Ideas thread for what to take/not take to Uni.......

[MissMarplesBloomers]

We have found already that the student forum on the Warwick Uni website has been a valuabel resource.

Also advice from past students on here & other friends so thought I'd share a few "ooh ...good tip" moments that we've already had as the lists are mounting up!!

-Keep stuff to take to a minimum, check the list of stuff provided first or else the kitchens end up with 8/10 sets of everything by the end of first week.

-ditto for groceries, stick to dry/tins so tehy last longer & the shared cupboard in the kitchen/fridge shelf may not be that big!

• plain white china/crocks can be muddled/lost/appropriated with all the other IKEA stuff in the kitchen, a couple of granny's patterned plates will stand out as yours & can be found cheaply in charity shops. Ditto cutlery. Then no biggy if it doesn't come home at end of term.

-some halls provide linen/bedding but having your own from home helps with the settling in. Eg DD is taking her double duvet & own covers as that is snuggly on a single bed.

-lots of pound coins for laundry & buses.

-Double up the amount of underwear you pack, you'll be too busy the first week to do washing!

Loads more I'm sure, all little things but useful!

Please share your top tips

Haven't had chance to read this yet (packing for camping holiday)

Sewing kit
Nail clippers
Mini fridge for own room
Mahoosive cake for sharing on the first night (DS is a cake genius)

Condoms - they are on offer in Sainsburys in big packs at the mo.

Ok, thought of a few more.

A draw string bag is great for keeping shampoo etc in and a cheap pair of flip flops if using communial shower rooms (if they still exsist)

"we" (ie me and 5 other girls) used to share a wash for delicate items, worked really well we used pillow cases to keep everything seperate but these days those washing bags for delicates would work perfectally!

Washing machine tablets are a lot easier to store than loose power.

A hot water bottle (if they have access to a kettle) makes life a lot more plesant when your feeling stressed! used with lavender essentail oil sprinkled on the hot water bottle bag.

Bright colourful odd socks can be used very well to keep all cables seperate and stored descretly when not in use.

a good hair drier has 101 uses, drying socks, walming gloves up, etc.

I have to confess the only way we found of "preventing rehoming" of itmes in the wash etc, was to stay with them, we used to stick a few machine loads on at once and sit and study / chat / etc in the laundary room, again quite often sharing loads saved a fare amount of money over the year

Always have a box of Uht milk and coffee mate under your bed in case your milk has been "borrowed" nothing worse then finding some one has borrowed you milk and you can´t have a cup of tea or coffee! Same goes for packets of sugar.

Oh a bucket and detol will save a lot of heart ache if you have a room mate that will drink to the point of being sick.

A torch (yes really) can be very handy if you plan to use the libary late a night often uni grounds are very well light but there is always a bit somewhere which is dark the LED wind up ones form Ikea are fab, if its a uni spread accros a city then this is even more important

A travel mug, we used to decant the cheap uni coffee into ours, instead of drinking out of polestyrine cups.

Can i just add for the emergency boxes, cough medicine, san pro (a few different types will make a girl very popular in the middle of the night), vasiline, vicks and tissues (bitter experience there)

Hope all the people off to Uni soon, have a great time!

I second the sewing kit. The one I bought last year was from Wilkinson's and had half a dozen needles pre-threaded with white, black, red, cream etc cotton, a couple of safety pins and a couple of buttons in.

Before leaving for Uni get enough supplies of regular medication (inhalers, contraceptive pill etc) to last the first couple of months. DD1 registered with a doctor quite quickly but it is wise to have enough to start the term off.

She also had a bag with paracetamol, plasters, lemsip, throat lozenges and savlon cream in. Very useful for "Freshers Flu"

A wind up torch

A lanyard for student ID

A heat proof mat for straighteners and tongs

A 4 plug extension

The washing machines at the Halls in Bolton actually email the student when their washing is done and apparently only the student whose washing it is can get it out, so preventing stuff going missing. Not sure how and if it works yet as DD3 hasn't moved in yet.
I've just remembered she hasn't got a hairdryer as she always uses ours. So I'll have to get her a cheap one and I must remember to tell her to pack some towels.
Bolton has sent her a list in her accommodation with suggestions of what to take. Not sure where the list is though think it's somewhere in the depths of her room. :)

Yes, we share straighteners so dd1 will need her own pair. This is going to cost a fortune! :)

Remus I know, it's adding up already.

No Remus. YOU get the new ones and DD takes the old ones.

Sounds like a plan! :)

Loving this thread - keep the ideas coming.

First aid kit with paracetamol, freshers flu remedies, things for when they get run down eg cold sore cream, mouth ulcer relief etc

And chocolate, lots of chocolate.

Be a bit careful about getting a mini fridge - some places are really strict about things like that and don't let you have them unless you need one for medical reasons. I suggest checking.first.

I agree with Purple DD1 and DD2 weren't allowed mini fridges in their halls. DD3 is allowed one but we won't be getting one as there is a lot of other expense and not sure she'd be able to fit one in her room.

Door wedge so that the door can be wedged open if they want visitors or wedged shut if they don't.
Coat hangers .
Bicycle lock and metal filing box Like This to keep important bits in . Then the door does not have to locked every time they pop to the loo or kitchen. The bike lock can go through the handle and around the leg of something built in or through the hole in the desk.

Ds would like to know your opinions on taking a TV please

My sister gave me an ice shot glass tray (shot glass size/shape ice cubes) before I went to uni - you could only make 4 at a time, but my flatmate and I lined a freezer drawer with baking paper, popped them onto the baking paper and kept going until we had enough, then had a flat party. It was a nice bonding exercise working out how we could make them in bulk! I took skittles vodka (one bottle for each colour) for the first night, that was good fun.

A teapot/coffee pot - I shared a kitchen with 6 others, and 4 of us drank tea, but nobody had a teapot. We clubbed together to buy a cheapie Asda one and had nice hungover lazy afternoons.

Slippers with a decent-ish sole (or ugg boots or similar) and a dressing gown for middle of the night fire alarms. We were fined (supposedly) if you came out for a fire alarm with bare feet. I had a massive crush on the guy next door wanted to be prepared, so I kept uggs by my door, and my keys in my coat pocket, then if the fire alarm went off I was warm and dry, and not locked out. And I could sort my hair out in the time it took my flatmates to find something to wear out.

YY to door wedge.

Battery powered tea lights - dd's flats seem to be quite strict about no candles.

Maybe some spare batteries as well.

Thanks for the suggestion about the mattress protector, I hadn't thought of that and dd is prone to leakage (hence the coloured towels up thread).

Where do you get the battery powered tealights? They sound perfect.

Don't bother with tv. Everything can be watched on catch up I find plus you don't have to pay for a tv lisence that way.

The only caveat is if you use the screen for gaming then it is obviously useful but for actual tv, no, laptop is fine.

remus I got some battery tea lights at the 99p shop today. 4 for 99p ad they come with batteries which is handy

Oh, those alphabet magnets little children have - gives people something to do in the kitchen rather than awkwardly standing around.

One of my flatmates had a home brewing kit. I'm not sure it was strictly allowed, but he was very popular!

One of those fabric folding bags that go in your handbag in a little pouch, for the odd occasion they make it to the library and want to take some books out.

Thanks, Molly.

Don't take a TV they ( or probably you )would have to. pay for a TV license,