What are your DCs packing for college/uni

[KatyMac]

So far we have.....

Bedding
Towels (& tea towels)
Bedside light
bin
Torch
some small cooking bits(the kitchen is equipped)
Bucket with a lid for soaking pink tights
Song books (I haven't bought the monologue books yet)
Notebooks
Uniform
Vanish & handwash liquid
Nail brush
Lots of food (Her BF brought a crate of fun food - small boxes of cereal, noodles, chocolate, nice tea bags etc oh & 6 tins of custard she bought about 9 months ago)
Dustpan & brush
Extension lead, chargers & surge protector

I feel I'm missing loads of stuff - but I'm not too worried about clothes, toiletries. make-up or electricals

Just lived through Freshers Week. Please make sure your new students have a pen! 120 Freshers in a room, it seemed like about 40 pens between them.

They were almost uniformly lovely, enthusiastic and enjoying themselves, making friends and for the most part coping well. It's one of the bast days of the year, meeting the new students.

To all those of you worried about fitting everything in the car, this was ours yesterday! I didn't think it would all go in but it did and I could see out of the back! It did take 5 trips from car to room though!

She has gone

She has forgotten: extra coat hangers, cup for her toothbrush & spare cutlery.

So not bad really

& I'm not missing her yet

Livnatmum . Did you stay overnight or drop her yesterday? DH wants to stay overnight en route to break up the driving but I'm not sure about leaving the car parked outside a hotel loaded up like that.

No, I dropped him off and came home, it's only an hour's drive,I would not have been happy about leaving it over night!

Secret we are staying overnight on the Saturday. We've booked a hotel with secure underground car parking. We will take all the electronics inside with us.
My reason for stopping overnight was practical 3- 4 hour journey each way, but also selfish. I have barely seen ds this summer, he has been having a great time and I've missed him loads. So I wanted a last family night together before we go back overseas and don't see him till Christmas. gulp

When we took DS1 for his first year we booked a local hotel for the night when we dropped him off. That enabled us to meet him after his first night and take him out to buy those things he realised he needed. We didn't worry with DS2 as his Uni is a 45 minute drive away.

mancie pancie loo rolls now added here, glad you mentioned it. Moreover they can also double as Egyptian fancy dress should the requirement arise...............have bought in bulk just in case.

Pretty much packed. Thank goodness she can leave her stuff in halls until July. I only want to transport it all once!

Home now after having taken DS1 to uni today! We helped him to unpack and sort out his room, then off to Aldi for a shop, then out for tea before heading home. He was the first in his flat, no one else there yet! I hope he'll be ok! He did see a FB message asking if anyone who arrived today fancied meeting up for a drink, so has gone off to make new friends. I have resisted ringing him tonight, but looking forward to hearing all about it tomorrow!

Please excuse me!

I am going to rant here so that I dont upset DD's last night by telling her just how cross I am right now.

We will be setting off at around 8.30am tomorrow. DH starts work at 7am and wont be coming with us so we really need to have my car packed this evening.

Is DD finalising her packing, putting the last few treasured posessions into the car? No, she went out for dinner with a friend. Popped back in wittering about something then went out again.

The only things in the car are things I put there. I have been left to set up her new laptop.

Right now I am so angry with her I could weep.

Gnome, if I were you, I'd pour myself a glass of wine and relax! Let her know what time you're leaving, and leave her to it! Even if she has to stay up half the night! Whatever she forgets she will have to live without, for a while at least. Next week she will have only herself to rely on, so she may as well start now!

You are right Mindgone, she has now come back and we have a printer and a sandwich toaster in the car.

GnomeDePlume I hope you sorted it and managed not to stay cross with her?
We go next Friday but I have to admit I've done most of the packing so far, mainly to avoid the last minute approach of DS.

this is my 2nd dc going. I haven't got very involved. she has been away on a gap year, i have bought the odd bit of kitchen stuff and then I got given things from a relative.

she is in halls so they can share resources we will do a shop when we arrive.

Gnome, I hope you managed to get a decent night's sleep, and keeping your stress levels down! It's an emotional time, I hope it goes well for you today.

Well dd1's top priority this morning is shaving her legs, rather than loading the car to leave!

Thanks all, yes I manged to keep my crossness to myself. Left DD with a room full of her stuff to sort and meeting her new flat mates.

just fished out 2 of my nail varnishes and other bits despite me requesting she ask if she took anything grrrr

DS1 finally off tomorrow. Any last minute advice along the lines of

"I can't believe we forgot to pack that", or

"never would have thought DC would have needed to take that"

would be most welcome.

These are the things I have had to post or deliver since dd1 started -

• Extra long Ethernet cable
• Baking tray (not enough in flat)
• Anything really heavy (so that they don't have to lug it back from shops) such as large box of soap powder, printer paper, water bottles
• Washing up bowl (there wasn't one)
• Music if playing an instrument / music stand (forgot to take)
• List of injections / jabs from Doctor (needed to register at university)

Also really useful -

• Diary / student organiser (not many people had them on course & it helps with organisation)
• Cash/ change
• Extension leads
• Online banking
• Washing rack to dry clothes

Hope that helps!

thanks littleham. Devil's own job trying to find an academic year diary / organiser that was big enough to use, but not too big if that makes sense, and not in floral patterns. I thought the shops would be full of them. I thought wrong.

Change for washing machines and dryers - £1 coins and 20p pieces where he's going - must remember to get from the bank today. Thanks for the tip.

Glad to read on one of the other threads that your DD1 is settling in well.

I thought revisiting this would be a good idea.
boys3 I got a generic academic diary from The Works.
The one thing we needed on arrivals day and didn't have was a screwdriver. Next time we go I will take a little multi tool kit or penknife.
Otherwise using the wisdom on this thread, we got it about right.
We took a drying rack but I noticed other new arrivals staggering back from a shopping trip carrying them.
Actually I thought I had packed a lot but when I saw what some DC were bringing . One boy had a humungous flat screen tv