Useful things for daughters room at Uni?

[triplets]

Hi my dd is off in Sept and is getting very excited! She is making her very long list of these she wants to take. Rooms are being randomly allocated in Aug but she is hoping for a single en-suite in halls. She wants pin boards, magnetic pins etc but I am guessing they cant fix things onto walls? Her rooms here is full of stuff stuck on walls........told her she wont be able to do that. Apart from the usual kitchen stuff/bedding etc what would be useful? Thank you :)

is she in halls?

A nice beside lamp to make it more homely.

She hopes so, but they say accommodation is allocated randomly to be fair to everyone. x

Laundry bin, febreeze, detol cleaning wipes! When I was in halls it was a 12 person flat made up of single ensuites with a shared kitchen. I was the only one to have ever been away from home before and the others' hygiene habits could best be described as feral!!

Uni rooms usually have a large pin board so she should be able to put stuff up - the one in my halls stretched the whole length of one wall!

A nice bedside lamp is a good idea. I would also take a a couple of nice throws as chairs tend to be quite utilitarian. A small kettle so she can make tea is nice too. Some students take mini fridges as well as communal fridges can get yucky and things often go missing!

My DD took a basic first aid kit - painkillers, plasters, throat lozenges, cold remedy, rehydration sachets. Very handy for freshers flu.
A travel sewing kit.
Umbrella, hat, scarf and gloves. The weather changed from Indian Summer to chilly and damp before her first weekend home.
Bookends - she used them on her windowsill to keep her DVDs upright.
A big bag for dirty laundry. She used a giant sports direct bag but an IKEA blue bag would be ideal too.

There will probably be a pinboard of some variety, it might be worth saving some money until she gets there and sees what the room is like. Stock her up with non-perishable food, shampoo, washing powder etc, but I wouldn't go buying anything big. A washing basket might come in useful though.

In my DD's halls they were allowed to fix posters etc to the walls as long as they used white tak.

Every student arrived with an airer (you could tell the cars heading for uni as they always had one on top of all the stuff)

There were some great lists around last year and also on Student Room forum, if DD was awake I'd ask her what the most valuable thing she took with her was.

Door stop- nice to keep your door open in the first week when you're getting to know flatmates
Extension cords
Octopus sock hanger thing
Those clips to close bags of food
Bedside lamp
Photos from home
Any fancy dress she has- her uni will reveal what the freshers events are closer to the time but every society will do a white t-shirt social the first few weeks so cheap white t-shirts and sharpies are a must.
Pack of cards
Snuggly throw
Underbed storage boxes

A small tabletop ironing board. Didn't iron much at uni so a full sized ironing board was a waste of space (and a pain to transport to and from home). One of my flatmates had a tabletop one and it was great for the odd bit of ironing.

There will be a pin board.

A big cushion that can be used to make the place look honely and used for friends to sit on the floor when there are already 6 people using the bed and single chair in the room.

Flip flops in case she doesn't get on suite.
first aid kit
extra san pro - the body can do interesting things
toilet roll
hat and scarf and gloves and a warm coat
pain killers and other bits - imagine she has a cold and no one to go get things, so what ever she would use whether lemsip or whatever
corkscrew and wine to help make friends
'emergency' chocolate
duvet/pillows/covers

Don't bother with a kettle unless she is in catered halls - there will be one in the kitchen and it's a good excuse to make a friend.

crockery and pans. A tip on here was to get crockery from a charity shop - it might look twee but it won't be mistaken for anyone else's
tin opener - if there is one it will break
cookery book if she doesn't already cook
Address book with everyone's address
Address notification cards she can send to people in the address book - I've never had niece and nephew's addresses at uni so have had to send cards/presents to their home address
Memory sticks - you can never have too many
Some nice material - halls curtains are vile - you can't change them but you can safety pin some nice material over so it looks nice

Clothes drying rack, essential.
Non-perishable grocery shop - I would do a big shop for pasta etc and toiletries, loo paper etc as well.
Hot water bottle and fleecy throw for comfort
Memory stick, pens, notebooks etc

Condoms

Biscuit/treat tin and fruit bowl - useful for keeping things in your room and knowing they won't disappear!

Maiden plus washing powder and fabric conditioner. We had an iron and ironing board that we could borrow.

Teddy (honestly, most people will have one).

Take less than you think. You can always get it there. Aldi /wilco/Ikea are great for cheap household stuff BUT also think about sending her with all your old stuff- crockery/pans etc as you can't expect it to come back in any usable state! Buy new for you if you want :) . I did this and actually it was nice having stuff from home.

No one mentioned a jumbo box of condoms? If not for her to distribute to friends...

Oh one of my best things was a memory foam mattress topper. Was £20-£30 and my bed was definitely the comfiest in the flat.

If she ends up with a shared bathroom a plastic basket with holes in to keep toiletries. Portable (to avoid people nicking her bits), convenient (rather than walking back and forth in towel trying to carry multiple items) and allows the water to run off

I'm guessing non-catered too? In which case, a wok. Don't laugh but for stir frys, fajitas just using as a big saucepan if everything else is dirty they are the best. And a good knife for prep.

I'm thinking back 20 years now...

Tin opener
Corkscrew and bottle opener
I took a small microwave, but we didn't have one provided in the kitchen
Kettle
Drawing pins & Blu Tack (may not be allowed, check)
Own duvet (ours were thin scratchy and horrid) and pillows
Spare plugs, fuses and screwdriver set
Dustpan and brush (halls have hoovers but they're always being borrowed)
Distinctive crockery and pans
Equipment for any hobbies (espec if she joins a society)
Flip flops for shower, kitchen, other rooms...
Antibacterial wipes and spray
Tupperware for fridge (or lockable box!)
Ear plugs (couldn't sleep for all noise in the first few weeks)
Sticky labels to put on everything (students love to 'share')

I'll probably think of loads more but that's all I can come up with for now.

I disagree about the kettle, sashh. You can get very distracted when you're supposed to be working/revising if you have to go to the kitchen where your mates are to make a brew. Or maybe that was just me! Also it is nice to be able to have a hot drink before getting up and ready to face the world sometimes.

Well thats a sheet of A4 filled up! You are all brilliant, some things I would never have thought of! Best start shopping then!! x

Some money for a second clothes horse.

The first will get trashed playing race horses in the corridor during freshers.

I bought DS an academic year calendar and made him write family birthdays plus Mother's and Father's Day on it so we weren't forgotten

DS wasn't allowed to put anything on the walls except on the board that was already provided. He also wasn't allowed kettle/toaster in the bedroom. There seem to be different rules for different halls. She needs to check out the rules for her own Uni Halls online.

I can't remember if I was or not - I didn't bother with one anyway, I had a good Thermos that I'd fill before bed/in the morning if I was revising.

DD1 has just finished. Things she particularly appreciated included:

battery operated fairy lights
a hot water bottle
a small rug
a pretty cushion