What Your College Kids Need for Moving Out

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Moving a kid to college? This list covers everything they’ll need — from bathroom caddies to kitchen essentials to the items nobody thinks about until they’re gone. Save yourself the last-minute scramble and start shopping early!

Four college kids sitting on the grass on college campus

When your (adult) child moves out of the house for the first time, they will need a lot of basic things. Families will vary on how much mom and dad purchase for the college student, and how much of the price tag will be the responsibility of the now adult. No matter who foots the bill, your child will need some guidance on what needs to be purchased.

This will definitely vary depending on the type of housing your college kid is moving into. Will there be a kitchen? Will the place be furnished? What will their roommates bring?

I have two children who have moved to college. In their last year before heading off to college, I purchased college needs for Christmas gifts, Easter gifts, and birthday gifts. While those were not super exciting gifts, they were very happy to have all of those things as they were packing to head to college.

Here are things your child might need when they move out. You can break things down into basic categories.

What to Buy for College

When choosing items, you want items that will last, but you also don’t want to buy the top-of-the-line nicest things. You cannot control how roommates will treat your things and you are highly likely a roommate will damage or break something. This absolutely happened to both of my college kids. I will link to what my kids have (affiliate links–these will not change your cost at all). If there is a Walmart close to the University, there will be a TON of college items in the Walmart at the beginning of the school year.

The dollar store is also a great resource for college stuff, especially kitchen items. Kitchen items are shared among roommates and you can’t control if roommates will decide to be careful with things or not, so the less you care about the item, the more peace there will be if the item gets abused or broken.

I have included a packing list graphic at the end of this list! Scroll to the end

Bathroom Items

Bedroom Items

  • Sheets (we use this brand)
  • Mattress protector (we use this one)
  • Bedspread (there are so many of these on Amazon–this is one we have that has held up well and this is another one)
  • Mattress topper pad (the mattress provided is not always comfortable… plus this gives more barrier against an already used mattress)
  • Pillow
  • Laundry bag or hamper (I got them these free-standing hampers that are also collapsible. They used them to carry laundry back home often and they held up well!)
  • Closet hangers (for space saving) (these S hooks are nice for pants, hats, ties, belts and more and these closet space hangers are great for saving space in the closet)
  • Blackout curtains – Kaitlyn LOVED her blackout curtains. Windows are often very lit because of the outside lighting around the apartment. She used these ones
  • Box fans or space heaters if the climate control in the apartment or dorm is not great
  • Storage and organization bins or cubbies
  • Decor items to make it feel homey – include a family photo!
  • Command Hooks or Command Strips for hanging things without damage IF THIS IS ALLOWED. The apartment Kaitlyn stayed in explicitly did not allow this and said if they used them, they would lose their security deposit
  • Alarm clock if their phone won’t work
  • Some college students like a mini fridge in their room

School Items

  • Backpack
  • Waterbottle
  • Lunch box and/or bag (my college kids used this Bentgo Box)
  • Desk lamp
  • Planner or calendar system
  • Printer (if the campus doesn’t offer printing)
  • Basic school supplies like pens, pencils, highlighters, sticky notes, stapler, scissors

Tech Items

Non-Food/Cleaning Items

These are the items you don’t think about having to buy until you move out and realize all of these things cost money

  • Toilet paper
  • Tissues
  • Cleaner
  • Dawn Power Wash (this is absolutely magical and is so versatile)
  • Detergents (laundry and dish)
  • Dryer sheets if you use those
  • Stain remover (Miss Mouth’s is amazing and so is the Tide stick)
  • Hand soap
  • Dish soap
  • Cleaning rags or sponges
  • Broom and Dustpan
  • Vacuum (if needed)
  • Feminine hygiene items

Fun Items

You want to have fun in college, too. I made sure my kids had things that would allow them to be social and enjoy their hobbies. Instruments, card games, sports items, and hiking gear are all some ideas. Pickleball is super popular right now, so some pickleball paddles are a great idea.

Here are some good card games that are fun to play and easy for people to pick up on. Card games are great because they are small and don’t take up a lot of storage space.

Tools

Don’t forget basic tools your college kid might need.

  • A basic tool kit — hammer, screwdriver set, measuring tape
  • Basic sewing kit
  • Emergency kit for the car

Kitchen Items

If your child will have a kitchen and will be making and eating food at home, you want to make sure they have all of the necessary tools and gadgets to make what they want to make. Do not get gadgets, appliances, or tools they won’t use.

Food

You will want to decide ahead of time how you will handle your child’s food for college. Will you buy any of it? Will they buy all of it? We gave our kids a certain dollar amount to go toward their first shopping trip. The first trip is always VERY expensive because you need everything. We also bought all of the spices our kids could want before they moved out. This is a significant cost savings. Read Eat Well Without Going Broke: Budget-Friendly Meals for College Students for ideas!

  • Basic pantry staples (salt, pepper, olive oil, cooking spray)
  • Food to eat
  • Snacks (pro tip–these can be good to store safely in the bedroom where fewer people can just grab it and eat it. Roommates tend to be more hesitant to go into a room to take food that is not their own and eat it–even though it happened to one of my kids!–They are also less likely to eat normal groceries that belong to roommates–even though that also happened to one of my kids)

Financial/Admin

This isn’t something you buy, but it is something to do to make sure your child is ready to move out and live on their own.

  • Renter’s insurance — most college kids don’t know this exists and it’s inexpensive
  • A basic budget set up
  • Knowing their health insurance card and how to use it
  • A list of important contacts: doctor, dentist, insurance info

Printable Checklist

I want to make this as easy as possible for you! Here is a visual for you.

Get a FREE printable PDF of this graphic here

The Complete List of What Your College Kid Needs When They Move Out graphic with a list of everything listed in this post

Conclusion

This feels very daunting very quickly. I was so very glad that I started giving things as gifts a year before they moved out. They have commented that those holidays weren’t super exciting, but they are really happy for them now because they had what they needed. Something to remember is that your child will (most likely) be going to school in a place where they have stores and a place you can ship items to them. If they need something later, they can get it.

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