The Ultimate College Move In Checklist

There are so many college prep & college move in posts out there that they seem to all run together, don’t they? I know when we were prepping to send our oldest son off to college for his freshman year I felt a little overwhelmed with what we needed to purchase ahead of time, what we need to get when we are there moving him in, and everything in between. What really is THE best air purifier, mattress pad, or dorm room must have? Oh, and are guy must-haves different than what girls will need for their room? Yes & No – girls tend to have more in their room usually, while guys sometimes could care less. Our oldest son wanted his room to be homey, but not over done. He wanted to have what he needed and a few extra cush items, but didn’t want to go overboard.

So, I’m here to help you navigate all that and more.

2 Months Before Leaving:

• Start getting all prescriptions together and refilled if needed or begin transferring them to a new pharmacy
• Check what the schools move-in policies are and when your child can officially move in. Do they need to have a reserved time for move in?
• Check what the parking situation is at school. Do they need to go ahead and apply for a parking permit? Will you need a visitors parking pass?
• Make a plan for how you’ll be arriving at college with your child and their things. Will some of their things be shipped or will you drive everything? Are you flying? If flying, purchase plane tickets.
• Start organizing how you’re going to pack their stuff – start purchasing Rubbermaid bins, grab these moving bags that are a MUST HAVE for moving kids to college.
• If your student has the contact for or knows their roommate, start planning anything they’ll need to purchase – decor, cleaning products, kitchen items, etc. Start purchasing these items. You can see what we recommend HERE.
• Begin packing things that aren’t essential and they won’t need before they leave.
• Shop for a surprise “Move In” treat or gift for your child.
• Get any important documents in place for your child to take with them.

2 Weeks Before Leaving:

• Start packing seasonal clothing that they’ll need for this semester if they don’t want to take a full closet for 9 months.
• Shop for those last minute items that you may have put off getting or things.
• Organize their room at home so it’s clean when they leave and so they don’t forget anything. Sort items into 3 piles: things they’ll need to take to college, things to leave at home, and a donate/trash pile.
• If donating items from their room, make a plan for where you’ll drop the donations and drop them before you leave to move them in at college. Don’t put it off until you return.

1 Week Before Leaving:

• Purchase cleaning materials, toiletries, and last minute dorm items or clothing that your child will need
• Continue packing things that aren’t essential and things your child won’t need before leaving in 1 week.
• Finalize any prescriptions that will need to be transferred or refilled before leaving.
• Have them clean their room at home so nothing is left behind and it’s organized when you return from moving them in.
• Do laundry before packing the rest of their clothes. That way they aren’t arriving at college with dirty laundry.
• Gather any tools / items you’ll need for move-in day and pack them. Some suggestions are: tape measure, moving bags, rubber mallet, wedge door stop, drawer liners, pencil, level, sharpie, screw driver, step ladder, WD-40, zip ties, large black trash bags, regular trash bags, cleaning supplies, a folding dolly cart, etc.
• Make a first-aid/medicine kit and a small tool kit or your child to have at school. You can see how my husband put together one for our son by clicking HERE.

The Day Of Moving In:

• There are a couple of different phases for move-in day that will help it go smoothly for both you and your child. Before starting the beginning “phase”, take a photo of the dorm room or apartment how it is before you begin.
  • Quick Clean & Important Prep Phase:
    • Plug in the Woozoo fan or air purifier fan that you have to get the air moving in the dorm room.
    • Clean off the mattress with a Lysol wipe. Once it is dry, put the mattress protector on top of it.
    • Open the mattress topper and let it start getting its shape while you unpack and organize the room for the next few hours. HERE is the mattress topper my son has LOVED.
    • Start cleaning the rest of the dorm room. Wipe down all surfaces, sweep and mop the floor, clean the attached bathroom, wipe down blinds, etc.
    • Finalize the furniture placement and start moving furniture around if needed.
    • Plug in the refrigerator if needed. Use a surge protector to plug it in. Do not use an extension cord.
    • Don’t put down the rug until the next phase, just in case you need to move furniture around. Having the rug down will make it hard to do so.
    • Take a photo of this phase of the move in process before going to the next “phase”.
  • Set-Up Furniture, Hang High Decor, and Organize Closet, & Lay the Rug Phase:
    • Be sure to read over and know the rules for hanging things on the wall in the dorm. Lots of dorms do not allow it or only allow it using a certain command strip or tack. Before hanging something on the wall, make sure you’re good to begin and know what you’re doing. If you are able to hang things, go ahead and measure and lay out where things will be hung on the walls.
    • Put together any furniture that you need to. Use those big black trash bags you bright to break down boxes and to put any leftover trash from furniture in the trash bag.
    • Install any closet or bathroom organizers.
    • Do a quick vacuum over the rug before placing it where you want it to go.
    • Make the bed and get rid of any bedding bags or packaging by placing in the black trash bags.
    • Before moving on to the next phase, take a photo of what you accomplished just now.
  • Unpack & Final Clean Up:
    • Unpack clothing that goes in the dresser drawers and closet and put those blue moving bags inside of each other out in the hall so they’re out of the way in the room.
    • Find a home for toiletries and bathroom supplies.
    • Set-up food appliances and food storage items.
    • Organize desk and school supplies
    • Place lamps, charging stations, and anything else that needs to be unpacked.
    • Once you’ve unpacked everything, find a place for a bin or two to stay as well as a couple of the blue moving bags you brought and place the rest of the items in the hallway or somewhere for you to take back home.
    • Run through the room with one last vacuum and mop to clean up from moving in.
    • Take a photo at the end of this phase to see how much you’ve done today and how great the dorm room looks!

I have a link to all the college essentials & what has really worked for our son over the last few years in college HERE.

Are you moving a child to college this year? What is your one piece of advice you’d give? Hang in there, mama – I know those drop offs can be hard, even though you are so excited for them and this next season they’re entering into.