My daughter prefers a comforter considering duvets sometimes slip around.

A large floor rug. Adding a rug to the small freshmen dorm rooms makes a huge difference. A nice surface rug makes the room appear bigger and more comfortable. UMD lists common rugs sized for the room and sells rugs on their OCM website. One thing I did for my daughter that made her dorm room homier was adding curtains. Adding some simple curtains to the window in the middle of the dorm room gave the room a more welcoming vibe and was a simple, cute, touch. Another tip is to make your own curtains from fabric. You can get fabric in a pattern or color that goes along with the other decorations in the room, this way you can match the color scheme while saving extra money.

Get a mini-fridge. This is an item you can split with your student’s roommate or decide which one of them will bring it. Having a fridge in the room makes it easy to have some quick snacks and drinks on hand at all times. If your college student is planning on having a television in their room, you will need a coaxial cable. Extension cords are also a much-needed item. We would recommend using one that is both double and triple-pronged. Seems there are never enough outlets when you are moving to a new place.

If your student is like mine, there just is not enough closet and drawer space to accommodate all of her clothes, shoes, dry goods, toiletries, medicines, and so on. That is where the under-the-bed plastic drawer system comes in handy. The problem you may face is availability. Either bring them with you if your vehicle space allows or order ahead of time. Another way to have extra storage space around the dorm room is to have a small ottoman that doubles as storage and extra seating.

Can You Bring It?

Before getting carried away and buying everything in sight when dorm shopping, be sure to check over the list of items to bring or not to bring posted on the UMD website. And make sure you check out our intern’s Shopping Guide for New Students. Pass on these great tips, tell your friends and like us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. Find out more about how to use HaveUHeard as a great resource. Sign up for other great tips at haveuheard.com.