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How to Prepare For Your College Student Returning Home For the Summer

A mother and teenage son on the couch

When it’s time for your college student to return home for the summer, there is quite a bit for everyone to unpack, both literally and figuratively. Fortunately, Collegeboxes has decades of experience navigating the ins and outs of summer move-out for students. It’s just one of the reasons we’re trusted by moms. In this article, we’re sharing what we have learned over the years when it comes to how parents can prepare for their college student to move home for summer break.

Deep Clean Your Student’s Bedroom Before They Return

Sure, you want your college student to take care of the chores and maintain the responsibility and structure that you have instilled in them throughout their lives. However, it won’t hurt to give their bedroom a good, deep cleaning before they come home for the summer.

Tidying up will give your student a warm welcome home and set the standard of cleanliness you expect from them in the coming months. It’s also an excellent opportunity to reinforce the value of tidy living at and away from home.

Encourage Your College Student to Make Lists

There is so much for your student to do over the summer. This often includes catching up with friends and family, taking road trips, meeting study requirements, and keeping up with household responsibilities. They might even get a part time job! 

A terrific way for students to attain these goals is by creating achievable to-do lists with clear objectives and deadlines. Lists will help your student maintain the discipline and organization that they rely on throughout the school year and make accomplishing summer goals more tangible. 

Help Your College Student Find Summer Storage 

Between juggling extracurriculars, midterms, and endless studying, your student won’t have time to figure out the logistics of moving out the dorm. That’s where you come in, and our Summer Storage service is a good place to start. With Summer Storage, all students need to do is pack and label their boxes and Collegeboxes does the rest! Items are picked up from their dorm room, stored over the summer, and returned in the fall.

Be sure to include your student as much as possible when researching and securing storage options for their dorm room items and use this experience as a learning tool to teach them valuable life skills. 

Help Your Student Secure Shipping for Their Dorm Room Items 

In some cases, your student may want to ship some items home instead of storing them. If that’s the case with your student, we recommend researching college-move out services that include student shipping services. Fortunately, Collegeboxes offers shipping at a discounted rate. We pick up items directly from the dorm room or apartment and ship them to your home. This will save your student the hassle of dealing with parcel companies whose pricing can exceed budget requirements. 

Remind Your Student to Get Proper Sleep 

Routine can become daunting in the pursuit of greatness. Endless study and goal-setting often leaves little-to-no time for self-care. And when your college student returns home for the summer, they may concern themselves less with self-care and more with achieving all the goals they want to accomplish over the summer. Remind your students that sleep reenergizes their mind and that making the time for sleep is as important as cramming in everything else they want to accomplish.   

Make Your Student Healthy Meals 

Your college student is a young adult and can cook for themselves, but it is nice when parents help them out when they can.  

College students tend to have busy lives and are in the habit of eating quick and easy meals. Help them achieve a healthy reset when they return home for the summer. Introduce them to quick and nourishing options such as smoothies. Nutrient packed smoothies are healthy, simple way to make and are a quick solution and great alternative to settling for unhealthy foods. 

For more inspiration, check out the MyPlate program and have important health-conscious conversations with your student over the summer. Get your students back to eating well during the summer in hopes of keeping up this habit when they return to college in the fall. 

The most important thing, however, is to spend some quality time with your student this summer. The best way to do that? Let the student storage and shipping pros at Collegeboxes do the heavy lifting. Learn more about our college moving services and sign up today!