You thought you'd written the last check to cover college for the year.
Hah! You're not off the hook yet.
Remember all that bulky dorm-room stuff that you hauled in the van to school last fall - and vowed not to drag home for the summer? It has to go somewhere.
The solution for many parents: Hire a storage pickup and delivery service, which is convenient but pricey. Or find a self-storage unit near campus and schlep the boxes and containers there. It's certainly more time and trouble, but the price is significantly lower.
In addition, some schools offer storage space for the summer in dormitory basements, but those colleges and universities are few and far between, and space is often limited.
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Whatever you decide, ask about additional costs for boxes and other packing supplies, blankets to drape over furniture, heavy-duty padlocks, and possibly insurance to protect your students' big-screen TV and other worldly possessions. In the world of storage, as I've experienced, everything comes with a fee. However, students can share to save money.
Picking the best storage option is an education in itself. Some companies charge by the box, others charge by the amount of space. Storage businesses offer various kinds of services, generally ranging from climate-controlled buildings with 24-hour security to portable storage units that can be plopped down at the end of finals week and left all summer on a campus parking lot until classes resume in the fall.
Picking the right service depends partly on what your student intends to store. For example, boxing up the DVD player and other electronics in a steel-and-aluminum unit with no air conditioning is generally not a wise idea. Think Texas or Arizona summers.
On the other hand, if all that's being left behind are books, winter clothing, bedspreads and lamps, why pay extra for 60- to 80-degree temperature settings?
A growing number of companies, such as CollegeBoxes and Dorm2Dorm, have opened near college campuses to serve the pickup and delivery market. And it's amazing what they sell, from boxes to store big-screen TVs to maid service to customized gift baskets to encourage your student to burn the midnight oil.
CollegeBoxes, for example, was founded at Duke University in 1999 and provides storing and shipping service to students at about 50 schools nationwide.
Students register online at www.collegeboxes.com , and the company ships students a kit of five boxes, tape and other assorted supplies, then picks up the items after final exams. At the start of the school year, the boxes are delivered to the dormitory. CollegeBoxes charges $29.99 for the supply kit, then $45 for storing and delivering each box. There are additional fees for storing heavier appliances.
Another operator is Portable On Demand Storage. PODS, as it's aptly called, offers a container that can accommodate up to three rooms' worth of furnishings. For a storage unit of this size, I was quoted a rental rate of about $110 a month, plus about $80 for pickup and delivery. For storing the container in an environmentally controlled warehouse, the monthly rate climbed to $132.
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To head off problems such as theft or water damage, check your homeowner's insurance for coverage options. Many storage companies offer insurance protection, but you'll pay for that, too.
Of course, your college student can avoid the storage issue by accumulating less stuff to begin with. And if that doesn't work, give the stuff away.
(Questions, comments, column ideas? Call Steve Rosen at (816) 234-4879, send an e-mail to srosen@kcstar.com or write to him at The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64108.)
