DS off to uni - what does he need

[Pamelaaa]

So as the title says DS is off in the middle of September after successful results today. He has got a room in halls with a shared kitchen etc. So I am now trying to think about what he will need to take. Can anyone offer any advice with the list? Please include the basic and the obvious as am not sure where to start.

Also is there anything we need to find out about with regards the accommodation and what is covered?

Thanks everyone.

I'd recommend Asda for cheap but reasonable quality kitchen equipment,bedding towels etc.

Door wedge - so when he moves in to his room he can wedge the door open and meet his new flatmates.

Oh, and our son used a small slow cooker a lot too. He loves to cook anyway but on days where he'd be out a lectures and the library he'd prep his meal before going out and it'd be ready for when he got back.

Wow you lot are fab.

This is really useful.

Yes don’t intend to go mad and only want to do basics to start. I will be passing close to his uni town every couple weeks so can always drop stuff off to him if needed.

The idea about same bedding and towel olour is great and the brightly coloured kitchen utensils.
Aiming for just couple of plates etc so he will have to wash up.
Under bed storage also good tip.

Stupid question but is there likely to be a vacuum?

My son spent two years in halls and a year in a private student accommodation flat and all came supplied with a vacuum.

Both mine had a vacuum provided but unless they had room inspection I don't think it was ever used!

Can't believe I forgot the Nerf Gun! They found those a lot of fun.

Our son's uni was near to an Ikea so they used to organise buses there during the first few weeks so that they could get anything they needed.

Vacuum should be provided. Ds room had no space under bed as there was a trundle bed for when the room was let out for language schools etc during the vacations. He has stacking /collapsible crates to keep kitchen stuff in as required.

Less than you think.

DS is going into y3 soon and I've gradually depleted the number of place settings he packs.

Towels - get the Turkish hammam towels. They're quickly and don't get chance to start smelling funky.

Oh and coathangers.

Spelling..

Towels- they dry quickly

When I went we got in our room; bed, mattress, wardrobe, desk, curtains. You could buy a 'bedding' pack which included duvet and pillow or just take your own.

Kitchen was a microwave, cooker, fridge and freezer, so I took plates/bowls X2 of each, cutlery x2 of each, set of 3 pans and frying pan, mugs, as well as veg peeler, sharp knife, chopping board, wooden spoon, potato masher and cheese grater. I was in a shared flat of about 5 people, so we tending to share what we didn't have. So someone brought a kettle and I think a toaster which we all shared. I bought most bits from wilko it dunelm mill, but places like Ikea and Argos do back to uni packs and offers go kitchen items. Stuff like garlic press and a melon baller will probably go unused, but things like bottle opener and pizza cutter are worth their weight in gold! Also took a Pyrex dish and a couple of oven trays. Also oven glove 🧤
I was also packed off with a full food shop as well.
If your ds needs extra, he can always buy stuff if he finds he needs it/you can order on amazon and have delivered for them.
Don't forget stuff to personalise room, lamps, rugs, tv/radio, posters, photos's etc. As well as towels, tea towels, bed linen. Stuff like waste paper bins and the normal bits and bobs you have in a generic bedroom.
We didn't have ensuite, and everyone shared the shower room, so used a shower caddy for shower gels, shampoo and could just grab it on the way to the shower. I was lucky that I got on well with flatmates so could leave stuff in the bathroom, but some people found they would take whatever wasn't nailed down.

10 years later my veg peeler is still going strong 💪. Best £1 my mum ever spent 😎

He might need a smallish padlock too, depending on who he's sharing with. Each student was allocated a kitchen cupboard which could be locked with a padlock. As they got to know and trust each other though they stopped using them but they all locked their cupboards in the early days.

Like Summer strong said, big plastic box for kitchen stuff so it doesn't go walkies in the night.

Also, a plastic basket for shower stuff so he doesn't have to leave his things in the bathroom for everyone to use... Or abuse.

Lots of threads on Higher Education every year on this topic.

I've had two go through this in halls and later in student rentals so I am a master of the uni list.
Halls kitchens usually have a microwave, kettle and toaster so don't take those. They also have a hoover which is never used

The rooms usually include high speed wifi and Ethernet so an ethernet cable is useful. There were wall to wall surge protected sockets in the rooms. He will need your netflix log in

My two took a George Forman type thing for making toasties.

Otherwise I didn't buy much new. They took old pots, pans and cutlery from home. DS reckoned it was nice using his old familiar bowl and plate. Two of everything is enough.

First of all check whether it's a single, 3/4 or double bed.
Some unis provide some basic bedding, most don't.

Yes to under bed storage boxes. There is often very little storage space in the kitchen and none perishable and vodka would be kept in the room.

Everything is digital now. No need for photographs or cash for laundry it's all done electronically. He will be asked for a digital photo for his uni ID card and that covers everything.

Paper plates
Plastic cups
Disposable cutlery
Refillable water bottle
Supermarket gift card pre loaded for emergencies

Unless they want to make tea in their room they won't need a kettle- you risk having 8 kettles in a flat of 8. At 3 different units mine all had kettle, microwave and hoover already in the kitchen.

I don't get the locking stuff in your room, mine were both in flats where they all shared everything which was much better. If you go with a its mine and I` am locking it up attitude that is a bad start. Just buy cheap and don't expect them to still have it at the end of Uni.

My DD took loads of alcohol for the communal kitchen as we had just had a big party and loads of communal snack food. They need to spend as much time as possible in communal areas at the start to make friends with flat mates.

My 3rd is going and we have already got his stuff mostly sorted.

Loo roll- whether shared or if they have an ensuite. For my 1st DD I used to send giant andrex pack from amazon every month- which did her flat of 8. Basic cleaning stuff, if it is a good flat they will buy this communally when the stuff they arrive with is used up.

Take the boxes, bags you pack the stuff up in home with you so that they have more space,

TV licence for communal kitchen or their room?

A positive attitude!

he needs to be able to:

Wash clothes
Wash himself
Make basic food
Budget
Get up
Use public transport
Order a cab
Know what his alcohol tolerance level is

Just remembered...a mattress protector and mattress topper. Most beds in halls are singles, you may want to check - these are definitely needed!

^^ This!

DS had a 4ft bed in halls so we had to buy 4ft fitted sheets, which are not easy to come by. Double duvet is fine. We also bought him a 4ft memory foam mattress topper - everyone said his bed was way more comofrotable than theirs!

We’re passing on the mattress topper to a friend whose DS is starting in September - it will save them shelling out £45 for something he’ll only use for a year.

Laundry bag - he'll probably have to carry his stuff down some flights of stairs or at least along corridors to wash it. Buy him some of that detergent you can put straight in the drum.

Go on The Student Room, they have a brilliant list of all the things they will and won't need, I found it invaluable! And definitely yes to a doorstop.

And do not, under any circumstances, send him with anything sentimentl or expensive that you want back!!! Ds brought the majority of his stuff back but that was more good luck than good judgement...

This doorstop thing - DS said he met quite a few students in his halls whose mums had told them to do it, but no-one did! It sounds like one of those “simple but effective ways to ensure you make friends in your first term at uni!” things.

DS was so pleased he took a folding clothes airer because the dryers made his clothes smell horrible.

Cheap bedside lamp.
Extension cable definitely!!
Spare phone charger to keep in backpack/incase his happens to break at a crucial moment.
Come to think if it, a good strong backpack is essential if he hasn't got one already.

Suburban the doorstops were definitely used in the halls my son was in. Once they’d all got to know each other they pretty much wedged their doors open all of the time and their flat and the flat across the landing had an Asda shopping basket which they used to leave the main doors open so that they could come and go between flats. They were on a very sociable floor!

It's a long time since mine was at uni but his tip to all new students was buy a very big sturdy rucksack then take no more than will fit space and weight wise in there. Then he can travel anywhere like a snail. You'll save yourself lots of fetching back and forth too. They're only there for 9 months then it's all chAnge; it isn't a "home" more a stopping place on the way to adventure.