How to Help Your Teen Move into a College Dorm

As the summer comes to an end students and parents are starting to get ready to head back to school. While many teenagers will be heading back to the same high school, some of them will be heading off to university or college. If it’s UVic or Camosun college, that might not mean much of a difference. But if your child is heading to a school on the mainland, in a different province, or even in a different country then it’s time to help them move out of your home and into a dorm or apartment of their own. Here are a few suggestions to help make this emotional transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved.

Know Their Accommodations

• How big is it? If they are moving into their own apartment or dorm try and figure out the layout of the place before they move in so you can ensure everything fits.
• Do you have to supply the furniture? If they’re moving into a dorm, chances are their room will have a bed, dresser, and a desk. If it’s an apartment or room in a house it might have couches and kitchen tables, but you might need to supply the bedroom furniture.
• Does it have a private bathroom? Or will your child be using the common one down the hall? If so then you’ll probably want to invest in a bathroom caddy and shower shoes.

Pack by Utility

Since they likely won’t be moving into a large 3-bedroom place all by themselves, there is a good chance they won’t need to divide their belongings up by room type. So instead pack by the items uses. Really it’s the same premise, kitchen stuff still goes with kitchen stuff and bathroom stuff goes with bathroom stuff, but they’ll only have one box of kitchen things—unless they don’t have access to a kitchen and will be relying on the college’s food plan—one box of bathroom supplies and two boxes of school supplies.

Channel Your Inner Minimalist (Or Their Inner Minimalist)

College dorms are small, and if they’re first apartments and rented rooms are anything like the ones I stayed in, those are small too. If you and your son or daughter don’t think they’ll need something, or don’t think they’ll need it often enough that borrowing from someone else will be annoying and obnoxious, then don’t bring it. Chances are their library will have a printer, or they’ll be able to wash, dry and remake the bed in the same day.

If your child knows who you are moving in with, try to encourage them to talk to each other on and learn and plan out who’s bringing what ahead of time so they don’t end up with 6 TVs but no pots if they’re in a dorm with a kitchen and no meal plan.

The one item you will want to pack lots of extras of is tissues. There’s a good chance someone might cry when the time comes to say goodbye.

If you need to find some boxes to help you store items in for the trip, stop by and see what we have to offer.