What to take to Halls of Residence?

[Christmasmcchristmasface]

My eldest son has secured his place at Uni for September and has received confirmation of his place in the Halls of Residence.

What are your top tips of what to bring to make his life easier and comfy.

If it helps he will be at University of Ulster Magee which is about 90 miles away and he is initially planning to travel home most weekends (I think this will change when he settles).

If anyone knows the area and has any insider info it would also be appreciated.

Lamp - whatever you think will help encourage studying ;)'decent notepad / lamp for late night studying
Small roll up sleeping bag. The amount of times a duvet got wet / vomited on / spilled dinner and it was such a handy spare!
Check if the laundry facilities takes coins or a top up card
Laundry basket with handles to carry to laundry room
Small clothes aired can help with not being forced to tumble abs inevitably shrink lots of stuff
Also an idea to top up with some cheap basics - primark pants / t shirts to lessen the need for washing
Extension lead
Mini first aid kit - lemsip for 'freshers' flu, condoms.... headache tablets,
Upset tummy tablets? Handful of plasters and safety pins that double up as fancy dress help!
2 large bath sheet towels
Printed off pics /'posters to brighten his room
Lanyard / hook for room so keys always have a safe space! Also a dressing gown - fire alarm pranks are rife and rules are usually that halls have to be fully evacuated and fire engines have to arrive so can mean late night standing around
Decent bag / umbrella / waterproof and trainers that don't let rain if if he's walking to uni classes
Ice breakers - some alcohol, playing cards, silly games, massive box of biscuits to keep them going the first few days
Simple food he can cook especially in the first week of excitement - a small Pyrex jug is brilliantly hardy for microwaving beans, tin chilli, supernoodles - the handle means you can eat out of it!
Flip flops or slippers - shared kitchens can be pretty grim
A fleecy blanket and a few extra pillows can help make his room a nicer place to socialise too and make him feel at home
Check the facilities he has available - usually even self catered have a microwave / kettle station - that will help you dictate cutlery / crockery - personally I find the plastic cheap picnic plates even easier to run under the tap and they will
Survive being dropped
Depending on shower situation and his toiletries you may want a little caddy
An emergency £20 note ;)

Small cube fridge
Basic kitchen set (couple of pans, sharp knives, chopping board, kettle, mugs etc)
Couple of lamps
Extension lead
Extra large rizzlas

This thread has actually got me realy excited.

ds got his results this morning and is off to his chosen uni and I can';t wait to take him out to but some bits and peices. I am so excited for him and so pleased.

Great thread, thank you!

Lols some of these are causing me to have to remember he will be 19 at the end of next week.

Condoms, rizlas, freshers flu 🙈🙈😂😂 in my head he’s 4 getting ready for nursery school!

We live quite rurally so currently he not much of a drinker and is usually more of a gamer as there is little else to do - he’s had a tough few years due to family stuff and is unfortunately a bit “old before his time” as he has stepped up to help out so I am hoping that all of the above will be essentials and he can go and have a few amazing carefree student years he absolutely deserves it.

Great thread and some good tips thanks

A mini fridge = no stolen milk and booze.

A colander, cheese grater and baking tray . No one else had them. Mine were well used. I still have the ikea colander now.... 20 years later!

Great thread and great ideas, thought I had everything covered, but realise I had not thought about a lot of practicalities.

Storage containers, lunch box, water bottle

I really want to know why NI unis are different?
Mini fridge. He will want cold drinks and to hide his best cheese.

Basic pan set and utensils
Basic crockery set
Basic cutlery set
Two sets of bedding...check bed size on Halls web site ....cushions pillows etc
Tea towels
washing up liquid clothes washing powder
Bath towel
Hangers
Laundry bin to carry dirty stuff to halls laundry
Airier for damp clothes lol
Door stop
Nice cake for first day to share in the kitchen

IKEA is perfect ....

People recommending mini fridges....most of the halls I've come across don't let you have them

People recommending mini fridges....most of the halls I've come across don't let you have them

You can easily sneak them in. Communal fridges just get cleaned out by piss heads looking for munchies at 4am

These are all great - I’m putting them all straight into an Amazon wish list so I don’t forget any of them.
love any excuse for an IKEA trip and now I can go for something other than candles

DS1 had a mini fridge, he'd have been lost without it. Sharing a flat with 5-6 others, anything in the communal fridge was fair game.

Decent mattress topper and a couple of bath mats for getting out of the shower.

A big cheap holdall doubles up as a washing bag and slots under the bed when it's not in use.

A hamper of his favourite snacks and a few tins (and a tin/bottle opener) instant/pot noodles, squash, etc, for emergencies. A couple of packs of ibuprofen/paracetamol for Fresher's flu.

Big pack of Loo Rolls.

One of those curly key ring wires to attach himself to his keys. Might look knobbish, but if they get locked out of their bedroom/flat they have to call out security and they get charged for it.

NI unis are different in that most students go home for the weekend, that's about it! A lot of students have string community ties, play football etc and go home. For most people it's under an hour's drive and a lot of them, particularly if rural, have cars to get home with.

I agree with FrenchyQ most places don't allow mini fridges, and many places also have room inspections. Plus, encouraging your students to break rules before they even get there and make their own decisions doesn't seem like the right way to start.

@Kite22

I agree with FrenchyQ most places don't allow mini fridges, and many places also have room inspections. Plus, encouraging your students to break rules before they even get there and make their own decisions doesn't seem like the right way to start.

Oh, give over.

It might not be breaking the rules to have a mini fridge though. In DS1's halls there was a long list of things you couldn't have in your room, including fairy lights, candles, kettles, but a fridge wasn't on the list.

Also, it probably goes without saying, but good luck cards, notes and friend/family group photos to display on the pinboard to remind him of home.

Something here might suit?

uk.bookshop.org/books/cooking-on-a-bootstrap-over-100-simple-budget-recipes/9781509831111?aid=3168

@FrenchyQ

People recommending mini fridges....most of the halls I've come across don't let you have them

This ^^ They have regular room inspections.

@Lumpwoody duvets and pillows aren't provided.

DD's uni had a good list online of everything they didn't need. Kettle/toaster was provided.

They had one 50cm wide base cupboard and one 25cm wide wall cupboard each, one fridge shelf each, and there was a freezer for 6 people, with 4 drawers in it. My advice (that we didn't think of in y1) was to get there early if you want any choice in cupboard etc. DD had no freezer space at all the first year until she asked nicely if she could share with someone.

Anything electrical that was taken for rooms (and yes, fairy lights weren't allowed unless battery ones) had to then be taken to be pat tested in their first week.

I agree on leaving some of the larger stuff such as airers to be delivered or shopped for once he is there. In moving my sons in I found it was good to leave some bits to buy eg bathroom storage once we had seen the room and the space. It also helps with colour schemes if he will be bothered by that.

DS1 bought nice but not particularly stand out items. DS2 spent time trawling charity shops for items that suited him. For both we avoided IKEA for kitchen stuff just to avoid having identical to everyone else and things getting mixed up.

There were a few small things I did to help them feel at home eg a good supply of the family preferred teabags. And a huge supply of the soap powder we use at home, with the logic being that it would smell like home. (Briefly at least, I have no illusions about the smells of some student rooms.)

Doing a biggish shop of groceries before I left them also made me feel better. DS2 had a plastic storage crate that went under his bed for dry and longlife goods of not enough room in the cupboard.

Oh and a double duvet even on a single bed in halls. Cosier and more accommodating. And meant we didn't have to buy another new one when they moved out to private housing worth double beds.

Please don't encourage him to stay weekends, he will get very lonely. As everywhere is close by in NI the majority of people go home, get washing done, steal parents food and toilet roll. Most people have their weekend jobs at their home and travel back for them.
When I was at queen's it was only the fermanagh ones who didn't go home every weekend (by time 3rd year came around) as they couldn't be bothered. Although I do know some co down ones who don't travel home every weekend from Magee. That evolved as time went on. Let him figure that one out himself.
I always had a few home cooked meals to take back with me on the Sunday as well. Would see me thr3yo Wednesday.
If he can't already teach him how to cook some low budget meals, as money is often prioritised on nights out instead of meals.

Deck of cards.
Best thing I got DD last year, really useful for getting to know her hall mates