Greetings humans!
So, it’s that time of year again - back to school, back to uni…just September. Either way, as someone who spent all of last summer thinking “I must buy and pack ALL THE THINGS” for starting university, I thought I’d let you in to the things I forgot to pack and the things I shouldn't have bothered with. Hopefully it’ll be useful!
Things I managed to forget:
- Kitchen roll. It’s one of those things that you don’t realise how much you use it until you need some.
- Laundry basket. Okay, so I didn’t forget to pack this, but the pathetic-excuse-for-a-laundry-bag that I brought with me was far too big and everything spilled out everywhere/I gave up/I ended up doing about four loads of washing at a time. Not fun (nor is it something I’m proud of).
- (also, if you can afford to, I would recommend buying your own detergent and softener instead of using what’s used in auto-dosing [if your laundrette does that] - it cleans clothes, but it doesn’t clean clothes, if you know what I mean)
- White tack. Whilst I’d planned how I would decorate my room at uni, I seem to have forgotten that photos and posters needed something to help them adhere to the walls (top tip: for the love of all that is good and pure, use white tack instead of blue tack - you don’t want to get fined for damaging the walls).
- Flask. Luckily I brought this back with me after Christmas, but I made a massive mistake leaving this behind in the first place - especially in winter term.
- Flip-flops (or other such shoes). Definitely a must if you share a shower, but even if not, I would recommend getting some to go to-and-fro the kitchen, your room and your flatmates’ rooms. Those floors are nah-stay.
Things I really didn't need:
- Apple corer/slicer. I don’t even like apples, but apparently I thought it was a kitchen necessity (I think my thought process involved potato wedges - I didn't make any of those, either).
- A wire rack which hung on a shelf. (I bought a pack of two from Dunelm, but I can't seem to find it on their website. I'm searching!) Rather than it acting as an organisational aid, it was just where I shoved stuff that I couldn’t be bothered to put away. If you’re a better person than I am, then it’s probably a rather good idea.
- Fancy storage. Whilst packing a fold-down ottoman from The Range was one of the best decisions of my life (well, of my university life), some fancy desk storage with little drawers for things, well…wasn’t. Similarly to the wire rack above, it could definitely work for some people. The issue for me was that the things I had intended to put in there didn’t quite fit, which meant they were all over the place.
- (I didn’t pack this myself, but I thought it was worth mentioning) A TV. Not only will you have to pay for a TV Licence (as much as I love the BBC, I’m also a student with little disposable income), but you’ll probably be doing things when your favourite programmes are on anyway. I’d recommend using catch-up services, or if you’re really keen, watching things live when your device isn’t plugged into the mains*. It’s a shame I found out about this nearer the end of the academic year (although just in time for Eurovision, so ker-ching!).
Which silly gadget did you decide to pack for university? And which staple item did you forget to fetch with you?
*on 2nd September 2015, the TV Licensing website said the following: "A hall's licence doesn’t cover a student in their room. Their parents’ licence also won’t cover them, unless the student only ever uses devices that are powered solely by their own internal batteries, and they don’t plug them into an aerial or the mains."
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