Hello first years! This blog post is here to help you with important packing decisions and guide you with what’s essential to bring to university. First, huge congratulations for getting in, that is a big achievement, and you should be very proud of yourselves. If you’re still waiting on your results, don’t worry, you will do fine and it’s good to be prepared ad thinking about it.
Secondly, I feel your pain. Being a third-year student, you learn that packing for university becomes easier every year you go along. There are numerous things to think about like what to bring to decorate your bedroom or even basic, essentials for cooking.
To ease your nerves, I have compiled a short list of some things that might slip your mind when doing the IKEA shop. Forget feeling unprepared; with this list you’ll rock up to halls feeling confident and raring to live that independent life.
Some quick tips before you buy Anything!
- Aim to travel as light as possible. Your room isn’t huge and will have limited cupboard space, plus you will be moving out in 10 months’ time. You don’t need to bring 3 carloads like I did first year – you will regret it when having to pack it all up again.
- There’s no need to buy lavish items. Cheap and cheerful is the way to go. A lot of your stuff may not even survive first year so make sure you’re buying things you won’t mind breaking.
- Ensure that you’ve double checked what the university provide you before buying duplicates of things. Depending on where you’re staying will depend on the amenities that they provide. For example, first year I was given a toaster and a kettle already in my kitchen.
8 Items that are Easily Forgettable when packing for University
1. Fancy Dress Material
If you’re interested in joining a sports team or society and like to have a drink, you will more than likely attend socials as a club. These have weekly themes that require you to dress and have props linking to that theme. I joined the basketball club here at university and if you have stuff previously that you can bring, it saves a lot of last-minute amazon prime orders.
2. Bottle Opener
This is something that is very simple but also easily forgettable. Once again, this is mainly if you like a drink from time to time, but you’ll be surprised at the amount if parties you’ll go to, and they won’t have one.
3. Clothes Horse
Another essential due to the unfortunate fact that the provided tumble dryers are not always as effective as you think. It’s also handy when you do a hand wash and want to dry things in your room. You don’t want your room to have clothes everywhere attempting to dry on the radiator, or even worse, the dreaded chair.
4. Extra Storage Boxes
Like previously mentioned, your room will be quite small which means you may not have the required storage you want or need. My personal favourite was the cheap plastic storage boxes which have a huge range of sizes and can be used for pretty much anything. These will more than likely need to be purchased after you’ve moved in and can figure out how many you need, but it’s always handy to have some lying around on move in day.
5. Earplugs
These will be essential when you have an assignment due the next day and your flatmates decide to throw a last-minute party so you can’t concentrate! Or even if you’re just a bad sleeper and don’t sleep very well with noise. Even if you don’t use them, emergencies may happen where they’re needed.
6. Egg Cups
These are probably the most forgotten about kitchen equipment. Who doesn’t love a dippy egg and soldiers, no? Plus, they are extremely cheap and can be brought for roughly £1 for a multi-pack. What’s even better is that they double up as a shot glass when you have forgotten that too!
7. Slippers or Sliders
It’s university. We know that the kitchen floor gets grim occasionally and you don’t know half of the spillages that are on it. To avoid getting completely grossed out, some sort of protective footwear is essential. My personal choice is Primark’s cheap £3 slippers that last you a couple of months before replacing them. It’s also smart to have some easy slip-on footwear for those early morning fire drills when someone doesn’t shut the door when showering!
8. Hot Water Bottle
Realistically, we are in a cost-of-living crisis. Fortunately, university halls are usually very respectful when it comes to bills in that they’re included in your rent. However, this doesn’t mean blast your heating up to full in the middle of summer. It also has the possibility of breaking which means you will need a backup heat source. They’re also just cosy when you’re feeling ill or homesick.
Wow, that was intense. Remember that this is just a handful of items that you may forget, and not an extensive packing list! Student life is amazing and being prepared when you arrive will immediately lift a huge weight off your shoulders instead of rushing around last minute, trust me. Just don’t panic when it comes to the single teaspoon you left at home, there will always be something that slipped your mind.
Hopefully this helped you cut down and rethink some of your purchases, but also reminded you of items that may not have been on your list. Most importantly, enjoy your university life, it goes quick, and you won’t want to regret not making the most of it.