setting up a first time student

sarah861421

My son is going to Uni in sept ( self catered ), and has nothing to take with him yet. Together we have saved up about £200, and this will have to cover new bedding, toiletries, kitchen stuff, and basic food for the first few weeks. Where is the best place to buy everything? I have seen special student boxes at ikea, tesco, and argos but not sure if they are any good. Is there a magic master list of everything he will need.

Any thoughts anyone

nimbo

to be honest it may be worth waiting to get some of it....

Furnish his room as required - bedding etc, but hold off on the kitchen stuff maybe. when i lived in halls we had all bought stuff, and then ended up sharing it all... and to be fir we ended up with too many pans etc.

Personally I found a half sized fridge in my bedroom useful, as we only had one to share between 9, and stuff would keep going missing, or get pushed to the back and go off all the time because no one could find it...

get a half decent itn opener - that will do bottles as well...

once in halls he and his room mates will be liberating pint glasses, so no need for those....

hold off on things like taosters, kettles, and sandwich toasters - as again when we were in halls we all put in 50p and shared the cost...

pop into places like wilkos - I picked up a load of odd plates and cups etc for 15p each. (or give him yor old ones of they are odd, and not lovely)... Just be prepared for all he takes into the first year that may be shared in the kitchen to end up missing or broken. so don't go overboard....

New_York_No1_fan

sarah861421 wrote: »

My son is going to Uni in sept ( self catered ), and has nothing to take with him yet. Together we have saved up about £200, and this will have to cover new bedding, toiletries, kitchen stuff, and basic food for the first few weeks. Where is the best place to buy everything? I have seen special student boxes at ikea, tesco, and argos but not sure if they are any good. Is there a magic master list of everything he will need.

Any thoughts anyone

Not sure if I am allowed to post this link to this fabulous and very thorough list of what to take to university. I first saw it on MSE in 2008.

I used it for both of my children and passed on to numerous friends who used it as a basis from which to work from. Obviously you will not need everything but it was a huge help.

Also buy second hand on car boot sales or put a wanted ad on your local freecycle. Its amazing what people will give you for free.

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_To_Take_To_University

My advice don't buy everything before you get there as often flats club together for items or amicably share.

Happy shopping. I wish I were doing it all over again!

Dunroamin

sarah861421 wrote: »

My son is going to Uni in sept ( self catered ), and has nothing to take with him yet. Together we have saved up about £200, and this will have to cover new bedding, toiletries, kitchen stuff, and basic food for the first few weeks. Where is the best place to buy everything? I have seen special student boxes at ikea, tesco, and argos but not sure if they are any good. Is there a magic master list of everything he will need.

Any thoughts anyone

Why does he need to take new bedding - can't he take his from home?

sarah861421

he could, but then he would have to bring it home whenever he comes back ( which probably wont be that often ). I can't see him dragging a duvet on the train for 200 miles. I have budgeted £40 for bedding ( duvet, pillow, covers, etc ) and I think this will cover it. Its more the kitchen stuff i was thinking about. Do I buy I box that includes everything ( but of dubious quality ) or buy each item indiviually, or wait and let him buy it as he needs it.

The problem with the latter option is that he will buy the first one he sees, probably overpriced and not necessarily any good, and he will forever have the repututation of borrowing stuff.

rozmister

nimbo wrote: »

to be honest it may be worth waiting to get some of it....

Furnish his room as required - bedding etc, but hold off on the kitchen stuff maybe. when i lived in halls we had all bought stuff, and then ended up sharing it all... and to be fir we ended up with too many pans etc.

Personally I found a half sized fridge in my bedroom useful, as we only had one to share between 9, and stuff would keep going missing, or get pushed to the back and go off all the time because no one could find it...

get a half decent itn opener - that will do bottles as well...

once in halls he and his room mates will be liberating pint glasses, so no need for those....

hold off on things like taosters, kettles, and sandwich toasters - as again when we were in halls we all put in 50p and shared the cost...

pop into places like wilkos - I picked up a load of odd plates and cups etc for 15p each. (or give him yor old ones of they are odd, and not lovely)... Just be prepared for all he takes into the first year that may be shared in the kitchen to end up missing or broken. so don't go overboard....

I'm not sure where you went to uni but half size fridges were banned at my uni if you couldn't prove they were for medical purposes (my ex had one for his insulin and then filled it with beer as well the jammy sod!). They said they were a fire risk
We got a toaster and kettle with our flat I think or bought one from ASDA for £3. I wouldn't buy electrical bits before you go.

My advice would be like yours - prepare for everything to end up missing and broken. I haven't got a single kitchen possession which I had in my first year of uni (five years ago now!!). I left home before I went to uni so I already had some of the stuff I needed but all my kitchen stuff got stolen/broken/didn't last me through uni/etc. Other people don't respect your stuff either.

The best thing I would recommend taking to university is a bucket/washing up bowl because no one thinks of that when they're buying their stuff and it's SO useful. You can hand wash clothes in it, wash up with it, clean with it, be sick in it, the possibilities are endless!

I would hold off on buying kitchen stuff or just buy a few plates, pots, mugs, etc that are cheap like mentioned above.

I was always envious of the kids whose parents sent them off with care packages at the start of the term and I think that's a better investment than household bits. I always ran out of money before the end of term in my first year and I would have liked a care package so that I could eat some nice food at the end instead of live on cheap rubbish.

Also a huge stock of nice washing powder because when you run out of money this is the first thing you have to cut back on

Good luck! I wish I was going to be a fresher again!!

Lokolo

rozmister wrote: »

We got a toaster and kettle with our flat I think or bought one from ASDA for £3. I wouldn't buy electrical bits before you go.

First day. Everyone moved in. In a hall of 7, we had 4 toasters and 3 sandwich makers.

And 7 irons. None of which had even been opened after the first year.

My biggest suggestions. Chocolate brownies or a cake. Go around giving pieces out and makes the how situation more relaxed and helps you start off a get to know you session.

rozmister

Lokolo wrote: »

First day. Everyone moved in. In a hall of 7, we had 4 toasters and 3 sandwich makers.

And 7 irons. None of which had even been opened after the first year.

My biggest suggestions. Chocolate brownies or a cake. Go around giving pieces out and makes the how situation more relaxed and helps you start off a get to know you session.

ROFL I didn't own an iron until I moved in with my boyfriend in my third year, six years after I left home. The concept of ironing my clothes with an actual iron was lost on me, if there was a crease in the bottom of a top/dress I used hair straighteners. The rest of the time I wore slightly wrinkled clothes.

A clothes airer is a pretty useful item. I remember buying one of those from Wilkinsons in my first year and using it lots.

kathrynha

Most important thing for the kitchen is the ability to use the stuff. Number of freshers that can barely use the toaster is shocking. then there are those students who can cook but see it as a loss of valuable bar time. No point with buying pans if they can't/wont use them.
My brother survived his first year just using a mug, teaspoon and fork. The pans came back with labels still attached and it was probably a good year to own pot noodle shares.

If your son likes cooking then it is worth buying cooking equipment, cheap stuff is fine, he can upgrade to better stuff when he moves out of halls.

But the thing that I most appreciated being set off to uni with was food. Stuff that can be stored in his room. Tins, jars of sauce, pasta, rice, teabags/coffee, etc. Also if he can cook from scratch herbs and spices are good at making value food taste good.

Noonar

Hi Sarah - I have been buying and stashing bits and pieces for a while now because I knew I wouldn't be able to afford it in one go.

I got a double duvet (although she has a single bed in halls) for £7 from Morri$$ons - Agros do one for £9.99. Agros have a double duvet cover on offer at the moment for £5.99 so might be worth looking at that. They do single sheets for £2.83 - they all seem to have good feedback. I got Te$co value saucepans and frying pan using my Te$cos clubcard vouchers as you can double them up on homeware.

I have a list I have put together for my daughter if you want a copy.

Regards

Noo

rageagainstessays

When shopping with my mum for uni, I thought we'd be going to John Lewis for the sheets (as normal).
Then my mum informed me that she'd be going to tesco's for most of it, and that she'd been getting it since feb When we went tesco yesterday she got like £30 worth of bedding.

There is a very comprehensive list on TSR- linked below.
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/wiki/What_To_Take_To_University

I must warn against the mini-fridge a poster above mentioned, such items are banned at my accommodation- so check t&c's.

To be fair, I agree with what most of the posters have said above- I know many students and barely any of them cook. In fact, next year- even though my parents are buying all of the kitchen stuff- I'll only be using it a couple of times a week because of the fact that I'm in catered halls. Plus when I 'cook'- it normally involves a plate, a butter knife, butter and some ham. Plus in student area's- its often cheaper just to buy a takeaway, than to cook for yourself. Obviously, its less healthy though

I'm also starting uni in September, hopefully.