What are the essentials that freshers need to take to uni halls

[josben]

I’ve seen a few articles advising year 1 students what to take when starting uni and the list of items is vast !

What are the real essentials to take when staring uni ,,,? TIA

My DD will be in shared bathroom - I've been looking for some kind of bathroom caddy for her to use to carry shampoo etc, anyone else come across anything? I gather flip flops are also useful! I had to share a bathroom in first year but it was in a flat of 5 so we just left our own shampoo etc in there...hers is a hall with many more people sharing. I think it could be grim! (DD is no angel in the bathroom I've already given her a lecture about thinking of others!)

@GrumpyMiddleAgedWoman love that idea, going to copy!

As well as a first aid tin I made both my DDs a “useful” tin : scissors, screwdriver, AA batteries, stamps, tiny sewing kit, Costa gift card, emergency £20 note, safety pins, basically anything that would usually be prefaced with “Mummmmmm..” at home. Both used various bits or lent to flat mates.

In first year ds found his towel never dried properly so always smelt gross regardless of how often he washed it. Mostly we think this was down to him being ground floor and not able to leave the window open plus he didn't put his radiator on as it made the room boiling even in mid winter. When he came back for Christmas i sent him back with lots more towels.

I noticed my twins (boys) took a lot less than their sisters a decade before (and their brother too). One reason was the girls had heaps of clothes and they don't and also times change eg the girls had loads of CDs but now it is all on line.

Mine (twins, boys) were in catered halls at Bristol (just finished final year) and 3 years ago they did not take a huge amount. They took their clothes (which are not very many), the duvets and sheets and pillows off their beds at home, toiletries; one took his trumpet and they both used their tennis rackets quite a bit.

Also remember September can be hot but by December it will be freezing so things like a pair of gloves and coat are worth taking. May be some swimming trunks. They took the suit they wore in the sixth form and a tie for formal things. Main things were a lap top and mobile.

A set of plugging in things for electrical items is useful if the university allows it as so many things need to be plugged in these days. I let them take one mug, one knife, one fork etc from the kitchen but they didn't take pans as were in catered halls.

When he came back for Christmas i sent him back with lots more towels.

A few bottles of white (or even normal malt, for that matter) vinegar for adding to each wash with towels in would be cheaper. Asda is one of the cheaper places to buy it.

@tinkywinkyshandbag

My DD will be in shared bathroom - I've been looking for some kind of bathroom caddy for her to use to carry shampoo etc, anyone else come across anything? I gather flip flops are also useful! I had to share a bathroom in first year but it was in a flat of 5 so we just left our own shampoo etc in there...hers is a hall with many more people sharing. I think it could be grim! (DD is no angel in the bathroom I've already given her a lecture about thinking of others!)

Google ‘mesh shower caddy’, Amazon have them, very useful for students. A butcher’s hook to hang them on in the bathroom or bedroom is useful too.

@Daisy62 perfect thank you!

Charity shops are great for kitchen stuff, don't buy new as it'll get ruined, go missing, or possibly not even used.

I live in a university town and every year tonnes of perfectly usable stuff is thrown away by students in their shared houses. We have a fb group for people to go rescue and reuse the stuff, or take it to charity.