What DCs need to take to uni for self-catered halls…

[MonkeyTennis34]

Is there a thread for this??
I’m thinking crockery, cutlery, bedding…..

Has the halls sent a list? DC needed pans for an induction hob for example which we don’t have at home.

you need to check about bedding - some provide pillows and duvets, some don't.

People do this so differently that I found some of the lists OTT and some very light on stuff I thought was essential! Wiwikau has loads of lists.

It helped me to think of his bedroom/bathroom in one go and kitchen in another.

Top tips,
Mattress toppers are essential, halls mattresses are shit. Don't expect it to last beyond the first year and budget accordingly!

Everyone has ikea stuff making it hard in the communal kitchen to distinguish between theirs and yours. Blob of nail Polish helps or charity shop buys where there is a rim on their plates or something helps.

Send medicines!

Check what products you can use in the halls washing machines. No colour catchers or fabric conditioner were allowed at my dcs.

A portable speaker was apparently one of the best things my son took.

Blue ikea bags are brilliant for moving.

Remember that they will need to get it there and home again in summer... you will also need the space to store it all. We told ours (2 young women, both at different unis at the same time ) that all of their stuff had to fit in the back of the car - one journey...

Take less than you think you'll need! Mine has got it down to 3 medium sized collapsible crates, 2 big bags, one holdall and 2 IKEA bags. Kitchen, bedding, clothes, books, gubbins. If in a shared flat chances are that someone will have the thing you miss and there are shops and probably opportunities to pick up items left behind by previous occupants.

Cutlery
crockery
sauce pans, frying pan, wok
some Tupperware
sharp knives
cheese grater
plastic mixing bowl
bedding
hooks that hang over the top of a door

dd is also taking a shoe rack, full length mirror 🙈 and a clothes steamer

ikea bag for laundry trips
towels
tea towel
mat for the bathroom floor

One of my flatmates in halls had a full length mirror. We were SO glad of it! It’s not as daft as it sounds.

I’m sure the mirror will be useful. It’s just muggins here who has to get it in the car with everything else and then up 20 floors to the flat 😂

There is a really helpful forum and packing list here: https://www.wiwikau.co.uk/index.php?forums/605/

DS has a cheese grater like this one.

They’ll need shopping bags if they’ll be doing any grocery shopping at all and he found a doorstop useful as well.

Do you know where his local Amazon collection point will be in case you want to send him anything?

I live in a tiny flat. There's no room for a shoe rack so have one that hooks over the back of my door

As well as over door hooks, hanging storage for toiletries.

And gloves for washing up are useful too.

Hooks for over the back of the door.... be aware that you may not be able to use these. Most of the main bedroom doors are fire doors so this will only work on an en-suite door.

IKEA is your friend. I spent about £30 on crockery, cutlery and basic pan set. None of it came home but it was well used. I think they do a box with all the basics. Treat it as disposable because in a large flat ( DS shared with 9 others) it rapidly becomes communal and boys particularly just use what’s clean whether it’s theirs or not. Girls are a little more organised.

DS is looking forward to moving into a much smaller flat with 3 others where he won’t have to clean the kitchen before preparing a meal. He’s not a clean freak but is a well versed in food hygiene. He’s moving into with three like minded boys. I suspect the flat will be a tip but the kitchen will be immaculate.

He's just found out their flat has a washer /dryer so is delighted. The only thing I’m buying him this year is a decent hand held clothes steamer. He likes an ironed T-shirt and irons his own t shirts at home as and when he needs them. The hand held steamers are perfect.

As a flat their only priority is buying a separate beer fridge and a huge TV.

DS also had a monitor as well as a laptop. He will need it for his course but he had a connector so he could use it for streaming TV and as a gaming screen. He also has a huge extension lead /tower with multiple USB charging sockets.

Regarding crockery and cutlery - just what they need for them and a friend. Not 4 or 6 of everything. There’s no space. If they make meals for friends, get friends to bring their own.

Another tip. When they come home after their first year. Sort through their stuff and repack it at the beginning of the holiday. It’s then all ready to just throw in the car the day they go back. DS had used no system when packing, he took his car back to uni for his exam/tests fortnight and managed to get everything in his little Polo. It saved me a trip. He was in halls where parking was available and cheap. His new flat will not be as easy since there is no parking and it’s in an area where you need a permit. So I will need to drop him off. We have already started storing his clothes in collapsible fabric boxes ( he has an IKEA storage system at home) and will buy him an IKEA cube unit to put them straight into. They make packing easy and no need to unpack at the other end. Ikea do cheap coat hangers, DS has a bag full of wooden hangers that we will hang trousers and shirts on then bag so unpacking will be a doddle.

I wish as was as organised as this at home but I’m brilliant when it comes to transferring between houses. We used to have a second home and had a lot of stuff we only used there permanently packed ready to go when we fancied an impromptu weekend away.

Don’t forget they have shops where they are going!

Thanks all.
DS2 is going on the 13th September so I really need to get my act together!
I’ll get him a box of groceries too to get him started…he’ll be living close to a Lidl 👍🏻

DD and I have got together a box of spices and cooking rubs/marinades which can be used in lots of different meals. So all she'll need to get for a while will be protein and carb of choice (plus the occasional vegetable)

We took everything to his room then did a Lidl shop. Saves a lot of space in the car.

For the crockery I’d send him around the local charity shops to see what he can find. Like a PP said, the other students will probably all have white from IKEA and it’s very hard to find yours if they all look the same.

I made the mistake of leaving it to my son to research what was necessary. The result was that he packed three guitars and a ukulele. We got everything else at a local co-op.

Coat hangers
Bedside lamp
Fan

Clothes airer if he is allowed one in his Halls (not heated, just one to air clothes) - the driers rarely dry a load on one cycle, and it is expensive to do two, so finish off drying on the airer.

Baking tray
Oven gloves

Brilliant! I wonder what he thought he was going to eat with when you’d gone home?