Happy Monday. It’s August which means it’s Back To School shopping time! Whether you are packing up your college kid for their first year in a dorm or packing them to return to school and live in an apartment/house, Walmart has everything you will need. Even if you are not sending someone off to college, all of the items I am talking about today would also be great for anyone moving into a new home. Or even newlyweds. Check out my 5 tips for making this as smooth as possible.
Do you remember when you started drinking coffee? For me it was when I was in college and my roommate Sharla and I had our own two bedroom apartment. Pulling all nighters to study started the caffeine habit. So it seemed logical for me to focus on this Keurig K-Compact Single Serve Coffee Maker. Having had two children recently graduate from college, I also know exactly what you need to pack up your kids and help them successfully transition to campus life. Both of mine were required to live in a dormitory their freshman year but then had the freedom to move off campus their subsequent years. Taylor chose a 6 bedroom house to live with girlfriends and sorority sisters and P.J. chose a 4-bedroom duplex where he lived with his fraternity brothers. Both required a lot of furniture, appliances, cookware, dishes and bedding as well as all the practical stuff like laundry detergent. I’ve linked a lot of products for you below to cover all the basis. But I am certain you will find much more on the Walmart website.
Walmart makes it so easy to get all of your Back To College shopping done with their dedicated landing page on their website. They offer FREE 2-day shipping on orders $35 or more and a FREE shop online and pick-up in store option (which is what I did). They even have great “solution shops” on their dedicated “back to college” landing page. For example, they have a dorm checklist, apartment checklist and house checklist for you. Walmart will be one-stop shopping because they have evening from bedding to furniture as well as appliances and much more. Plus, I’m pretty sure there is a Walmart in every college town in case you need to make a run for last-minute stuff.
Not shopping for a college kid? Walmart also is an excellent place to shop for newlyweds or anyone moving to a new apartment/house. From spatulas to pillows – they have everything you need in one place!
5 tips for moving your kid to college
- Use storage bins for moving boxes (like you see in the picture above). You will need them to store items and that way they serve a dual purpose. Tip: If your kid is going to use the under bed space for storage, get the shallow storage bins. Don’t forget to get bed risers.
- Bring tools and leave them with your college kid. So many things have to be assembled, hung, draped and you will use these the entire move-in process. But guess what? Your college kid will need them throughout the year.
- These tips are based off of you driving your kid to college and helping them move in. You will want to organize all the storage bins so that when you move in and unload things are grouped together. For example, pack all the laundry items in one bin.
- Pack seasonal for summer/fall! If you are attending college in Texas, there is no need to pack up the winter parka and move it in with them in August. I can assure you they will not need it until November/ December and you will probably see them before then. Closets tend to be small. Pack what they absolutely need right now!
- They are going to want everything to be coordinated, cute and fancy. Be practical and make sure everything is functional. Remember that if they are in a dorm they will most likely be in a single bed. When they move off campus, they will be in a full or queen size bed. My point is… you will be buying all that bedding AGAIN!
Raise your hand if you are moving someone in the next month. What advice do you have? xoxo – Tanya
P.S. THANK YOU for all the kind messages over the weekend. I am getting your texts, DM’s and comments. I cannot tell you how much it means to me. #grateful
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photo: Audrie Dollins
This blog post is sponsored by Walmart. All selections and opinions are my own.
Tags: online shopping, walmart
Love this post. Definitely needed a keurig and hand steamer for college! I couldn’t have gone to TCU without either!
Great job, Dear. BUT, from a Dad’s perspective, one very important item is the 3M Command fasteners and Scotch Extreme Fasteners. You really don’t want to (and in most college dorms, aren’t allowed to) drill holes in the walls so these two products are really necessary. The Command strip holds great and comes off without a mark next May, and the Extreme Fasteners make short work of hanging things in a level manner. If you want a picture a little more “down on the left” you just separate the Velcro and realign it!. I found both by using Tanya’s link and searching for each product.
I just have to reinforce my point above by telling a great story about moving my daughter into her dorm freshman year. We had finished moving her in and were sitting around talking when she leapt off the bed. A dad in the next room was running out of time to finish, got in a rush and drilled a hole completely through the wall into the next room…bet he didn’t get his room deposit back!
Just to reinforce my suggestion above…I have a short story I hope you find interesting. We moved my daughter into her dorm room freshman year and were sitting around talking when she leapt off the bed! The bulletin board behind her had started moving. Come to find out some poor dad in the next room was rushing to finish moving his student in and had drilled a hole right through the entire wall hitting the bulletin board on our side. Bet he didn’t get his room deposit back!
The Keurig was a life saver for sure! That was first thing I put on my little sister’s dorm list! This is such a great post and wish I had read this when I moved into the Baylor dorm four years ago!