Since I went to boarding school for high school 500 miles from home, going to college 50 miles down the road from home with an aunt and uncle living in the same town didn't cause me any angst (other than the folks may have been tooooo close for comfort after having been on my own 500 miles away!). But I was glad that rush was before classes so I had some bearings in a new environment.

One more week! Hitting Bed Bath and Beyond again today with coupons in hand. I've never seen so much stuff! Daughter seems to be in better spirits lately. The sporadic mood swings have lessened. Just gotta make it through this week. Ran into a friend last night and all he could talk about was what a nightmare move in day is. But he did give us a couple pieces of advice.
1. pack a lunch and lots of water bottles.
2. take a box cutter in case you have to alter the size of the rug.

Anyone else have any tips for surviving this day?

Thanks Brittin! I would have never thought to bring a box cutter. We would have been sitting on the floor with a pocket knife! :eek:

I hope everything goes well for your daughter!

Don't forget about basic security. With all the trips back and forth from the room to the car, most people just leave the dorm room wide open. Either lock the door between trips or leave mom in the room to organize while daughter and dad make the trips so the stuff isn't free game for anyone walking by.

THIS. Do not want to start off with a negative experience.

So happy about new AU adventures! When we moved our daughter into the AU dorms a few years ago, we were given the some advice that proved to be so helpful...I added a few details we discovered as well, I hope this helps! ;)

-Bring a small dolly (and bungee straps). It helps with staging. We found a small one at Lowe's that fits perfectly in narrow halls...used it all four years for AU moves and also used it to move our son to another university...invaluable.
-Bring a tarp to help with staging on the grass, to bring into dorms. Bring a second tarp if rain is expected. (In the quad, they asked us to unload on the grass and move the cars quickly to allow other vehicles to unload, not sure if they still do that, but bring tarps just in case, we were not prepared)
-Only command strips (or the like) are allowed on the walls, they are great. We were able to hang the curtain rods with the command strip hooks and they stayed up all year.
-Bring every type of tool you could possibly need. Several dads in the Quad had to cut down bookshelves (personal property, not school property), etc, because of the odd sized rooms and ceiling heights.
-We used bed risers to raise bed for under bed storage and used the industrial Velcro tape to hang the longer bed skirts, it came off easily when we moved her out. Don't use duct tape on fabric or the beds, the epoxy is too sticky and could ruin items (I noticed several folks using twin bed sheets, instead of actual bed skirts...very clever)
-Don't worry if you don't have everything perfect, you can come back on bid day or another day to help. You may even find that the girls are fine with things just the way they are or can do things themselves.
-Enjoy time with your daughter and keep things light heart-ed while you are sweating in the Auburn heat! (Drink lots of water) We found everyone in her dorm to be excited and helpful...and hot. ;)

My daughter's school (and my son's will also) had kids with carts at the ready to load them up and take the stuff up to the room during move in. It did take 2 trips with my D, but I stayed with the stuff at one end and my ex stayed with the stuff at the other end. When you first get everything in the room, you're going to think "How is this all going to fit?" Once you make the bed, that takes care of a huge load of stuff because bedding is so bulky. I made the bed while D worked on hanging stuff in the closet. Once bedding and clothes were done, it was pretty easy to find spots for everything else :)

^^^On that note, invest in some space bags. I think that's what they're still called these days, but they're the bags where you vacuum out the air from the bag and they shrink. They save a LOT of space - especially with bedding and pillows.

I wouldn't bring the vacuum bags if you arent bringing a vacuum cleaner? They ones they have dont have a hose and wouldnt work to take stuff home.

If you are packing up a car - you might not have room for it all. Target and Bed Bath and Beyond in Tigertown will have a lot of dorm things. Both Walmarts tend to run out.

Be sure to bring things you will need for recruitment or cleaning. The stores all seem to run out of specific colors of make up, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies.

You can always mail things that are light? Book rate is also cheap.

Another tip would be free shipping with Amazon prime.

Pack your wardrobe for recruiment in a separate bag. That way you wont have to unpack EVERYTHING to have it

I bought a portable vacuum with a hose that works well and just took it and space bags with me when I went to get Hypo last summer.

Does the Quad have an elevator or is it just stairs? A dolly would be helpful but not if there isn't an elevator. Also she has a headboard that needs to velcro to the wall but all the velcro strips I found at Walmart were permanent or super heavy duty sticky. I don't think that would come off clean at the end of the year. Do you think command strips would hold up a fabric covered cardboard headboard?

The Quad does have an elevator. Keep in mind you will have to wait. My daughter was on the third floor, and we carried most things up the stairs (use the side stairs, less crowded). I don't think command strips will hold a headboard, but you can Velcro the bottom to the bed frame. That is what most of the girls with headboards did.

HQWest is correct about Amazon Prime. We order all books, and quite a few dorm supplies through it. Renting books is a great option...much cheaper than buying, you just have to keep up with the books and turn return them on time. My son and daughter (grad school), try to rent most of their books, and it saves $$.

When my daughter moved in to the Quad two years ago, there was an entire group of volunteers there to carry everything in. I think I carried one box. One warning though...some of the volunteers are PiChis. Remind your girls to be on their best behavior, not to have meltdowns or temper tantrums,etc. and keep in mind that they might be making their first impression on future sisters.

Huh? Booo! They sure didn't back in the day!

Some of the volunteers are Faculty and even the maintenance guys are there to help - dont stay up too late or let yourself get stressed out so that you are sure to start off on the right foot and moving in