Look at your kid, your actual real kid. What is important to them? Does feeling “at home” impact their happiness? Are they a terrible sleeper who needs a comfortable bed? Are they indifferent to lots of clothing so the dresser provided is adequate? Are they bringing expensive musical equipment that will need to be protected?
Shopping for college can feel like a generic experience with long lists of “must-haves,” but you are only sending off one teen you know so well, so make sure this college shopping journey is just about them.
You can help your teen create a cute and complete dorm room without breaking the bank.
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College Shopping
How to Save Time and Money
1. Shop when your teen is interested.
This may sound obvious, but all you need to do is look around a big box store on any summer afternoon to know that this is not always the case. Eye rolling teens and stressed-out moms abound. The whole process is a lot easier when your kid is on board. Think good night’s sleep, well-fed teen, friends otherwise occupied.
2. Okay, you say your (let me guess) son has no interest in ever shopping for their dorm necessities?
Yep, been there. Here are a few tactics: I gave you life; you give me an hour of your summer to get you set. Fair trade? I used this one to significant effect.
Grab a snack; we are shopping online. Finally, there are always threats or bribes.
3. Don’t think about your own first year.
While the dorms may look the same, the world has changed beyond recognition, and I had to keep telling myself, “they have the internet.” Concentrate on buying your freshmen the items they need knowing that you can pick up extras on move-in day or order them online once they have a better idea of dorm living.
4. Shop where you can get everything you need.
There is no reason to make this a summer-long project. Find one store where you can check off most, if not all, of your list and be done with the task.
Check out the college dorm sections on the Target and Bed, Bath & Beyond websites for some of the best one-stop selections. Grown and Flown has a curated shop on Amazon, too.
5. Buy quality.
I have three kids and, for me, 12 years in the dorms; you better believe we did hand-me-downs. If this is your eldest, you can pass down items that have been used for only a year or two. If this is one of your younger kids, quality items will make it into their first apartments. Junk won’t make it through the first semester.
6. Shop where there are discounts.
This is a competitive category, and lots of stores want your business.
Target Circle membership can help with perks and savings.
Bed, Bath & Beyond has a College Savings Pass and, when they sign up, they will get 20% off everything until 9/30/22.
The average family spends more than $1,500 outfitting their teen for college, and many spend more. Do the math.
7. If the college has sent you a checklist, look it over carefully.
It is unlikely that your teen needs every item on their list, and it may be that you already have some of the things they need at home. Answer these 50 questions, and then use the college’s list as a jumping-off point to create your list tailored to your kid.
8. Explore your student’s college website and residential life section to glean information about what the school allows, prohibits, and provides.
If you know what dorm your student is living in, drill down to see if there is a floor plan showing the furniture provided and the lofted bed height. This under-bed real estate will be your student’s most important space to maximize. Find the list of prohibited items at your teen’s college to avoid costly mistakes.
9. Shop where you are comfortable.
This is a BIG undertaking, the mother of all back-to-school shopping trips; go where you will get the help you need. If you can shop at brick-and-mortar retailers with sales associates who are knowledgeable about dorm merchandise, that is a plus.
For online shopping, explore any options for virtual styling and online support to enhance your shopping. Remember to take note of return policies and keep all receipts.
Personalizing a dorm room makes it feel a bit more like home.
10. Shop where the store will ship for FREE.
If you are traveling any distance or don’t have a large SUV or minivan, shipping is inevitable. Let someone else pay for it.
One famous trick is to shop at Bed, Bath & Beyond and take advantage of Pack and Hold, which does just that. Forget stuffing your car to the gills; forget taking boxes to the post office. It is all taken care of. Here’s how it worked, and did we mention it is FREE?
- Pack & Hold® — select the items you want in your local BBB or online and, when you arrive on campus for move in day, your order is waiting for you at the BBB store closest to campus.
- Target offers a Pick Up Service — This is perfect for items that are always in stock that you can pick up once you are on campus.
- Amazon Prime Student — this might be the very best time for your student to move off of your Prime account and onto their own. They will get unlimited FREE two-day shipping and exclusive deals for students.
- Ship-to-Store: Pottery Barn Teen also offers a way you can shop there and pick up at any of the stores in their family of companies including Pottery Barn, West Elm, or William-Sonoma.
11. Shop where your teen likes to go.
You need help if you have their buy-in, and here is how to get it if there are snacks or something they want to shop for — other than sheets and towels — factor in that time for the outing.
12. Test-drive the linens.
Our teens could not have cared less about thread count, but they could quickly feel the differences in how sheets felt to the touch. When you buy at a store with a broad selection, spend some time with the sheet fabric samples before deciding.
Unless you’re shipping directly from the store, wash the linens before you pack them so they are soft and free of any excess dye if you choose dark colors.
One essential tip is to pack them in the IKEA blue bags that you can get from IKEA or Amazon. Lightweight and highly durable, they can fold up after your teen moves into the dorm for the trip home or be used to store out-of-season clothing.
13. Consider multiple pillows.
It seems so simple, but teens tell us they sit on their beds reading in a way they never did at home (no family room couch to lounge on in the dorm) and a big square or a bed rest pillow to prop against the wall turns their bed into a comfortable spot to study. Sure, studying in the library is a better idea, but making their room feel more like home is a great idea too.
14. There are a couple of categories of items that get tricky and a bed topper is one of them.
There are a wide range of toppers at all different price points and ViscoSoft has award-winning mattress toppers that would work very well on a dorm bed. They are super comfortable, easy-to-clean, durable, and provide an ick-safe barrier between your teens and the really old dorm mattress that’s typically provided.
Plus, for the back-to-school season, all toppers are 25% off. If you buy a topper, you can shop all bedding 50% off.
15. Find out your teen’s laundry situation before committing to a laundry hamper or bag.
Are the machines in their dorms or across the quad? My kids love laundry baskets that slide under their beds and out of the way. Others find a traditional bag suits them better. The options are endless.
16. Get them set up with their own personal pharmacy.
Don’t buy premade first aid kits; they are generic, and ignore what your kid needs. Buy a small plastic box and, with your teen, gather together the items they will want at school. It is a great chance to talk about what medications to use when and what symptoms require a visit to the health center. Most freshmen get sick; some get sick often. This will happen at 2 am and they, and you, will be glad you prepared.
17. Extra toiletries are not a bad idea.
Many first-year students don’t have a car, and a local drug store may not be within walking distance. If they have some under-bed storage anyway, extra shampoo, soap, body wash, deodorant, and razor blades will not go amiss. Sure they can order these things online, but you know they will do that after the last drop is gone.
18. Shop where they have special events.
Find out if your local store has any special college events — there are sometimes extra promotions that you will want to take advantage of.
19. Go easy on the cleaning supplies.
We would love to think they used them, and a few do, but many never open them or forget they even exist. #dormlife
20. Make sure your teen coordinates with roommates and suitemates.
My son showed up at a suite that ended up with three coffee makers because the suitemates did not communicate in advance. A few quick emails will save everyone time, money, and broken carafes lying on the dorm room floor.
21. Spend some time thinking about electronics.
It’s easy to focus on sheets and towels, things we know well. Electronics are some of the most significant expenses, and it is an ever-changing market.
In addition to a laptop and phone, we recommend these tech essentials for their dorm room:
Wireless noise-canceling headphones are handy for watching shows or listening to music in the room without bothering their roommate. This one is recommended and much better priced than some others.
- Small external battery charger to give their phones a battery boost when they are on the go. This is one of THE best safety devices since your teen will always want to have a charged phone to contact someone in case of an emergency.
12 Essentials All College Students Need for Their Dorm
