What’s on your uni shopping list?

[SkygardenTower]

Now results day has gone and most know where they are going I thought I would be nice to have a planning thread on what to take to university.

Argos do a basic starter set which looks good value. Starter kitchen set

Then IKEA for some bakewear, duvet and pillows and duvet sets.

I was joking about giving her the old towels but will probably give her some new ones.

Vacuum storage bags to make transport easier. Vacuum bags

Then a rice cooker (we have one at home so I know she will use it a lot and you can cook a lot more than just rice). Mini rice cooker

What is on your list?

We have got a fair amount of stuff now-she has been accumulating it in the spare room over the past couple of months!

pans
duvet/pillow/mattress topper
laundry bag
extension plug tower
towels
tea towels
plates/bowls/mugs from Tesco-coloured!
glasses
lamp
bin
holdalls
boxes
Chopping board/knives
dried pasta/rice/herbs and sauces/spices
baking trays

Still need to get cutlery and an airer though.

My kids and I really enjoyed the exciting, new adventures new stuff shopping trips we had. Tesco was really good for crockery/glasses/ cutlery. We went for coloured stuff so that it was easily identifiable. Plus matching pans etc.

Both been really lucky to have an actual washing machine in their halls flat and then their houses. Best thing we got was a Lakeland heated airer. It has been super useful. Ds2 kept his in the kitchen and the whole house used it.

Fluffy pillows to create cosiness are good and primark are brilliant for cheap, pretty fairy lights.

I got the wrong pans last year. The hobs in Sheffield halls are all induction. I was not the only one.

Tricky this. Good to use spare stuff you have around but also nice for them to have their own things that they've chosen and feel good about and will enjoy and look after. We did a mix of the two for ds who has taken proper care of it all and are doing same for dd. Maybe depends a lot on what you already have, funds, your dc, how far they're going etc.
My top tips are:
-take everything there in bags for life that then flatten to nothing under the bed rather than loads of cases / bags / boxes.

• little storage trugs for on shelves
• coat hangers
• take more decorative things than you'd think as the rooms are spartan e.g. board pins and lots of photos and pics from home, cosy throw, cushion etc. They can then make each successive (dingy!) room feel nice.
• take a shop of dry goods, tins, toiletries, loo roll etc then do a quick fresh shop on the day. Doing more shopping than that on move in day will be too much as priority is to get them in and a bit sorted then they can go off and start mixing in and finding their feet.
• it's not micromanaging to help them, they've had a very odd couple of years and a lot are feeling unsettled.

Apologies @singingstones if I have upset you. I just wanted to say for balance that you don't have to buy lots of stuff if your DC are off to uni. All my DC heard was friends doing Ikea, Dunelm, hauls and spending £££ buying new pans, plates, etc. Not everyone has the means. Sadly, I have lost my parents in recent years. We kept things in the garage knowing they may be of use to DC rather than sending it to a charity shop. (My mum loved buying stuff so had so much nearly new and very modern taste- a lot of which we now use).

I am sure DC would have liked lovely new stuff, wouldn't we all. But if stuff goes missing or gets broken, no one worries. DD is a bit of a green activist so is happy to reduce, re-use and recycle.

It is a different point of view. Not right or wrong.

DS is in second year and all the above are good suggestions.

Adding in:
Pegs
Salt , pepper and any spices for cooking (again v expensive to buy)
A small sewing kit (nicked from a hotel preferably)
A decent sharp knife (the kitchen devil serrated edge smal one is brilliant for everything and stays sharp)
Pasta bowl
We use laundry strips instead of liquid or tablets (cheaper and greener and take up no space) so gave him a terms supply up front. https://earthbreeze.co.uk/products/earthbreeze-ecosheets-laundry-detergent?gcid=12504519340&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9ZGYBhCEARIsAEUXITVJsSnodDwpKeP-zk-nmuUdWxttDboPuoBwHMBFIk2MwdmnIxtQz4caAoRQEALwwcB&hhadid=504664580609&nbbadtype=&nbap=&nbbfii=&nbkwd=earth%20breeze&nbblims=&nbblpms=&nbbmi=&nbmt=e&nbbpc=&nbpi=&nbbplacement=&nbppi=&nbbsi=%7Bsourceid%7D&nb_ti=kwd-376240705904&nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ag%3A12504519340%3A120725731164%3A504664580609

Oh and luxury item= cheese toastie machine 😊

Pretty much what my son said last year - packed him off with a plate, bowl, glass, mug knife/fork/spoon, good knife plus bedding/towels.

He shared a kitchen with 9 others - he said most students utensils, pots, pans, etc, never left their rooms - you really don't need 10 X tin openers, 10 X graters, 10 X colanders, etc.

@DoDisDenDoDat - that’s interesting because theoretically the idea of common use of utensils is good but I recall sinks piled high when I toured so likely that you would spend lots of time looking for stuff/washing up if you didn’t have your own?

Worse than that would be you did bring your own stuff but had to find it and clean it because someone else who came with a mug and plate had used your pan/tray/grater and was eating dinner and hadn’t washed up yet…

@HannahDefoesTrenchcoat - 😂

My DC have reminded me that the thing they find most useful at university is a Tesco Clubcard.

Scissors
A bread knife
One some places, a clothes horse for laundry, as the dryers can be shockingly expensive (£5 a run, 2 years ago. A large load can use two).

A decent sharp knife (the kitchen devil serrated edge smal one is brilliant for everything and stays sharp)

This! In fact my best knife is still the Kitchen Devils one I have from Uni, 32 years ago. I shared halls and then two houses with the same 3 friends. He was much posher than me and had decent stuff. He gave me the knife when we finished because I was so in awe of it. Still cuts tomatoes better than any other.

And for where extra electrical equipment is not allowed, Jean Patrique do a stove top version, which both DD and DS2 have.
jean-patrique.co.uk/products/jean-patrique-toasted-sandwich-maker

(Also available via other shopping sites).

BTW some places also don't allow colour-catxher sheets in the washing machines, but the way round this is to put them in a mesh bag (the sort designed for keeping socks together in the wash) - that way, they can't possibly get sucked into the holes in the drum.

It was your slightly superior tone that irritated me @Cranmer when others are enjoying shopping and planning with their DC.

And you did say that you had bought (not inherited) new stuff and boxed up the old to store in the garage. Whilst also saying We have always tried to use what we already have, rather than buying new. But no matter.

@singingstones - people have different ways of doing things, don’t think there’s any judgment on who’s doing what.

I’ll actually consider doing a combo of a few home stuff, for comfort/familiarity, with new.

Scissors for pizza. Obviously other stuff but scissors for pizza is essential

No judgement exactly - it was the slightly judgey tone of the first post that jarred when others were so excited to be helping their DC get ready for uni.

Scissors for pizza - why have I never heard this idea before? Life-changing!

Good printable list here

www.savethestudent.org/downloads/WhatToTakeToUniChecklist.pdf

But make sure to get a nice pair which can be used to cut the pizza without having to pick it up off the tray. I keep not buying a new pizza cutter, because I know we've got one somewhere, but the fingertips of my left hand keep trying to tell me what a false economy this is🙄

@lightisnotwhite A laundry bag could be good but they may not have many places to hang it, so a pop up bag with handles that can hang or stand on the floor might be more practical.

Command hooks are useful for hanging pictures, fairy lights, pin boards, coats etc.

Got laundry bag similar to this one at H&M near me for £8. Looks sturdy and can be folded/squeezed into a corner.

JL has this and a few others in their Anyday range plus there’s 20% selected items this weekend.

Managed to buy a few things and spend some time with her yesterday which was nice.

20% “off”