Uni Packing

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Hi
Please direct me if I’m looking in the wrong place and this is well documented elsewhere .... fingers crossed for this morning😟 any experienced uni parents got packing lists to offer ( over and above the door stop!)
HOPEFULLY she’ll be in fully catered halls ....
Been awake since 4 and (in theory ) I’m not even stressed!

DS's room last year had no closet or wardrobe (it was originally a sitting room in a large house) so we wound up bringing him an inexpensive garment rack we bought on amazon. To our surprise it was quite easy to assemble and sturdy, so when we picked him up in June we just disassembled it and brought it home. It's now in a spare room holding winter coats and boots.

@bizzey DS1 was in mayflower which is the city centre accommodation. Free bus pass first yr. no tips really, he settled in quickly, they bought a shared kettle and toaster after they met, he's not much of a socialiser but made freinds quickly.

He had a single en suite in a group of 10 and the rooms were smallish but enough for what they need.

Actually the best thing we did was the overdoor thing. It went over his bathroom door but would be just as useful over another door. There's not much shelf space and no drawers so it kept the limited surfaces clear.

Apparently duvets and pillows are provided at Bath....

I've started a packing list...so far I have:

Condoms
Vodka
Pizza cutter
....😂

Can I just say that it’s worth just taking some deep breaths and not rushing the packing! Your DC have now got to come to terms with the fact that they are actually going to uni - up until now it’s all been theoretical but facing the reality of this situation can be quite traumatic, even if they are generally keen. As an anxious mum or dad the temptation is to whip them off to Ikea in the next ten minutes and feather their nest with every duvet, mattress topper and gadget that you can lay your hands on. Resist the urge and breathe, give them some time to process what’s happening and let them set the timetable for packing. You’ll have plenty of time even if you do nothing for a few weeks.

A large rug, IME the carpets are often a bit.... erm past their best.

No candles or fairy lights (fire regs) but battery powered ones are fine.
Posters.
We are toying with actually getting him a TV and licence. DD never bothered with one but DS does like to watch documentaries and he could play games too.

@Decorhate. Eww, yuk. I can't imagine I'd want to sleep in those!

To be honest - any supermarket or similar in a uni town will have a massive stock of cheapo duvets, kettles and toasters and whatever else for back to uni time - so anything you've missed out can easily be picked up on site. Used to be good old Woolworths back in my original university days....

Yes to extension leads though - nowhere has really managed to get on board with the increased number of gadgets people have these days.

Having sent two so far, we give them the crap kitchen stuff and buy nice new stuff for us instead 😂
Duvet covers- Primark, cheap and surprisingly nice quality
Glasses, plates etc Ikea.
Pans - from us as well as cutlery- just one frying pan, two saucepans and a baking tray.
Duvet, Ikea
No doorstop (I’m told they use a pizza delivery box!)
Push pins for their board (not usually allowed to stick anything else up).
Half price amazon prime then they order anything else they need.
Most halls have a whatsapp group so they discuss beforehand anyway.
Exciting times!
Ikea will be rammed this weekend.

Actually @Decorhate and @TootingLate - duvet and pillow supply may not be unhygienic. When DS went to Dublin, the hall supplied them and they were all donated to homeless charity at the end of the semester

From memory. The best things they all said was door stopper, low slung airer with ends that open out, narrow, plastic drawer tower for 'stuff'. With dd1 we went round Ikea for bedding and towels and the only thing she put in the trolley herself was a pack of shot glasses! Priorities and all that...

My advice would be keep it minimal, the rooms are generally quite small and easily look cluttered. When DS returned home for summer half the stuff hadn't been used or open. We all tidied the shared kitchen and there were numerous pots/pans/pizza cutters/etc all unused and then binned! If they need anything they can always buy it. The only items he realised he needed once there was his own printer and a decent spotlight. I made him a collage of photographs of family and friends and he had some postcards/posters to make the room look homely. A fluffy rug also made it more comfortable.

Check out the area for food shops.
Accado is free if they join with Uni, order all heavy stuff food wise to be dropped at door in one delivery.
Double duvet, they get cold.

Another one is if you have Netflix then consider upping the amount of devices you can connect too. We upped so she could watch it on her laptop so there was no need for a tv licence.

When my eldest DD went to Uni four years ago we bought lots of lovely matching kitchen items, duvet covers, throws etc.
She came home with one saucepan, one bowl, no cutlery...where it all went no one knows! 😂

@Biscuitburglar appreciate the sentiment but they're off in 4 weeks! So if they need anything buying while we're working we only have a few weekends to get it sorted.

I think I'll try and fettle the list with my DW and let him mainly focus on getting accommodation (clearing so late) and bank account set up this weekend (not 18 yet so has to wait)

But then he has to start on the list

TootingLate You have misunderstood: Bath provided a brand new duvet and pillow when my daughter attended, which was very useful.

dd has a bathroom share with one other, is a bath mat worth it?

Bath mat in shared bathroom will become truly disgusting. Most of the sharers at DD's halls last year came back after Christmas break with wooden duckboards instead.

Yep...3 weeks until we pack DS off (and I work Saturdays!) It felt like we had weeks to get it all done, but realistically I only have a few shopping days left

I must start nagging my DD2 to sort her stuff out, she is going into third year and everything that came home in June is abandoned in the garage.

Big blue ikea bags work for everything, washing, carrying your Tesco delivery in, moving stuff around and of course bring the dirty washing home.

We did IKEA 2 weekends ago as this year she is living out and needed important things like under bed storage boxes and cushions (many).

Her bed for the last 2 years was a single and she was happy with a single duvet plus a couple of fleecy throws. We invested in a all seasons duvet so she could choose how warm she needed to be. She used all of it and the blankets as it is apparently much colder up north even when they heat the halls to hospital temperatures.

Her most useful piece of kitchen equipment was the wok, plus small boxes so she could batch cook and freeze.

I would say pack light and add to what you need but neither of my 2 have managed this and so yet again a rammed full car will be heading north and then we will all be trying to work out how to fit in all in a box sized room.

Read up on the moving in day plan for your particular hall, when DD1 went up to her city hall it was very organised and went really smoothly.

DS has surprised me by texting from town to say he's bought a coat, tinopener, cheese grater, plastic food tubs and coathangers, and do I think a roasting tin might be useful?

He'll do fine, I think.