University shopping, help me make a list

[mumnosbest]

After a gap year DS is off to university. I've been buying bits and bobs throughout the year and do has he but want to make the transition as easy as possible for him.
He's going into halls, self-catering with a shared kitchen, bathroom and laundry. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's doing the university shop so what have you bought?

So far I have:
pans, baking trays, crockery and cutlery, cheese grater, pizza cutter, chopping board.

Bedding, laundry soap, tea-towels, washing-up liquid, surface wipes and dish sponges.

Toiletries, towels and flannels.

Medicines and first aid.

He's sorting stationary and has a laptop.

We'll also do a food shop on the moving in day.

Tell me what essentials or home comforts I've missed. TIA

Dd has been sorting out her uni list too. She has had a gap year and just asked her friends for advice about what was really needed.

Bathroom caddy for taking his stuff to the shower. Storage boxes for under the bed?

I mean this kindly but you need to let your dc do this, they also have shops near universities!

I see plurals on the cooking equipment - storage is limited so one of each is plenty.

Laundry basket, a soft foldable one. Mattress topper. A few tuppaware boxes to use in the fridge.

Coloured tupperware is good so he can easily tell it is his.

Don't buy new get them to take old/spare stuff. Pans get ruined. We hardly bought anything for DD although mattress topper is a must.

Fan

As others have said, don’t go too overboard with things for the kitchen as space is limited. Usually a cupboard, cutlery drawer ,shelf in fridge and possibly a drawer in the freezer (DS had to share his freezer drawer with another student)

Extension lead can be handy

Check what is included in the room. DS had bin and desk lamp. Wasn’t allowed to put anything on the walls and had a whiteboard rather than pin board

DS was quite happy to not have a mattress topper but he is quite low maintenance!

He had only 2 of everything when it came to crockery to save space.

Go on WIWIKAU - they have a list.
Kitchen stuff: does he cook? Is he really going to need a cheese grater and pizza cutter? I'd take stuff from your house and treat yourself to new.
Mattress topper seems to be required as often the beds aren't the best.
Personal things: photos, ornaments, stuff that will remind him of home.

My DD is moving in to catered, but other than clothes, personal items, couple posters laundry basket and bedding we are waiting till we get there to see what she needs and what will fit.
The few bits of cutlery/mug/crockery she can take from the kitchen.
We have four pets and I'm getting pillows made up with their pics on (in the shape of the animal) as a surprise!

The best thing my mum got me when I went to uni (back in the dark ages) was a door wedge and a large tub of biscuits. That way everyone moving in on the same day could see me when they walked past my room and I could quickly make friends by offering them (and their box-lugging parents!) a biscuit and a quick break from unloading the car. Worked very well!

By the way post in 'higher education' in future which is about university

Mattress topper... Best buy according to my daughter, for her first year in halls. If he has a radiator then a hanging rail thing. This was well used and useful. Ask him to check what the underbed storage is like. Plastic lidded Storage boxes were handy for packing and storage whilst there.

@mondaytosunday we got a cushion with photo of family dog on as a surprise for DS last year. He was very touched. Going to be poignant for him taking it to uni this year as our dog was PTS in the holidays 🥲

One good sharp knife. I would not bother with the grater. I was also going to say the doorstop. A decent washing up brush.

DD said that a clothes rack for hanging wet stuff on was the most sought after item.

The grater was the one thing DS failed to bring home last year!

Washing up bowl can be useful, to avoid manky sinks, be used as a tray to take used crockery etc from room to kitchen and if necessary as a sick bowl 🤢 Might want to replace it if used for the latter thing before doing any washing up

An long extension lead with 4 + sockets.
Mattress topper
There's often very little room for kitchen equipment, like one kitchen cupboard for food, pans, crockery etc. Wait till you get there so you can see what is needed.
Something to clean his room with - a sponge and Flash spray or similar. if it's a shared bathroom he'll likely have a sink in his room. My boys liked a handheld hoover for crumbs etc.
They also liked the toastie sandwich maker, and a Nutribullet for smoothies.

A toastie maker. I swear one of mine lived off toasties during lockdown. 😀

A door wedge, extension cable and USB plug chargers

Most of the rest can wait until you get there.

My DD started at uni last year and a few days into freshers week there was a massive giveaway of kitchen/home equipment organised by the uni. She sent me photos and I was staggered by the amount of free stuff on offer. I'm guessing this had all been left behind by the previous year?

WIWIKAU (website or Facebook) is an excellent source of lists and hints and tips:
https://www.wiwikau.co.uk/index.php?forums/63/

DD appears to have used a pair of kitchen scissors to cut a pizza the other day, so I'm definitely not going to buy her tons of kit to lose. Who needs a paring knife or pizza cutter, eh! At the last open day I did smile on a student commented that her flat had 6 airfryers.

Lots of companies offer student discounts, so it is worth doing some research before you spend anything. Try signing up for StudentBeans and Unidays.
IKEA have a student discount and certainly WERE flogging a plastic box of "essentials"

Amazon have a cheap Prime sub for students if you would rather wait until he's been there a couple of weeks and decided whether or not to cook as a group (which is certainly what most of us did back in the dark ages). If he does decide to cook as a group there are usually some great welcome discounts for supermarket online deliveries.

Don't bother with the pizza cutter. A good pair of kitchen scissors can cut pizza just as well and has a multitude of other uses.

Some stores like Sainsburys offer a form of gift card where you can top up your DC’s card to help with the cost of food shopping

Got the big tubs with wheels and handle to move it all. Often not able to park nearby. Earplugs. Tin/ bottle opener.

Coat hangers.

And both mine use their graters! Ready grated cheese is expensive, and they use it for carrots, potatoes etc to put in sauces/soups. Quicker to cook and easier to blend.

Not all unis are close to big shops. And neither of mine had deliveries to their halls (only food). Everything went to a central post room on campus and had to be carried back from there....

Thanks!
Lots of ideas. I'll definitely get a mattress topper and extension plug. He does cook and I know the cheese grater and pizza cutter will definitely not go to waste. He's got a sandwich toaster too which he will use lots as he dies at home.

Not thought about coat hangers thanks!