Packing up for university can be a stressful task as you don’t want to forget anything or bring too much. There are the basics you need to bring which hopefully your university will give you a list of. They never include the pretty little knick knacks that help to make your room more like the one at home. However I am here to provide a list of seven things you may not think to bring and are most likely the things you will forget in the first few weeks of moving in.
Blankets
Makeup holder
There is very little storage space in university accommodation and makeup deserves better than to be put in a bag and thrown in a draw. I know the struggles of having nowhere to put my makeup, especially when there is so much of it - you can’t leave a good eyeshadow palette behind! So, to resolve this issue, I recommend getting a makeup holder to keep these beauties on show. There are many styles you can get, however Ebay caters to a lower budget as a large one is under £10. I kept mine on my desk so I had ease of access all the time, also because they’re too pretty to hide.
Blankets
These make your room a cosier and comfier place, it helps to make your room more homely. You can never have too many blankets. I had three: one on the end of my bed to tie in with the colour theme I had, one in my cupboard as a spare if I got cold, then one on my chair to cover the colour. My theme was light pink and blue and the red chair didn’t fit the vibe I was going for, so the chair had to be covered. These blankets came in handy for sitting with in the kitchen with my flatmates when we had movie nights - and when the weather got warmer I used them to sit on the grass outside.
Room diffuser
This is a very useful thing to have in your room as it is something I didn’t buy until a month down the line. A room diffuser is useful to freshen up your room. There were days when I didn’t move from my room because I couldn’t break away from my series on Netflix. So having a diffuser kept my room smelling nice and clean.
Pictures
One of the most important things needed to decorate your room are pictures. Make sure you have plenty of pictures of your friends and family at the ready on move in day. These pictures are very useful to cover any places in your room that are extremely plain. My flatmate covered her notice board all with pictures from home and it looked amazing. I covered the wall above my bed with the pictures of my friends, it’s such a cheap way to decorate your room. I got mine from an app called ‘FreePrints’ for 40 photos - all I had to pay was the packaging which was £3.50.
Cutlery
I know that this one is very obvious, but you need an extensive amount of knives, forks and spoons because they just disappear. To put it in perspective I started the year with eight knives, forks and spoons. I’ve ended the year with one fork, three knives and four spoons. I have no idea where they have gone. My advice would be to get cutlery with a patterned handle on them so you always know which ones are yours.
Fairy lights
Essential to any girl’s university room. I had four sets of these all over my room and it really made the room look cute. It was nice after a long day of lectures to turn them on, get into bed and watch Netflix. They’re great for destressing. You can get these from anywhere but I had some from Primark which were £2 and some from New Look which were £5. They are very inexpensive and have the ability to change how your room looks and feels.
Doorstops
All the doors in university accommodations are fire doors which means they never stay open. I wish I had bought one of these for the first few months of living out as you will be darting in and out of rooms. I would recommend getting at least two door stops: one for your room and for the kitchen door. I had to improvise and use my box of nail varnishes to hold the door open, however that didn’t last very long. By having your door open at university you will make more of a bond with your flatmates, especially in the first couple of weeks when you don’t know each other.
By Fionnuala McNulty follow me on Twitter @FionnualaMcnult
Tagged in University