Your baby is flying the coop and you want move-in day to go smoothly, but there are so many things to plan for, and so many things to buy! Where to start?

Here are some tips that I have compiled from MANY smart parents who have gone through the dorm room move-in process before me.  Love these helpful tips!

Make a List 

It’s going to be a LONG list, but it’s easier to have everything written out on a piece of paper and check it off vs. trying to remember everything. In addition to clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and dorm bedding, did you remember extra surge protection power supplies? Extra power cords? Cough drops? Scissors? Thankfully due to Amazon, Target & Walmart, or whatever your kid forgets, they’ll be able to get shipped directly to their dorm in a timely manner.

On move-in day, clear tubs are great for organizing and moving in items. Typically the tubs can be stored under a semi-lofted bed or in closets. Another useful item – the HUGE blue IKEA Bags! These are great for carrying clothing in and then you can hang things directly or put away into drawers.

THINGS TO BUY FOR A DORM ROOM

Mattresses
Dorm mattresses aren’t great and they’re often old. Most dorm beds are either Twin or Twin XL. Double-check your needed size and buy a Zippered mattress cover that encapsulates the mattress ALL the way around. Starting with a base layer of having the entire mattress encased really helps keep whatever WAS on it, completely sealed up and allergen-free.

When your student washes sheets, they only have to go down to that layer.

Comfort

Then build from your clean mattress base with an egg crate foam pad or memory foam topper, then ANOTHER allergy barrier such as a deep mattress cover. TIP: If you are staying in a hotel the night before, go ahead and open the foam memory topper. They can have a funky smell and it’s nice to ‘out gas’ the topper before you move it into the dorm. NOT necessary, but just an extra thing to do if you have time/space.

If your student is moving into an off-campus apartment, consider getting them a Full-size bed frame vs a Twin. Your student will appreciate the extra space, and it’s not a huge upgrade on the size that will take up valuable room size.

Cleaning Supplies
Most dorm rooms are not sparkly clean upon move-in. You’ll find layers of dust and dirt, so a Swiffer Wet Jet is a good start. A huge container of Lysol wipes will also make quick work of other dusty surfaces.  Bring a TRASH bag for move-in day! A BIG trash bag. You’ll be surprised what you haul out of there (packaging, used wipes and cleaning pads, etc.). Do NOT go crazy with buying lots of sprays and cleansers. I promise you they will go unused (sadly).

Do get your student laundry soap and a small spray bottle of stain remover. Most dorms accept an electronic card for laundry however some are still old school and ONLY take quarters! We have been saving quarters all summer for just this purpose!

Medicine kit Even without Covid in the mix, having a digital thermometer is a great tool to help diagnose a possible fever. Get a small tub with a lid to keep everything organized and add: pain relief, Band-Aids, antibiotic ointment, thermometer, blister relief (mole skin from scout days), cold medicine, allergy meds, EpiPen (if prescribed one), cough drops, and any other special supplements/vitamins or healthy aids.

Over the Door Shoe Rack with Pockets
A clear over-the-door vinyl shoe rack with pockets is EXCELLENT for all of those random things from stain remover to batteries etc.  The clear pockets make everything visible and easy to get to.

Bed Risers
Elevating a dorm bed (if not lofting) is a great way to create more storage. Dorm Bed risers are available in the summer at local stores and Amazon. Some even have power and USB plugs built into them! Your student will also be able to hide a set of drawers, roller carts or other storage containers with the extra space. If you don’t like LOOKING at the stored items, consider getting a long bed skirt.

Smell Control
A couple of air fresheners (those solid ones are nice for closets) and the Damp Rid bags that hang and collect water are great for preventing mold growth – think sweaty workout wear and shoes. MOST dorms do NOT allow the plug-in devices or oil diffusions due to possible allergies.

UPDATE: 7/23 

This year we will be adding a Shoe Dryer . My daughter goes to school in a rainy damp environment (Virginia). She said it was very hard to keep her shoes dry and tennis shoes inevitably got stinky. Popping each shoe on a dryer will help keep shoes fresh, comfy and reduce the stink!  Yes, it takes up valuable room, but it’s worth it!

Boujee Extras 
Does the room come with Air Conditioning? If not, can you add a room unit?  Make sure to get a SMALL AC unit as there is NOT a lot of extra space! NOTE: Check to make sure this is allowed in your students dorm.

Air filtration systems are small, quiet, and really nice for reducing allergens and smells! This is the one we got for our daughter & she loves it because it’s also a source of ‘white noise’ which is great for drowning out other noise in the hall. It also helps reduce the ‘dorm funk’ which she smells in other rooms!

Water filter – Most dorms do not have filtered water (sadly). You can get a basic filter one, or an electronic one that cleans the water and makes supplemented chilled vitamin drinks!

Stick Vacuum – Space is at a premium, but having a small space efficient stick vacuum will help reduce the dirt and dust that tracks in each day.

Fridge/Micro or Fridge/Freezer Combos? Most dorms will allow you to RENT a Fridge combo. After lots of debate, the consensus for the year was that a Fridge/Freezer combo was better to have in a dorm room as cooking (and smells) are best left to the little kitchen that is typically within a dorm hall.

If you are a teacher, regardless of what school district, county, or state you are employed, you know that sometimes it is a hustle to make ends meet or save a little extra cash for a vacation. Educators are undervalued and underpaid, and that is a fact. That being said, you have several options to help you make ends meet or add some cash to your coffers. Continue reading for some reasonable solutions to help alleviate your money woes.

Sell Your Products

As an educator, your classroom and curriculum are in a constant rotation of resources, paperwork, and topic-related classroom decor. You have spent untold hours (yes, hours, when you add it all up) on creating high-quality content for your students to learn from. You want them to thrive, and that is why you work so hard.

That hard work can pay off in more ways than one. You will help instruct your students, of course, but you can also benefit yourself and your family by selling your content, such as English worksheets. This way, other teachers can pay to use your content instead of spending too much time creating their own. In turn, you will also find exceptional resources in the same online venue to help further your efforts as an educator.

Become a Tutor

Teachers are in a perfect position to add the role of tutor to their respective resumes. If you are already a subject matter expert, all the better. As someone who works in education, you can likely assist kids in a wide array of topics, but many parents and guardians may wish to find a tutor with experience in their needed subject. If you are a high school math teacher or a college English professor, these are both fields of study, along with a multitude of others, that you can parlay into tutoring. 

Tutoring is something that you can easily implement into your already busy schedule and full-time teaching position. You have the option to meet with students in-person or virtually or both. Do what works best for your current position and that of your students. Sessions are often scheduled in 30-minute increments, and you can parse these throughout the day, especially if you conduct virtual sessions. 

Make Money from Your Hobby

You have probably heard of people turning their hobbies into full-fledged businesses. While this is possible, if you still wish to remain gainfully employed as a teacher, you may want to consider monetizing your hobby as a fun way to get paid for something you enjoy. 

Enter the side hustle. In order to find a fulfilling side hustle that will bring in extra income, but still bring you a sense of happiness and accomplishment while doing it, you should look at your current hobbies. Take stock of what you like doing as part of your creative outlets or stress relievers. Look at the process of how you do it and how it could fit into your current work schedule as well as your family responsibilities. Here are some popular side hustles.

• Yoga instructor or fitness trainer
• Dog walker
• Painter (house or art)
• Seamstress or tailor
• Ceramicist or sculptor
• Landscaper or gardener
• Blogger or website designer
• Photographer (for websites or family and birth photos)

Watch this video for tips on how to turn your hobby into a side hustle.

Start Coaching

At most schools across the country, there are extracurricular activities such as sports, science olympiads, speech decathlons, and the like. There are after-school clubs, as well, that require adult oversight. The adults in charge of leading and guiding the students in those activities are not usually hired solely to fill those respective positions. Instead, they are sourced from current staff members. While it can vary from school to school, these coaching positions are usually entitled to extra pay beyond what a teacher is already making.

If you are interested in taking on more responsibility and earning more pay at your current school, talk with the administration to see what the particulars entail. Oftentimes, you will coach early mornings, after school, and on some game or tournament weekends. This occurs only throughout the sport or activity season, and then you have a break until the next season unless you want to pick up another extra duty.

Provide Childcare

If you have summers and the standard school breaks off from work, i.e. school, then many parents who work traditional hours that do not follow a school calendar may be interested in finding childcare options for the summer or other days off of school. Should you have young children, this may make the decision to provide childcare to others during your breaks even easier to make. If you have tweens or teens, they can take a CPR course and help out, too.

Sliding into a childcare provider role is seamless for many educators, such as yourself, as you already have current background checks and are presumably CPR certified through your school-provided training. In addition, you likely have a rapport with many students and their adults so it will be almost effortless to find clients. 

You do not have to worry about missing out on any family vacations or summer activities. Simply notify the parents of your summer schedule constraints in advance and it will be a win for everyone. You get some extra money. Your kids will have built-in play dates right at home, and the parents have a trusted person to care for their kids.

Now that you have some reasonable and easy-to-accomplish ideas on how to make some extra money while still being gainfully employed in a field you love, it is time to get started. Go ahead and use your creative lesson plans to implement a retirement plan. Help others through your kind and effective teaching skills so they can better understand their lessons. Start a successful side gig. As a teacher, you can make a difference every day and in many ways for others and your own family. Thank you for all that you do.