It’s really difficult to believe that it’s been four whole years since I was dashing round shops, spending a fortune, choosing bedding, grabbing every kitchen utensil Aldi had to offer and trying (and failing!) to fit it all in my parents car.
For me, I am an over-packer. I always have been, and I probably always will be. I like to be prepared for every possible scenario (that’s the girl guide in me), I like my home comforts. Other than take more stuff, there’s not a huge amount I would change about my packing approach towards university, and my advice would always be “if you’re thinking about it, take it” – after all, you can always store unwanted pieces. The only headache will really be on moving day – will it fit in the car, where will it all go…I had a lot of stuff, and there’s definitely things I didn’t need, but equally there’s bits that I forgot and really missed. For a full ‘What Should I Take To University‘ packing list, see last year’s list. But for now…
What I Bought & Wish I Hadn’t
Airer, textbooks, duvet sets, ironing stuff.
To be honest, in comparison to a lot of students I don’t have too many regrets about the things I bought. I spent a lot of money and a lot of time getting decent kitchen bits, and I used every single bit. And spending that bit more on saucepans is, if you can, something I highly recommend. Mine were all Tefal ones, a Homesense bargain if I remember correctly, and they are still going strong. They’ve done four years, and will be moving down to London with myself and W – the plan is to hope someone buys a set off our eventual wedding list in two years to replace them!
I do regret taking a big airer to university – in first year I just chucked everything in the laundrette’s driers, and in other years there were so many airers cluttering up our house it made sense to share. I’ve not ironed a single thing since I was about 15 (and even then I think it was only two school polo shirts!) so I didn’t take any ironing stuff, and I’d definitely recommend the same. I just wouldn’t bother!
The biggest regret for me, particularly when I moved into halls, was the bedding stuff. I’d bought mine a while in advance, but it turned out I was allocated a room with a weird dimension of bed – it was 7ft long! It meant none of my sheets fitted – and then when I moved out for second year I had to upgrade from single to double pieces. I’d definitely stick to just one set if I did it again.
Casserole dish, potato masher, mirror, food tray, radio, flip flops for the shower.
It’s probably pretty obvious to regular readers, but I’m a huge fan of cooking, and my kitchen bits and bobs are really important to me – so it was pretty annoying when I realised I’d neglected to take a casserole dish and a potato masher to university in my first term. No stew and mash for me!
I’d highly recommend attempting to find a cheap floor length mirror as it was a nightmare having to jump up and down in front of a tiny face mirror to see an outfit. Oh, and a radio is something my fiance recomends – he found it made him feel a lot less lonely in the morning upon waking.
The flip-flops is something that makes showering in a shared halls bathroom just that bit nicer. Trust me.
The Undecided Stuff
Printer, cushions.
Oh, cushions. Throughout my time at university I have not regretted buying and owning so many cushions for my bed at all. But now I’ve come to graduate and will (all being well) be moving into a sleek modern flat in London. And my girly cushions won’t be coming. For one, there’s no room. Then they will clash with the existing decor and furniture, and will only encourage the very adult pillow fights between me and my fiance…
The printer is the thing I’m really undecided about. On one hand, they aren’t the cheapest, I rarely had to print anything, and its an easy way to save yourself a bit of money. On the other hand, walking to the library to get some lecture notes isn’t fun. I definitely used my printer a lot more in first year than I did in any other – but if you can hold on, I’d recommend sharing with housemates.
*Post sponsored by Davpack, who sell a dedicated Student Moving Kit. Gain 10% discount using the code STUDENT10. All opinions, as ever, are my own.
What bits and bobs did you find you really needed at university? Which things were a waste of money?
