Each August, packed SUVs and minivans roll onto college campuses across the country loaded with extra-long sheets and plastic storage tubs as parents work to keep their emotions in check. Months earlier, the families may have commemorated the acceptances with “bed parties,” the viral trend of decorating a graduating senior’s bedroom with balloons, banners, and college colors for a celebratory photo. Beyond the streamers and confetti, though, comes the bittersweet work of sending their child off to a new phase of life.
This scene will soon play out across Southern Rhode Island as the University of Rhode Island welcomes 17,000 new and returning students back to campus for its annual move-in weekend September 4-8, with classes set to start on September 9.
This week, three Rhode Island mothers, each at different stages of their children’s college journeys, shared how their families prepared, physically and emotionally, for that goodbye.
Coordination is Key
Tricia Daigle of North Kingstown is preparing her daughter, Addie, for moving into the University of Connecticut this fall to study biomedical engineering. Addie found her roommate through a class Facebook page, then met in person in Mystic, Connecticut, to finalize what each student would bring.
“They have definitely been coordinating,” Daigle said, describing how the girls settled on a gray rug to complement both girls’ bedding.
Carrie Bartolini of Warwick had a similar experience last year when her daughter, Elaina, moved into Providence College.
“The girls kind of decided on a decor plan as a team,” Bartolini said, and Elaina landed on pale pink and neutral beige after building her own Pinterest board.
Not every family has the desire or occasion to curate their dorm room, though. Dawn Bawden, of Hope Valley, whose son and daughter have graduated and now live on their own, guided each child simply and practically.
Throughout their college years, she was always available to assist them — her son was enrolled at the URI, a short 15-minute drive from home, while her daughter studied at Providence College.
“If my son said to me, ‘Mom, I’m doing such-and-such. I need my dress pants,’ I’d run it out,” Bawden said. And her daughter would receive deliveries of items she needed from her father, who worked in Providence.
Storage: The Real Battle
Every parent surveyed recalled stepping into a dorm room and immediately calculating how to make their child’s necessities fit into such a tight space. Colleges provide armoires or bureaus, but they are often smaller than a bedroom closet. Add books, bags, technology, sports gear, personal items, and shelf-stable food, and you’ve got a recipe for a months-long mess.
Both parents and students need to employ both strategy and creativity to make dorm life work all year. To make the most of limited closet space and store out-of-season wardrobe pieces, Bartolini’s daughter used underbed storage containers placed behind plastic three-drawer carts on wheels.
“So even in September, she moved in with all her sweaters,” Bartolini noted.
Daigle proposed a comparable strategy using rolling plastic drawer units from The Container Store, which can be secured in pairs with zip ties and rotated as the seasons change. Bartolini suggested using an extra-long bedskirt on a lofted frame as a simple solution to conceal underbed storage and keep the room looking tidy. The Container Store also provides numerous solutions for organizing shoes, personal care items, and food.
Taking a route centered on practicality rather than aesthetics, Bawden equipped both of her children with a compact toolbox featuring a cordless drill — an addition that proved much more useful than expected. She also provided each child with a secure storage option, a padlocked footlocker for her daughter and a small safe for her son, to protect valuables such as laptops and iPads.
Damage-Proofing Dorm Room Walls
Cinder block walls remain the nemesis of every dorm room decorator. Bartolini’s daughter, now entering her sophomore year, relies almost entirely on 3M Command products, sometimes layering painter’s tape under the adhesive strips since they don’t always hold. Daigle recommended a newer two-piece Command hook system with an actual hook attached to the sticky base, useful for hats, bags, towels, or any other item that can be stored off the floor.
For a more comprehensive (and labor-intensive) wall personalization experience, In Good Fun offers peel-and-stick, PVC-free wallpaper in a variety of fun prints, from simple checks to bold florals. Samples and full rolls are available at ingoodfun.co.
Lighting tends to be tricky in dorm rooms as well, as fluorescent light often doesn’t fit a room’s vibe or a student’s constitution. Bartolini’s daughter hung battery-powered gallery lights over her framed photos and strung fairy lights around the room, attached with Command hooks or Gorilla Tape. Floor and desk lamps that provide softer light are also popular choices. To enhance the theme of softness, students can choose blankets in wild prints from Harbor House, like the Botswana Animal Print Faux Fur Throw blanket, available online at harborhouseliving.com for $31.99.