Toolbox advice - daughter going off to college

[daepp]

So my little girl is heading off to college in August (rural MI). One of the harder lessons I have had to learn is that my role in her life diminishes over time - that is what is supposed to happen as she learns to be independent - and she has learned that lesson well.

But...

She is heading out of state (CA) and will be a long plane ride away. But still being the dad that fixed her...dolls, her playhouse, her bikes, her scraped knees, her cars, etc. I am sending her off with a tool box. A very small tool box. So far I've got:

Small flashlight
Two screwdrivers
Small hammer
Small roll of duct tape
Picture hangers
Miniature bungee cords
Long nose pliers
Small set of hex wrenches (Ikea fixes)

So what will she find most essential that I am forgetting.

Of course, with all that being said, her greatest tools are in her values and her work ethic, but nevertheless.........

Thanks in advance!


Lucky Dad

[flatbutt]

a credit card


yeah man it is hard to cut the cord on the baby girl

[Rikao4]

a card telling her proud you are..
& that she will always be your 'little girl'...
I like Seahawks answer..
'Son, I'm a phone call away..'


Rika

[daepp]

I am proud, and she hardly needs me at this juncture in her life. Rationally I know this to be right - emotionally it looks a little different, but it's just time to man up and deal with it.

She earned an academic scholarship - so she knows how to work hard. Credit card or a phone call it truly all she'll really need.

And a warm coat

[flatbutt]

Seriously man, the phone call is prriceless. I can't tell you the value of her calling me at 2 AM, homesick, heartsick or just plain sick and needing to hear a voice from home. You won't go to the bathroom w/out your cell phone, really.

[sammyg2]

I'm gonna be facing this same thing next year.
Until then I prefer to bury my head in the sand and not think about it

[porsche4life]

If its a rural college and she is cute she will have more help than she needs...

Seriously... Sounds like you have her pretty fixed up. And she will make friends there that can help her out if she doesn't have what she needs....

[stomachmonkey]

Tape measure.

I'd opt for one of those ratcheting screwdrivers with interchangeable bits that you find at the checkout counter of your local Home Depot/Lowes.

Small cheap socket set.

Set of wrenches

Scissors

Personally i'd just get her something like this

Shop Kobalt 22-Piece Tool Bag Set at Lowes.com

or

Husky Husky 123pc Multi Purpose Tool Set - 008-170-HKY at The Home Depot

[Steve Viegas]

Duct tape
Bailing wire
Bubble gum
Hair pin

[vash]

i bought my wife's cousin a basic kit from sears. it is some homeowner's kit with a hammer, tape measure..and all the basic screwdrivers, and ratchet/sockets. she should be able to do it all, from hanging a picture, fixing a sink leak..to changing car oil. cost a tad over $100. IIRC.

congrats on the young lady leaving the nest.!!

[Noah930]

OK, ignoring the sentimental value of the toolbox, why would your daughter need any toolbox at all? I don't think I needed one in college until I bought a motorcycle senior year. Is she living in an off-campus apartment?

[daepp]

Need. What is the logical talk about need???

IOW, I think you are probably right.

[jyl]

I'm assuming she's living in a dormitory? I would send:

Swiss Army knife w/ blades, can/bottle openers, corkscrew, scissors (probably what she'll use the most)
Racheting screwdriver w/ bits (flathead, phillips, allen for the IKEA, torx for the computers)
Small hammer and picture-hanging hooks/nails/wire
Smallish adjustable wrench (the newer design that grips the hex bolt on four sides)
Needle-nose pliers w/ wire-cutter
Vise grips
Needles and a couple colors of sturdy thread
Smallish flashlight
Mini can of WD40

That should be all she needs to hang a picture, adjust bicycle brakes, replace a computer hard drive, dislodge a stuck zipper, free up a squeaky hinge, tighten up a wobbly desk leg, mend a hem, the little stuff that still needs doing even if you're living in a dorm.

If she's living in an apartment or house, then she might need to hang a bookshelf, install a security bolt, replace a window sash latch, tighten a dripping faucet, etc. Probably want a small rechargeable drill/driver, several drill bits, and one adjustable wrench (open-type) or larger vise grips. Don't forget the 12-gauge.

Just mail it to her so she doesn't have to carry it.

[krystar]

wouldn't suggest swiss army. dorms have rules about knives and stuff.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

If its a rural college and she is cute she will have more help than she needs...

Seriously... Sounds like you have her pretty fixed up. And she will make friends there that can help her out if she doesn't have what she needs....

I think this covers it pretty well...

[Steve Viegas]

Also, probably Tri-flow as opposed to WD-40
Make the flashlight an LED flashlight with standard AA or AAA batteries

[David]

Cresent wrench and wire cutters.


A few years ago I was trying to figure what to get my grandmother who has or could have anything she needs or wants. Since I'm always fixing little (or big) things at her house out in the country I decided on tools. Rather than buy one of those cheesy kits, I filled a shopping cart with tools from Sears and then put it in a nice tool box. It was a couple hundred bucks worth of tools. What's funny now is she's become so used to having real tools around that she hides them so none of her contractors (or pretty much anyone else will find it)

[scotricker]

I like all the tools suggestions. When my daughter moved to another state, I, too, fixed her up with her own tool box. I got her all the usual stuff, as mentioned above. But, I thought the most important part was the note down at the bottom.."Don't loan your tools to anyone"...(except your dad, of course)


Then.. a few years later...can she find any of them? Probably not. Lots of big stories and excuses, etc.... but she still has the note and the box I think..

[krystar]

wd40 and duct tape is all that's needed.

wd40 for things that should move but don't.
duct tape for things that move but shouldn't.

[maxnine11]

for hanging pictures, etc, a stud sensor is a handy gadget to have in the toolbox.
And they are dirt cheap now compared to when they were a new invention.

Amazon.com: Stanley 77-050 Stud Sensor 50: Home Improvement