As the parent of a child heading off to college, you'll want to give them as much independence as possible to ensure they are prepared for the challenges of living alone. However, the excitement of moving to college can often mean that your child forgets about the logistics of the move itself. Therefore, if you want to give your child the last bit of assistance they need before setting off on their own, consider the following tips for helping prepare them for moving day:

Create a Packing Schedule Well in Advance

Moving to college is going to be very stressful for your son or daughter, so it can help to create a packing schedule for them well in advance of moving day. It's best to pack early and often rather than waiting until the last minute and rushing around on moving day. Your son or daughter will likely have a lot of forms to fill in, societies to register for, and new dorm mates to meet and socialize with. Make this process much easier on them by ensuring a packing schedule is in place to ensure they aren't packing everything at the last minute.

If they will be returning home between terms or at holidays, keeping some clothes at home could save a lot of hassle. The last thing your son or daughter will want after end-of-term exams is the stress of repacking all of their belongings, so making sure there is at least a few pairs of jeans and a few t-shirts at home will stop them from feeling overwhelmed after college breaks for the holidays.

Invest in Proper Storage Equipment

If you left packing down to your teenage son or daughter, chances are they would throw everything into a few trash bags or cardboard boxes and leave it at that. However, these irregularly shaped objects are much harder to squeeze into a minivan, which can cause you a great deal of stress when moving day comes around.

The best way to be efficient with your packing is to use large, regularly shaped storage bins. These bins (or boxes) will have a known shape and volume, meaning you can work out how many you will need well in advance. This will also save you the hassle of packing everything onto the back of the minivan, as you will be able to compare the space available with the volume of your storage bins before the van arrives.

Using plastic storage bins also helps when your son or daughter has to move their stuff into their new dorm. It's very easy to overpack a trash bag, meaning there is the potential for the bag to break when your child is transporting their belongings on move-in day. This is definitely not something they will want to happen on the first day of college, so save them the red face by investing in proper storage equipment before packing their stuff!

Use a Professional Moving Company

It's understandable that you'd want to take your son or daughter to college on move-in day and say goodbye to them outside. However, this doesn't mean you have to throw everything in the back of the family car. Chances are it will be a struggle to fit everything your child needs into your family car, and you don't really want to the stress of multiple trips on their first day at college!

Of course, you could hire your own minivan and move their belongings this way. But why burden the stress of moving everything yourself when there are professional companies like Bekins Van Lines Inc out there to take care of this on your behalf? It's not a nice thought, but your child's first day of college will be the last time you will see them for at least a term or two. By hiring a professional moving company, you can spend some quality time preparing them for their new life at college, rather than worrying about the logistics of the move itself.  

Share