How to Prepare Your Teen for Moving to College
To prepare for the back-to-school season, I recently chatted with my pal Angela Marie from the AM Hustle Show about my college moving tips. If you have an incoming college freshman who is about to head to school - it’s not too late to make sure that you’ve connected with them about important life tips (read on for all the details!). For your high-schoolers - take notes now so that you’re ready for move-out day in the coming years.
Getting on the same page
Moving away from home for the first time can be nerve-wracking for both parents and their teens. You can help to make the transition easier by making sure that you’re on the same page about a few things at home in advance of the move. Here are a few topics to make sure that you’ve chatted about, well ahead of moving day:
What’s happening to their room? Will it be staying the same, will a sibling be taking over, or will it be converted into a home office or gym?
If your student needs to pack up their room completely before they move, how many boxes are they able to store at home, and for how long?
No matter if they’re moving out of their room completely or not, you’ll want to talk about decluttering early, so that your teen can plan on doing a little bit at a time, either with or without your help (depending on the person). For example: over a weekend they can declutter a dresser or desk or closet, vs. asking them to do every space in one go.
Life skills
I asked people on Instagram if there were life skills they wish they had learned before moving to college and got a ton of responses. Turns out most of us had to learn at least a few of these skills on the fly. You can help your teen by not only teaching them these skills but making sure they are able to practice them regularly in the months leading up to their big college move. The most popular skills mentioned:
Doing laundry: separating loads, stain removal, how to know what do air dry
Cooking or meal planning, especially healthy food
Grocery shopping: Even in the dorms with a meal plan they’ll still need to learn the basics so they can plan their snacks and easy meals
Budgeting and credit cards: it’s so easy to go into debt and many wish they knew that credit card companies prey on college students
Decluttering and home organization: if you want to learn about Tidy Revival Virtual Sessions for your student click here
Having a cleaning schedule and how to stick to it
Setting up utility accounts and how to close them
Living and negotiating with roommates, and how to resolve roommate conflicts
Time management: school, social, and workload
How to write a check for rent: many students have not had to write a check before, but many landlords still prefer them
Freshman dorm essentials
The ultimate packing list! Rather than try and reinvent the wheel, I found an AWESOME packing list on Etsy that’s available for only $0.99! Check out OrganizedLifeByAbby’s College Dorm Packing List HERE. Please tell her I sent you!
Looking for the best moving company? This Old House curated a list of the best long-distance moving companies, just for you.
The biggest thing to remember when you’re helping your teen pack for college is that there’s limited space. Moving into the dorms is not the time to bring all the “what if’s” - many dorm rooms include a personal closet and possibly a dresser, so select wisely. For example - make sure your teen doesn’t pack their top 10 favorite coats; instead, just take a couple of favorites.
Remember to pack for your new lifestyle. When I moved away to college (back in 2001) I remember buying a pair of really cute clogs for freshman year. In my suburban hometown in the Central Valley of CA, they would have been no problem. But at San Francisco State, where I was walking miles every day (and didn’t even have a car), the clogs were really impractical. They hurt my feet so much that I only wore them twice. Don’t make my mistake - make sure your student is thinking about their new lifestyle when creating their packing list.
Don’t be afraid to call the Residence Hall. As soon as your student gets their housing assignment, go ahead and connect with the residence hall. If you’re able to find out about their space in advance (like the size of the closet, etc.) that can help you both plan. They’ll also be able to tell you if there are any limits that you need to know about; pets allowed, recommended appliances, rules of your hall, and more.
Par down the items you need to get ready. Every school housing is a little bit different, but in my freshman dorms, we had two shared bathrooms per floor, so I was sharing a bathroom with about 30 other women. Instead of being able to spread my beauty products all over the counter like I could at home, I needed to make sure I had a shower caddy of supplies to take with me every day and did my makeup in my room. This meant that I really needed to par down the number of products I brought with me to college.
Clutter is still clutter even if it’s fun stuff. Because space is limited, it’s important to remember that even things like snacks can be easy to over-buy. It’s tempting to take your teen to Costco and let them go ham and stock up, but remember that if they don’t have space to store it (and if they won’t actually eat it before it goes bad) it will be more stressful to them in the long-run than having a more manageable amount of food. If you’re nervous about them having enough snacks - give them gift cards to their local grocery store or Target throughout the year.
Don’t underestimate the power of a drawer divider. Using drawer dividers is a great way to keep your space organized, and utilize every last inch of your precious drawer space. Especially when your drawers need to run double duty to hold clothes as well as school supplies or snacks - a couple of dividers can make all the difference. A few of my favorites are the SKUBB set by IKEA and the Like-it Modular Drawer Organizers from The Container Store. As always, be sure to measure and make a plan before you buy!
Don’t forget your Twin XL sheets! This is a really common oversight when people move to the dorms (I’m speaking as an experienced RA). Be sure to check the bed size of the dorms you’re moving into. Usually, they’re Twin XL size, which is longer than a standard twin bed. Most box stores will carry sheets in this size, especially during the back-to-school season.
Remember that the easiest way to stay organized is to not overstuff a space. This is the first time that your teen will be living on their own, and the first time that they will have to keep their space clean without you reminding them. A space that’s easy to tidy will ultimately give them less stress, which will help them study better, and stay focused. By pre-planning their decluttering and storage at home, as well as their packing list for college, you’ll help them have a more successful first year at school.
Congrats to your college freshman!
