Uni- what should DD take with her?

[tallulah]

Any mums who have been through this got any helpful suggestions? The list from the uni of what is not provided is very long, & it looks like she needs bed linen, saucepans & cleaning stuff!!

At the risk of loading her up with too much unnecessary clutter, what does she actually NEED to take for her first term, so she isn't having to keep popping out to buy stuff?

[Miaou]

I remember from Uni (in self-catering halls) that I was the only one with a breadboard/chopping board, dishcloths and washing up liquid. I kept them in my room along with my pans and cooking utensils (in the bottom of my wardrobe) as everyone used to nick them otherwise!

I didn't have a TV at uni but I did have a computer (and was the only one on my floor that did - ten years ago!). I never missed the TV - too much else going on.

[cazzybabs]

Def. a bottle of wine and bottle opener - to be sociable on the first night. Photos, music and CD player, a few kitchen things, washing up stuff, milk, tea, coffee, sugar, biscuits, bread and jam (ie food to keep her going for the first day or so).

[Prettybird]

My mum encouraged me to take everything including the kitchen sink (it felt like!) - despite the fact that I was going in to fully catered halls. Aparently she had even taken curtains with her when SHE went to Uni!

The car was absolutely STUFFED. We even took my duvet with me, in case the Halls provided blankets rather than duvets (this was 26 years ago, when duvets were still relatively new). Mum and Dad took it back when we saw that I was provided with a duvet - but brought it back on their next visit, as it was such a mean stingy polyester thing and I was used to a "real" (feather) duvet.

Essential - good long dressing gown, for going to the shower/bathroom, unless she has en suite!

[Kayley]

I took a Lilo to uni for my guests to sleep on, folds up flat and much fun with it when drunk :)

Coat hangers as well, halls never have coat hangers.

[JanH]

Oh yes sharry, file box, we got one of those things with lots of pockets in from Stationery Box. V v useful.

DD1's uni flat had its own hoover, ironing board, iron etc in a cupboard at the end of the hallway. Not sure if rooms in halls (catered or otherwise) have the same?

Also echo Kayley's drying rack and lamp, DD1 took both those too. And I think she may have had an inflatable armchair, but if you have space - in car and room - one of those foam chairbeds would be good, for sitting on and for visitors to sleep on. And a sleeping bag.

[sharry]

My dd is leaving for uni 17th sept. We went shopping together for basics the day after results day as a 'special time together' and a well done sort of day. It wasn't as expensive as first anticipated! When i left home at 17 my parents did not contribute at all, i didn't expect them to, but i want to support my dd the best way i can, all be it new, nearly new or second hand.(She's busy sorting all the finance issues.
Two additional items.......File box for important documents,plus a dustpan and brush.

[hatter]

Hi again,

there's something about an 18-year old asking their dad to drive 200 miles to deliver some treasured forgotten item that makes me smile. I think it's the idea of being so blissfully unaware of what it's like to be busy, to run a house, a job, a family, that you don't even realise what a huge thing your asking. bless.

[notlob]

Here it is.

[Kayley]

Hatter, I think its a nice idea to srike out on your own straight away but you have to buy your own eventually but for me in the first few weeks when I was setteling in it was nice to have everything there for me. I also have no car and rely on buses for all my transport, so heavy or bulky items like cola, washing power, toilet rolls are always bought when my parents are here.

Ooooh a drying rack. Essential. Maybe an iron? The irons in the laundry room were crap. Oh and definately a mirror, our halls did not have mirrors in the bedrooms. A bedside lamp is nice as well.

I would say take the essentials, your DD WILL pick up the cozy furnishings as time goes on, you sort of accumulate crap in uni. A nice bright throw, a few pictures of home and maybe a cushion or two is enough. There a zillions of poster sales in freshers week so I wouldn't bother taking any.

This isn't for halls, but a great gift to give her (unless she is with HSBC or NatWest) is a young persons rail card, its like £18 and it gives you a 1/3 off all rail fares. Oh and related to this make sure she has a small bag or suitcase with her not just a giant one. When you go home for the weekend, or away to see friends you need a train friendly sized bag

(i am currently a uni student btw)

[tallulah]

Wow, this thread has grown & grown since I last checked in! I started getting a couple of bits yesterday. It's exciting but also really scarey. I'm pleased for her, of course, but it's a huge step for the rest of the family.

JanH, I'll warn grandma we'll probably need her car as well

hatter, I take your point. I'm trying not to take away her own fun in planning, by doing it for her. She's very scatty though & I've got visions of her ringing daddy to take her what she's forgotten (200+ miles)... and he's stupid enough to do so...

[JanH]

This will probably duplicate everybody else's replies but anyway...

When DD1 went 4 years ago (started out in room in uni flat with 5 others) we had a major expedition to Matalan for basic kitchen/householdy kit including things like teatowels and oven gloves. Also bought a saucepan set - from Woolies I think - and sharp knife/colander/spud masher/tin opener/pizza wheel/corkscrew (vital) etc etc, all the bits you struggle without in holiday houses. Also an electric kettle and Daisy the Cow toastie maker. The thing is that everybody will be bringing their own but it's better to have 5 of something than none! (If you have any surplus give her those instead of buying new.)

We bought quite a lot of basic food supplies too, tins/pasta/cereal/biscuits/coffee/sugar etc.

She stuck all her photos to the wall in a vast display with bluetack so didn't need frames. We took all her bedding from home, and towels, and bedroom bits like hairdryer and mirror and toiletries.

The rest of the family (5, like yours I think?) went along to deliver her and we needed all the spare space in 2 cars (one large, one small) to fit everything in.

She is away in the US atm and won't be back until Sept 20 but if you are still needing inspiration then I will try to remember to ask her! Hope your DD has a fab time anyway

(Oh, have just remembered, we were given this tip by friend with son at same uni (Leeds) they don't get a bedside table of any description there so we took hers from home! Filled all the drawers so it wasn't wasted space. Fortunately - I think this is because it was flats and not halls - her rent also covered the vacations so we weren't constantly lugging it all back and forth.)

[alexsmum]

The day that you take her to uni,pop into the the nearest town and buy her a travel pass for the local buses so that she doesn't have to fork out for it out her ...I was about to say grant but they don't have them anymore do they? 'Cor, showing my age.AND, if you think you can do it without dying of embarrassment and worry a packet of condoms in her washbag is a good idea I think.You know what freshers week is like and it better to be prepared for all eventualities.(please don't be offended!)Has anyone mentioned things like paracetomol/alkaseltzer/plasters/immodium??

[Bibiboo]

Ooooh, thought of something else - stamps. Maybe a little old fashioned now as emailing and texting is widespread, but I loved getting post-cards and letters from school friends in my pigeon hole at Uni. If she never uses them, then you can have them back, but chances are, she'll ahve a million forms to fill in and things to apply for, so they'll go down well.

[slug]

Though having said that hatter, an occasional £5 phone voucher in the post always goes down well.

[hatter]

sorry to jump in again...and fully admit my viewpoint is from that of an ex- student, not a mum to one. In light of what some people are saying, one thing I would say is - as much as is possible - leave her to it! My mum never bought me tampons, washing powder, toothpaste or anything like that. And, to be honest, I would have been insulted if she had. Part of the joy and excitement of the whole thing is striking out on your own and learning to be independent. Washing powder isn't something that miraculously appears in the cupboard (or, in this case, in your stuff to take away) from nowhere and, imho, now's exactly the right time to learn. Must be hard to let go, but that's the one thing my mum did for me - and for which I am far more grateful than anything else.

[Bibiboo]

Cannot stress enough how important tonnes of passport photos will be - she'll need them for everything and the boothes on campus will have queues miles long for the first few days.
I did this 6 years ago (oh, seems so much longer now!)

Don't let her take anything precious/too expensive that she could possibly have to share - I know this sounds very mean spirited but there will be a mix of people she'll share with and not all of them will have the same level of respect for things as she might. I learned that the hard way

A TV is a total waste of time and money IMO, one lad had one in our flat and at 7:30 each night he'd have girls from all over the hall sweet talking him into letting them watch Eastenders etc. He never had a spare evening to himself.

Someone said flip flops for the shower - genius! Boys pee in the shower, communal or not. Another thing I learned the smelly way. Oh, and tell her to keep a stash of loo roll in her room - uni loo roll isn't great and runs out quickly.

Buy bulk/jumbo size of everything for her if you can - she won't want to spend her weekly money on practicalities like shampoo, toothpaste and washing powder when there's lager and chocolate to be bought.

Personally I wouldn't bother with too many purely decorative items such as cushions, cuddly toys from home etc. They take up loads of space in the car and she'll be bought little girly things like that by her flatmates for Christmas/birthdays etc. Habitat (and Argos I think) do a photo wall hanging - holds about 26 pics and is about poster sized - better than having 26 picture frames on every surface.

Last tip - I had a mini DIY kit - a multi-head screw-driver, a spanner or two, set of alan keys, mini-hammer etc which made me very popular. Students spend their money on strange things, mostly flat-pack that need assembling (one boy I lived with bought a multi-gym) and had nothing to build it with!

How exciting for her! Best of luck, and don't worry, she will be fine, have a wonderful time and I hope she enjoys every last minute of it!

[SoupDragon]

Hot water bottle?

[SoupDragon]

Get the common, cheap plain white Ikea plates etc and paint something distinctive on it with ceraminc paint?

From visiting friends, toaster, kettle, mugs, tea/coffee for the room seemed essential as did extra seating. Ikea do inflatable cushon things which would deflate for easy transportation. One friend had a coin electricity meter in her room and a 50p with some tin foil attached was an essential item as you could stop it falling into the box and pull it back out again!!

[sassy]

She should take her own pillows - the provided ones are always flat and years old - yuk, other peoples' drool! Plus they will smell and feel 'right'.

[toddlerbob]

Lots and lots of tampons. They are expensive, you forget to buy them and you can't live without them and shouldn't eke them out because of TSS. My mum always bought them in the holidays for me and I am still very grateful.

[sparkle]

A bottle of wine - a great ice-breaker when you are first in halls

[hatter]

In my day (says she sounding like an old bag) no-one really had anything new - we all went off with ancient ill-matched cast off plates, saucepans, mugs etc. This works well - first coz it's distinctive, second coz it'll have a nostalgic feel of home and her childhood about it, and third, coz if you haven't got spare stuff it's you that gets the new stuff not her, iyswim . I'm so jealous of her I can hardly speak. What she really needs is bags of confidence, a mobile phone, (it was a phone-card in my day) and a credit card. Hope she has fun

[discordia]

My sister-in-law bought my nephew a George Foreman grill and he used it all the time at uni and recommends it to everyone he meets!

Hope you're surviving this ok, tallulah, must be kinda scarey for you.

[BooMama]

Definitely a kettle for her room - if kitchen too far for milk fetching she will probably end up on hot ribena like every other student I knew...
Things I forgot in my first term...
cheese grater
dish cloth / brush and tea towel
oven glove
scissors
oven tray
sieve / colander
tupperware - WITH NAME LABELS FOR THE FRIDGE!!! (cannot emphasise enough...)

Are pillows supplied? - bring your own anyhow!
Maybe a bag for laundry? We always just used carrier bags but if you had something more distinctive it is probably better for if you leave your washing unattended at the launderette.
Am racking my brain out trying to remember but it was a long time ago...
Hope she has a wonderful time!!!