list for university

homealone_2

thank you everyone for all your positive contributions. the university checklist is very good and seems to cover most things, thanks again. i know my daughter will appreciate all the items i add from your suggestions

Savvy_Sue

I saw a t-shirt in a charity shop today which I was very tempted by.
SEXY
LOADED
SINGLE

Should I buy it for my son? Or spend the money on tins of beans?

Should just point out that on the t-shirt the SOS were lined up, but I can't work out how to do that here!

trace-j

It might be worth checking the t&c's of the agreement for the room, I know when I stayed in halls they got funny about taking electrical items for the kitchen.

2 other things not mentioned.

- Carpet cleaner- there will be accidents with drinks and midnight kebabs.
- Air-freshener, if its shared facilities in a flat you can guarentee there will be one smelly flatmate!

megsykins

pavlovs_dog wrote:

i think its worthwhile pointing out that if you are in halls/most uni accomm, then leccy is in with the rent, and unless you are using enough to require a new national grid/fuse the system/pose a fire risk by overloading plugs, how much of the stuff you use goes without comment, so make the most of 'free' electricity whilst it lasts. it you have power adapters to run things off the main, then use them rather than batteries

We all had 5 plug extension leads last year in halls - surprised we didn't blow the systems! Equally, RECHARGABLE BATTERIES - will save a fortune.

Coat Hangers - I forgot and had crumpled clothes (and be warned - campus shop runs out of anything like this straight away!) :mad:

If you want to be very popular, I would recommend a digital camera. Not too expensive as it will be taken out, but good enough to take decent photos. I have so many great photos from nights out and days out, but digital saves a fortune on processing and obviously, you can take loads more and send them to friends / family. :j

Take washing powder tablets - you can take to number you need instead of lugging a full box of powder to the launderette - much easier!

Edited to add:
Please don't go up and do your daughters shop every month - she's going to Uni for her independence. Having said that, last year I went home a lot, and we would often pop to Tesco on the way back, but this was usually cos my mum needed a shop anyway and she got her stuff, I got mine and we met back at the car. However, most of the time I did my own weekly shop - let her discover for herself what she needs and doesn't and how quickly she runs out of stuff. If she asks you to take her when she's home or you've gone to visit, fine, but don't offer.

student100

Hmm, on the subject of extension leads it's probably worth learning how electrical loads actually work. The number of plugs in a single socket is a very poor indicator as to whether it's safe or not.

You need to look at either the current (in Amps) or the power (in Watts) of each appliance (either works, since they're related by voltage (as I'm sure anyone who's done GCSE physics will remember) and on the mains voltage is more or less constant). Basically you can plug in appliances totalling 13 Amps current (approx. 3000 watts) into one mains socket safely, assuming you're using an appropriate extension lead.
That could be as little as one kettle/toaster/hairdryer/heater, or as much as 30 desk lamps. Generally speaking, things that generate heat use a lot of power, things like computers and desk lamps and TVs use fairly little, and things like mobile phone chargers use a tiny amount. Sadly some jobsworth student accommodation people don't seem to realise this!

[insert_user_name_here]

I would definately advise not doing her shopping for her just give her the cash and let her do it herself (im sure you trust her to but more than beans and vodka!!)

As for the previous talk of flats with numerous pans etc, that definately happened when i first went to uni, so to save on this and also to save room in the car on the way there give her money to get anything she neds when she gets there. If she is lucky enough to get on with her whole flat (i wasnt!!) they may decide to save money and put together for things they will all use.

Finally sending her with tea bags, chocolate, bottle of wine etc cant be a bad thing when it comes to socialising in those first few days

Mattjimf

catherinemohan wrote:

1. Blue Tack - cant believe no-ones mentioned this already!!

Some uni's don't let you use blue tack due to the marks that can be left on the walls, when used for too long.

maskedmannequin

Mattjimf wrote:

Some uni's don't let you use blue tack due to the marks that can be left on the walls, when used for too long.

White tack? Apprently doesn't make marks.
And to "homealone" -The linen basket full of toiletries is a really nice idea and I'm sure your daughter will appreciate it. But, doing her shopping for her I wouldn't reccomend. I'm going to uni this September and if there's one thing I'm looking forward to it's independance. While she might be happy to let you continue to look after her (and you'll naturally want to with mothering her for 18+ years) , it will be a great blow to the ammount of independance she's learning to deal with. Give her lots of space (especially in the first few months) but make sure she knows she can always phone you for advice and a shoulder to cry on. You're her mum and next to friends, someone who she'll no doubt feel is one of the first people to ask advice.Especially when living independantly. Just try to let her make her mistakes and realise exactly how much she's living on and what she has to begin to do for herself.

student100

Main problem with blu-tack (or any other coloured equivalent) is that it tends to stick to old paint better than the old paint sticks to the wall. So when you take your posters down you end up taking the paint with you...

Savvy_Sue

The answer to the blu-tak / white tak problem is Gripping Stuff. The University authorities probably won't like it any more than blu-tak, but I'll just say that blu-tak is banned in this house, gripping stuff isn't, and our walls are intact.