Everything, explained in plain steps.

🚀 Getting started

From zero to a personalized packing list in about two minutes.

1. Take the Build My Dorm quiz. Tell us your school, housing style, and what you already own.
2. DormHQ builds your list: everything you need for your actual dorm, nothing you don't.
3. Create your free account to save it. You'll sign in with an email link, no password to remember.
4. Everything lives in My Stuff, organized by category with a status for every item.

👨‍👩‍👧 Adding your family

One list, everyone on it. Family members are free and see everything.

1. Go to More, then find the People card.
2. Enter their email, pick their role (Parent/Guardian, Student, or Other), and tap Send invite.
3. They get an email link. One click and they're in, looking at the same list you see.
4. Now when grandma buys towels, she marks them Purchased and nobody buys towels again.

💡 Family members share everything: the list, tasks, budget, documents. That's the point. For roommates, use a roommate connection instead (below), which shares much less.

🤝 Connecting a roommate

Settle who's bringing the fridge without sharing your budget.

1. On the More page, find Roommate Connections and tap Connect with a roommate.
2. Copy the link and text it to your roommate. They'll need their own free DormHQ account.
3. When they accept, you're connected. You'll see it confirmed on both sides.
4. Mark items as Shared (the star on an item, or the checkbox when editing) to put them on the room plan. Only shared items are visible to your roommate, and their list works the same way.
5. Their shared items appear at the bottom of your My Stuff under their name.

💡 Your families, budgets, tasks, and documents stay completely private. Roommates only ever see each other's shared items.

🧊 Deciding who brings what

The end of the duplicate mini fridge.

1. If you and a connected roommate both have the same item, DormHQ flags it: "you both have Mini fridge."
2. Tap "They've got it?" on their item and yours gets marked Roommate brings. It drops out of your still-need count instantly.
3. You can also mark any item as "Roommate is bringing" yourself (the people icon on the item, or the checkbox when editing). Add their name and the badge reads "Sarah brings it."
4. Your roommate sees the assignment from their side too: every shared item shows either "You're bringing it" or "They're bringing it."

💡 This works even if your roommate never joins DormHQ. Coordinate over text like normal, then record who's bringing what so your family doesn't re-buy it.

✅ Tracking purchases and packing

Every item moves through five stages: Need it, Purchased, Delivered, Packed, Moved in.

1. Tap the status pill on any item to advance it to the next stage.
2. Use the filter chips to combine views: "Purchased but not Delivered" shows exactly what's still in transit.
3. Assign items to people so it's clear who's buying what, and add prices to feed the budget (DormHQ+).
4. The Shared, Mine, and Roommate brings chips slice the list by responsibility.

📅 Move-in date and Move-In Mode

Set the date and DormHQ paces everything around it.

1. Add your move-in date on the Move-In page (or during the quiz). Not sure yet? Leave it blank and add it later; nothing nags you until there's a real date.
2. As move-in approaches, the Move-In page becomes your day-of command center: key pickup, address, contacts, and a before-you-go checklist.
3. Add quick contacts for your RA and roommates so numbers are one tap away on the big day.

✨ DormHQ+ tools

The bigger coordination tools, $19.99 for the whole year.

1. Budget: cost totals by category and who paid, computed from the prices on your items.
2. Getting It There: assign items or whole bags to a vehicle and a spot in it.
3. Documents: housing contracts, insurance cards, and IDs in one private place.
4. Campus Life: plan what stays, goes, or gets donated at move-out.
5. Upgrade from the More page. Cancel anytime from the same place; your plan runs to the end of what you paid for.