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The beginning of university is an incredibly exciting time. Before moving in, many prospective students fondly imagine what their halls of residence room will look like when it’s all kitted out and decorated. To make sure you nail this look (and aren’t constantly asking your parents to send items that you’ve forgotten), you’ll need to plan and then pack. To help with this, check out our uni checklist to find out exactly what you need to take to university.
The majority of students will spend their first year of university in halls of residence. Because you’ll likely spend a fair amount of time in your room, it should be somewhere to relax, unwind and study. Here are your university bedroom essentials.
If you know which societies you’ll be joining, then you can also base your wardrobe around these groups if relevant. If you love swimming, then bring your trunks or swimsuit.
Though they’re quite expensive, a mattress topper can massively improve the comfort of an otherwise hard student mattress. Extra blankets and cushions can also provide you with some much-needed cosiness while at university.
Some non-essential electrical items include speakers (if you’re hosting pre-drinks then these become much more important), a games console, a printer and fairy lights. Printing in your room is useful for last-minute panic prints but you’ll usually be able to print on campus. Fairy lights are a popular decoration but halls will often request that you bring battery-powered ones.
Here are a bunch of other items that we’d recommend bringing with you to university.
The amount of kitchen stuff you’ll need to bring will depend on if you’ll be living in catered or self-catered university halls (or a house share). You’ll need much less in catered as the majority of cooking will be done for you. We’d also recommend checking what’s supplied in your kitchen, as many will include a kettle, microwave and toaster.
Even though food is provided for you, you might still miss mealtime and have to get a takeaway or ready meal, which is where the cutlery, bowls and plates will come in handy.
Along with everything mentioned in the catered halls list, here’s what you should bring to a self-catered hall of residence.
Most halls are kitted out with plenty of the kitchen equipment you’ll need so check this in advance. We’d also recommend getting in touch with your flatmates ahead of move-in day. This way, you can share the cost of communal items and avoid ending up with six different toasters.
If you have an en-suite bathroom (which is fairly common in university halls) then you’ll need one of everything. In a shared bathroom, a good money-saving tip is to chat with the people you’re sharing with first so you don’t end up with several of the same product.
Check if a bathroom mat is provided before buying one. We’d especially recommend an air freshener or two if the bathroom is shared.
Painkillers are a must, as freshers’ flu is pretty unavoidable if you’re regularly going out for the first few weeks of university.
Aside from a desk, your uni accommodation probably won’t provide much in the way of studying items (you’ll get a desk lamp if you’re lucky). Here are some learning materials you might want to bring with you.
With textbooks, you should check your reading list and buy any books you think are essential. These same books might be available in your library so check there first to try and save some money.
These days, you can probably just make sure that you have the relevant details/emails saved on your phone in most cases. Though, you will always need a physical form of ID to prove your age.
There are a bunch of items that aren’t necessarily worth pre-packing (as you’ll only have so much space for transportation), but you will need to buy fairly soon after arriving at university.
When it comes to cleaning products, check whether your uni accommodation provides a cleaning service before getting any of these. Some of the best food essentials to get include bread, milk, tins of beans, butter, pasta and so on.
There are certain items that you won’t need to bring with you. It’s best to cut back where possible, as you’ll only have so much space in your uni accommodation to cram everything in.
While you can bring a printer, you’ll probably be able to use those in your uni library or department. Pets, candles, incense and plug-in fairy lights are all usually banned from student halls of residence (check this in advance to be sure).
Some students bring their car with them as well. While there’s no issue with doing this, just be sure to look into whether you’ll be able to get a parking space and if this will cost.
You could save yourself the time and effort of individually sourcing all these different items by taking advantage of UniKitOut and the amazing service they offer.
UniKitOut can provide everything you’ll need to turn your house into a home. They offer an expansive range of student essentials, including items for the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. You can choose from individual kits tailored to just one of these rooms or get a larger kit that covers all three, along with some extra bits and pieces thrown in.
Once you’ve picked your items, you’ll then need to select the name of the host building you’re moving to so UniKitOut can deliver the chosen items directly to your accommodation. What’s great is that your items will be ready and waiting at your accommodation when you move in.
Put simply, you select and customise your kit, before UniKitOut pack it up and deliver it to your accommodation on a date of your choice.
Use our code “Resooma10″ for 10% off at checkout!
Already sorted your university house but need to set up bills? We can help with this too – we set up and split utilities for you. Get a free quote for your utilities here.
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All your utility bills in one monthly payment, split between housemates
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