Moving away from home and into university is a bit of a whirlwind, plus it involves a LOT of shopping to buy stupid adult things that you need when you live alone.
Forget shopping for your favourite makeup or clothes, the summer just before university should be spent preparing a little more. I remember basically working full time straight after my exams finished in order to save up for uni. It was worth it though, I had more than enough when I moved in.
The only part that's difficult is knowing what to take. Its so easy to forget things because we literally see them every day at home. So, without further ado, here is my quick and easy guide on what to take to university.
Right, lets break this down a little. There are different areas that you'll need to shop for, so here we go.
Lets start with the kitchen. First there's the obvious, like all your crockery, tea towels, saucepans. Oven gloves are so useful, and with stuff like tea towels and gloves its a good idea to get them in patterns or colours that set yours apart from everyone else so you know they're yours. Next is things like scourers, sponges and washing up stuff. A washing up bowl makes life ten times easier, along with a drying rack that you can shove everything on. A tin opener is something I couldn't of gone without, and make sure your frying pans are non stick!!
Spatulas, pizza cutters, knife sets, wooden spoons and chopping boards are also really really useful. My chopping boards were different colours with pictures on them so that cross contamination was kept to a minimum. Speaking of germs, washing up liquid and antibacterial sprays are really important, you don't want to get poorly.
Finally, probably my favourite things that I brought were my mugs and cups. As a tea lover, mugs are my essentials, and if I wanted another drink in my room or just generally around the flat, I would use my sippy cup ALL the time. Not only are they adorable, but they're easy to wash and they're cheap.
Next up, the bathroom. Aside from shampoos, body washes, razors etc, which you may think are the only things you need..there are a few things I would recommend. I had a little basket for the bathroom to keep my stuff in, which was my best friend. You can take them to and from the bathroom, they're great. Another container-ish item is a toothpaste holder; just like a little pot to keep that sort of stuff in. It keeps them clean and out of the way.
Going more into cleaning, bleach for the toilet, air freshener and hand soap are great things to have handy. Finally, a bath mat is something else that's fab, you don't want to go ass over tit in the bathroom when you step out of the shower.
Now for your living quarters; i.e. your bedroom. If you're quite techy, or just a female, an extension lead is a huge help. My accommodation didn't have many plugs, so having my extension lead meant I would have my stereo, TV, hairdryer, straighteners, phone charger etc all raring to go. Some university rooms have mirrors, but mine was a little awkward, so I brought a couple of small mirrors for doing my makeup. The ones with a closer mirror on one side are really great for makeup as well. I took a decent sized drawer set, which I think was from the range. It was my favourite colour, had deep drawers and was plastic... it even had wheels that you could attach to it. These are amazing for storage, seeing as I barely had any space.
I would also recommend some plastic boxes to go under your bed. They're cheap as chips and you can just shove them there for extra storage if you need it. If you're not one of those people who takes their washing home to their parents every weekend and you actually do your own washing, invest in a clothes horse, because trust me there probably isn't anywhere else for your clothes to dry. Of course there is the option of using a tumble dryer, but I was too stingy to pay more money in the launderette for a tumble dryer. Plus, they only take a few hours to dry on the clothes horse.
Making your room homely and comfortable is really important, you want university to feel like home. I took loads of fluffy blankets and pillows with me for my bed, which not only kept me warm but made me a lot more at ease. Things like games consoles and books are great to help you relax and make you feel like you're at home, as well as little ornaments. I had a three set of Ikea cacti in my window and they just gave off a really homely vibe.
Finally, photos were a big part of my bedroom décor. There was a section of my wall where I could pin things up, and I used this space completely for photos. Not only did I have photos from my camera and phone, but from my Polaroid camera. Not only do they look amazing, but they're there to remind you of great people and memories if you're ever feeling down.
Last but certainly not least, I have some tips for your first food shop. Trust me when I say frozen food is your best friend. Not only can you get so much variety, but it keeps for AGES. Another best friend of yours will be cupboard food. Think pasta, soup, rice... they require no maintenance in terms of storage which is great, and they're normally easy to chuck onto a meal. Fridge food is more difficult, but a tip from me is that when you're buying fridge food, check the back of the shelves because that's where the longest dates are (trust me, I fill those shelves). Essentials to remember are milk, butter, bread, sugar, teabags/coffee. If you're into breakfast, eggs and bacon are great, along with ketchup and/or mayonnaise. I found that I ate a lot of grated cheese as well, its very versatile. I would also suggest maybe buying some bottled water in packs, as I know a lot of us didn't like the taste of the tap water; we named it "council pop".
chlo x
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