If you have been following our “starting college as a freshman during a pandemic” saga, you know that just before we left Oregon to drive to Boston to drop my 18 year old off at college, we got an e-mail from his college (Berklee College of Music), saying the dorms were being cancelled (closed for the foreseeable future) — and then another e-mail… saying that classes would be 100% online!
A.J. has been dreaming about living in Boston for the past 5 years and we couldn’t let CoViD-19 considerations (& a global pandemic) dash this kid’s dreams when he worked so hard to get here (fighting against numerous disabilities and challenges caused by being lead poisoned as a toddler and against-the-odds earning a significant merit-based scholarship to the school of his dreams!) So we decided to press on and make the drive cross country to drop him off “at school” anyway…, despite not knowing what that would look like — including having no idea, under the circumstances, where we would actually be “dropping” him!
After an amazing (and extremely educational!) month-long cross country drive… we finally made it to Boston… and we LUCKED OUT! — we found him a perfect (newer construction, Lead-free, spacious!) apartment right near the school (in the heart of Boston, just a few blocks from the Prudential Center) with three other CoViD-19 conscious (responsible, safe) freshmen!!
The only challenge that remained was setting up his apartment with the many things he would need (including several things that he wouldn’t have needed, had he been in the dorms and had the school meal plan to provide his nourishment!)
And so, below is a list of things I have bought for my son for his college apartment *so far* (since the dorms were #Cancelled!) – these are all Amazon affiliate links for things I have actually purchased for him in the past two weeks. I have no concerns for Lead with any of these items. I also took into account many other environmental considerations in purchasing most of these items (as I do with everything I purchase in my life), not the least of which was making sure to (whenever possible) choose things he might have for a lifetime, things he would use far beyond his college years and well in to his journey into independent young adulthood.
I will update this post with images of these items (and more/updates) soon, but am typing this blog post on my phone (as I sit next to a river in rural Pennsylvania with my two younger sons!), so my tech abilities are a bit crippled!
The list of things I have bought so far for my son’s new apartment at college:
- Pots & pans – https://amzn.to/35TaMS9
- Nail clipper – https://amzn.to/2ZY2WmK
- Glass cups – https://amzn.to/2FRJu3U
- Dishes – https://amzn.to/3ct9EWZ
- Sheets – https://amzn.to/2RKnzOG
- Colanders – https://amzn.to/32MaI4M
- Blender – https://amzn.to/2FLTa02
- Mattress – https://amzn.to/32LIwz6
- Chairs – https://amzn.to/2RIvYC2
- Brita Water Pitcher w/filter – https://amzn.to/3hOsWai
- Bathroom Rug Mat – https://amzn.to/33IOi3P
- Waste baskets / trash cans – https://amzn.to/2RJQbaP
- Waste basket liners – https://amzn.to/3j2u7V3
- Laundry detergent – https://amzn.to/3ck5yQw
- Dry Erase Board – https://amzn.to/3j1iJZa
- Dry Erase Markers – https://amzn.to/32LIMy4
- Dry Erase Board Erasers – https://amzn.to/2FZR2Bm
To be updated with more shortly!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links I may receive a small percentage of what you spend – at no extra cost to you.
Picture below is A.J. – the first night in his new apartment!
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