What To Take To Uni & What To Leave At Home
Ahh and so we come to the last day of my university/student mini series and normal business resumes tomorrow. I've mentioned homeware and how to make university yours a lot this week so to end I thought I'd finish with a bit of insight into essentials, and some things you don't need to bother packing on the first day. Oh and I chucked a free printable in there too you lucky buggers.
There is a lot left out of my packing list which you should have with you in your university halls but a lot of it is things I wish I'd not bothered packing. Moving to uni can be stressful as it is and trying to cram all your belongings into one car just added to it. With hindsight, there's a lot I could have not bothered with and it would free up a lot of room in the boot for more cushions and clothes which in my eyes is always a bonus.
If you can bear it, I'd say holding off on buying a lot of things until you get there and know exactly what's provided for you. Buying a hoover is a waste of money because most halls will provide ones you can use for an hour and take back but a hand held one just to keep on top of the dust in your room is a lifesaver. Similarly, holding off packing up your TV might be wiser when you can watch online, your halls might provide one or you might be lucky enough to move in with a flatmate who brought their wide screen. In my flat we were provided with a TV and we bought a 20 quid DVD player and watched everything else via the laptops (A HDMI cable is another must).
One thing I didn't do and was pleased to find out my suspicions were correct was not to buy any kitchen appliances. I lived in a 6 bedroom flat and whilst we all had en suites, we all shared a kitchen and a living room. Aside from the normal fridge/freezer/cooker, if I remember rightly our flat came with a kettle and a microwave so they would have been a waste of dollar. Hold off buying things like kettles and toasters because some Freshers week you might find somebody bought one they're willing to share or you might end up with 6 of each cluttering your work surfaces. If all else fails do what we did and nip down the local Tesco and make a flat investment to all share together.
My final bit of advice and something I wish I'd done when I moved into halls was not to bother taking any toiletries, food or anything else you can buy when you get there. It's a waste of space and getting your parents to run you down to the nearest supermarket in the car means you can get all your shampoos, conditioners, toothpastes, lotions, potions and all your grub there and gives you a good chance to scope out where everything is. And hey, you never know, they might even pay for you. Babin.
