GC has registered for classes. After successfully getting into his 15th, 38th, 65th and 78th choices (because he was in the third registration window for first year students), it is now time to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond to spend a small fortune on items he will destroy, lose or not use at all.
The nice folks at BB&B have provided a handy checklist. My favorite section is the new Bed Bug Protection category, which you think college residence halls would have under control for the $55k we're spending. Luckily, I have a kid who believes that less is more – he only wants a Tempurpedic memory foam mattress topper (which costs more than a decent single bed), and in exchange, will do without the shower caddy, dry erase board and clip rings.
There is some logic behind his edited shopping list: He ended up with no classes on Wednesdays or Fridays. And his first class on Mondays is at 4:40pm. So indeed he will be spending a lot of time on that Temporpedic.
A particle-scattering hand vaccuum? No way. I've heard that discriminating college kids are obsessed with Dyson vaccuums. So, our shopping adventure is nice and minimal – the Tempurpedic and maybe one set of XL sheets (Yes, we received the warning that many a college student's life has been ruined by getting the wrong size sheet. Tall kids have been sleeping on regular beds at home for years without incident, but suddenly for college someone in the linen industry decided they needed five extra inches.) We've offered to buy two sets, but GC says he will absolutely not change them). And he insists on bringing the ratty towels he brought to camp, the ones we told him to leave there each summer.
A highly edited shopping list – pricey enough to wish BB&B had a layaway policy, while practical enough to keep his room tidy and free of allergens.
Bed bugs is big business! On our university’s Parent Facebook page, a parent posted, “The salesperson at BB&B was insistent that we need to spray the mattress with insecticide and to encase it in a hypoallergenic bed bug proof cover — all for the low, low price of $150!! Is this really necessary?”
The stores want to scare us parents into thinking if we don’t spend $150, our precious babies will be chewed to bits by those creatures. I bought a mattress cover and an eggshell crate and I think my son will be fine. He got two sets of sheets – I’m *hoping* he’ll wash them occasionally. But without the housekeeper he’s used to washing them weekly, I don’t know….
Try bedsox – they’re disposable bed sheets for college kids. Then it’s easy for them to have a clean bed. I saw them on Amazon.