What to take
If you haven’t seen the room that you’re going to be moving into, you won’t know how big it is and how much stuff to take with you. The chances are you have a lot of things at home and you won’t need all of this at uni. The best advice is to take with you whatever will easily fit into the car. Sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people hire a van and try and squeeze it all in! Don’t forget, you’ll buy things whilst you’re there and you’ll need to be able to get all of it back!
There are some things you will definitely need to take with you and other bits that you might like, but aren’t essential. Make room for the important bits and then if there’s space in the car start to add the extras that you’d like to take with you.
Top tip: some universities ask students to take all belongings home for the holiday period – this is a good chance to review what you really need. Why not trying going light for the first term and see how you go. If you really can’t live without stuff you’ll soon find out and you can bring it back after the holidays.
Clothes
Take lots of clothes – it means there’ll be less washing to do!
Don’t forget any sports equipment that you might need.
Going out clothes – for the clubs and bars
Wash stuff
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Soap/Shower gel
Shampoo/conditioner
Washing powder – you might be able to save some stuff til the holidays for your mum to do, but it’s probably a good idea if you do some washing while you’re there!
Bedding
Duvet
Pillows
Two or three sets of covers
Kitchen bits
Cutlery
Plates
Bowls
Mugs
Glasses
Washing up liquid and cloths – yes you will have to do some washing up!
Tea towel
Your uni should have sent you information to tell you what facilities are in your halls. Some kitchens have everything you would have at home – oven, hob and microwave etc, but some may just have a microwave because there are places to grab a bite around campus. If you’ve got ovens/hobs then you might want to take the following:
Saucepans
Frying pan
Oven tray
Wooden spoon
Colander for draining
Chopping board
Sharp knife
Work things
Yep, you will at some point have to do some work! Here’s a list of things you’ll need. You can always buy them once you’re at uni, but if you have bits left over form school you may as well save yourself some money and take these.
Stationery – pens, pencils, ruler, rubber, highlighters, holepunch, stapler, pencil sharpener and scissors
Paper
Folders – best to have one for each subject
Bag – to take your bits to your lectures
Food
You might not want to take too much until you know how much cupboard space you’ve got. But it’s worth going to the supermarket with your mum to get some main bits.
Teabags/coffee
Milk
Sugar
Biscuits
Squash
Bread
Butter
Crisps
A few cans of food
Pasta
Other items
Clothes hangers
Bin bags
Alarm clock
Towels
Radio
Any medicine you might need
So, that’s your essential list. Now for extra bits you might want to take…
TV – starting uni can be a lonely time so having a TV with you can be good. But, if you decide to take one, make sure you don’t stay in every day watching the soaps…you need to make friends and have some fun (and I should probably mention that there are some lectures to go to!)…check out whether you’ll need a TV license
Computer – if you’re lucky enough to have your own computer this can be really handy at uni (for your work and also emailing your friends and family too). But, it’s not essential. Uni’s have a number of computers which are free for anyone to use – for fun or for work. You might need to watch out though because you may have to queue at busy times. If you have the choice, a laptop might be better because it will take up less space – most uni rooms are quite small.
PlayStation, Xbox, Wii – they’re all a lot of fun and can be a good way to make friends.
HiFi – it’s always good to have some music, but if you’re taking a computer why not just play cds on that? It’ll save you some valuable space.
DVD/video player – again, this will be good if you’re feeling lonely and don’t have much to do. But it would be better to get out there and make some friends. If you decide to take one of these with you, don’t forget that there is a world outside your room! And remember, you could play DVDs on your computer instead.
Whatever you decide to take, make sure you’re properly insured.