Friday, July 11, 2008

One-Stop Shop for College


One-Stop Shop for College

When my second daughter went off to college in Boston, we made a list of all the things she would need to get set up for college life. The dorm room had to be stocked and decorated. There were pillows, sheets, bedspreads, lamps, towels, storage containers, microwaves, printers, etc. etc., to be purchased. We made a list that if unfurled would roll from one end of the dorm’s hallway to the other. Then we got out a phone book and tried to locate stores from which to shop. We'd never shopped in Boston before.

For several days we shopped ‘til we literally dropped. We were so completely exhausted from all of the searching, driving, hauling, assembling, and … running back and forth to various stores for things we had forgotten.

During these days I thought of all the ingenious things that could be done to make this whole process easier. One thought was to hire a college dorm room interior decorator because I didn’t know where or how to find all the little pieces that make a dorm room a home. However, as far as I know, those people don’t exist. So we plugged along ourselves and did the best we could.

Well, this week I received, in the mail, the most exciting catalog I’ve ever gotten. (I might add that I don’t like receiving catalogs. In fact, I’ve cancelled most of mine because I don’t want to add all of these unnecessary and unused catalogs to the landfills.) But this one is one that I believe will get plenty of attention and will save plenty of mother/child relationships: TARGET’S HAPPY TOGETHER 08 COLLEGE catalog.

Page 1 Table of Contents by categories

Bedding
Bath
Lounge
Travel
Storage
Laundry
Kitchen
Electronics
Study

Page 2 Copy

College, here you come. One of the most rewarding parts of the college experience is sharing it with a roommate. No doubt you’ll have a lot in common, but chances are you’ll have your differences, too. The MORNING BIRD might get up with the NIGHT OWL is still working on a paper. The EXTROVERT likes constant company, while the INTROVERT needs alone time. The CLOTHESHORSE brings their entire high-school bedroom while the MINIMALIST wants a clutter-free zone. The PLANNER needs order, while the DREAMER embraces the chaos. The key is finding ways to make your room work for both of you so you can be HAPPY TOGETHER.

Page 3 The Checklist

All the categories with related items listed below complete with individual little boxes to check.

Bedding (pillows, blankets, sleeping bags, night-light …)
Bath (Towels, first aid kit, dental floss, hair dryer …)
Lounge (bookcase, clock, picture frames, bulletin board, curtains, lamp …)
Storage (totes, shoe rack, hangers, CD storage …)
Travel (bike, backpack, duffle bag …)
Laundry (laundry hamper, broom, waste basket, paper towels …)
Kitchen (compact fridge, microwave, can opener, coffeemaker, snack foods …)
Electronics ( Laptop bag, external hard drive, TV, extension cords …)
Study (Planner, paper, pens, stapler, printer paper, tape …)

Page 4 One-Stop Shop

Another table of contents, this time with photos instead of words for the scores of those who managed to graduate from high school and still don't know how to read.

Page 5 - Page 49

Page after page of colorful, creatively displayed Target items sure to send any college student into the gotta-have-that-now mode. And sure to send any parent into the I’m-so-glad-it’s-all-in-one-place mode. Ingenious. Great marketing. I hope they are well rewarded. I have to say though, I am glad that I have one more year before I have to shop for college again.

4 comments:

Colleen Coble said...

Oh what a great idea! Every time I'm in a Target store I'm struck by what a great store it is. I don't get there very often since the closest one is an hour away, but they have much nicer stuff.

I have a while to wait for shopping for college--until my coming granddaughter gets there!

Anonymous said...

What a great write-up for setting up shop for you and your new roommate!
I recently found my new Boston roommate through a (terrific) agency, and thought I would share a link to their page on how to interview for the ideal roommate.
I hope you find this helpful!

Anonymous said...

Sorry, here's the link for tips on how to interview for your Boston roommate http://www.roommateconnection.com/2000TRC/headers/interviewing.html

Linda said...

I have a feeling my son's apartment (shared with 3 other guys) isn't going to look nearly so nice! Or clean.......