WHAT TO TAKE TO UNIVERSITY?!

I'm obviously no expert at this - in fact I haven't even arrived at university yet (16 days and counting!) but I thought I'd share with you what I'm taking to university.

For the first month I am living in halls, I am catered for and I have shared facilities. This means I don't have to take or buy any kitcheny type equipment with me and I won't be able to take all my thousands of bath and shower products cos I'll have to keep them in my small little room. However, I am moving after the first month and i'm not sure where to yet so I may be able to do an updated version of this if circumstances change!

I'll write my list and every time I buy or find something I think will be practical I will post a link to it, so this will be updated regularly! Primarily this will be for a girls room - but boys may find some ideas along the way!

• Duvet-----The university may provide this. Argos, Asda, Tesco, etc. sell good quality cheap ones. You're a student now - get used to buying the cheapest possible!
• sheets x2----- Same as above! I've bought these: here (Argos, £4.82) and here (Argos, £5.99). Make sure you get 2 sheets, so you alternate with washing them!
• Duvet covers x2-----Same as above! I've bought these: here (Argos, £12.99) and here (Argos, £19.99). Make sure you get 2 duvet covers so that you can alternate washing them!
• Pillows x2-----The university may provide this. I already own some pillows...but the same places as stated above may sell these too.
• Pillow Cases-----Most duvet cover sets come with at least one pillow case. Make sure you buy double the pillow cases to the amount of pillows you have (e.g. 1 pillow = 2 pillow cases) so you can alternate washing them! I bought these: here (Argos, £2.50).
• Mattress Topper-----This isn't exactly necessary and it might be worth waiting until you've spent one night sleeping on your mattress. If you find that it's uncomfortable a mattress topper should help! I've picked out my one just in case my mattress is uncomfortable: here (Argos, £29.99).

*Some of the following items definitely aren't necessary. I just thought that the decorative items are important to me because you can't decorate rooms in halls etc. so I'm buying all pretty stuff to help my room look decorated!*

• Bed throw-----

• Decorative Cushions-----Personally I'm NOT getting any decorative cushions, I've decided to just get a bed throw because you need to remember you've only got a single bed. HOWEVER you can get pretty inexpensive decorative cushions so it is a good idea to get some if you want to brighten up your room! Good places to look for these are: Dunelm-Mill or The Range
• Candle-----I'm a bit of a candle addict. I'm not sure if universities allow them, but if they do I'm taking my favourite one. Sweet Strawberry (Yankee Candle, Regular Tumbler, £9.95).
• Alarm clock-----I already own this, but you can get it here (Ikea, £4.25).
• Door wedge-----I've read that if you live in halls it's easier to make friends if you wedge your door open, I figured I'd try that as I only know of one person going to the same university as me.
• Hot water bottle-----You must have one of these lying around? Otherwise places like Asda, Tesco etc. sell them cheaply. Asda £1.50
• Desk lamp
• Rubbish bin-----I'm taking mine from my room. I got it here (The Range, £7.99)
• Mug-----I have a million mugs that I love but I must restrict myself to a maximum of two mugs. You don't have the room to over pack!
• Towels (Large) x2
• Towels (Small) x2
• Towelling dressing gown-----I'm in 'shared facilities' accommodation and where I'm sure all the people I'll be in halls with are lovely I'm sure they don't want to walk in just as my towel comes undone or something so I decided to get a towelling dressing gown from here (BHS, £25.00)
• Dream catcher-----Or something similar to this for some quirky personality.
• Pretty hangers-----These don't necessarily need to be pretty, but I would like to add some personality to my wardrobe with something inexpensive like that. Personally I love these (Ikea, £5.50) but you can get packs of hangers from loads of places, especially department stores or grocery shops with homeware sections in it.
• Handbag-----Just any old handbag you have lying around the house. You don't want to have to always switch up your uni bag for you to be able to take it out shopping. Nothing to expensive, just something practical and neutral so it goes with anything.
• Uni bag-----This bag will be the permanant home for your pencil case, books and other uni items, you don't want to have to share this bag with also being your handbag, things get lost or left behind like that e.g. assignments!
• Clutch bag-----Well, hello you're a student now. You're not going to be a stranger to going out on the town or to the student union are you? You want a nice plain, neutral/black clutch/small bag for these times. Something big enough to fit your money/purse/card, your phone and your keys in but nothing more!
• Purse
• Keys
• Watch
• Prescription glasses and sunglasses
• Face mask-----Even students need some pampering from time to time! I use this NSpa 5 Minute Magic Mask available in store at Asda
• Face scrub/cleanser-----I use this Scrub Your Nose in it (Boots, Soap and Glory, £7.50) and this Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser (Lush, £6.35).
• Moisturiser-----I use this Skin Drink Moisturiser (Lush, £11.95)
• Spot stuff-----How I wish I didn't have to use this Dr. Spot (Boots, Soap and Glory, £5.33)
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Hairbrush
• Hair accessories-----Bobby pins, hair elastics, head bands etc.
• Shower gel-----I use these shower gels: Whipped Clean Shower Butter (Boots, Soap and Glory, £8.00), Clean on Me (Boots, Soap and Glory, £6.00), Rose Jam (Lush, £4.65 per 100g)
• Shampoo-----I use these shampoos: Banana Shampoo (The Body Shop, £4.50) and Trichomania (Lush, £5.35 per 100g)
• Conditioner-----I use these conditioners: Banana Conditioner (The Body Shop, £4.50), American Cream (Lush, £4.50) and R&B Leave-in Conditioner (Lush, £11.25 per 100g)
• Razor
• Wash bag-----You really don't want to be lugging everything around separately, especially if you're in shared facilities! Get a large wash bag to keep everything in! Look at places like: Boots, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, Superdrug, Asda, Tesco etc.
• Flannel x2
• Sponge
• Hair oil-----I get very bad ends, so I use Argan oil on them. I don't use the high-end brand of Argan Oil though, which I'm sure is better. VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir (Boots, £5.19)
• Face wipes-----Now ladies, we all know how important Face Wipes are! Quick to take off make up, and also freshening up your skin! I use these Exfoliating Facial Wipes (Boots, £3.99)
• Eye make up remover-----Gentle Eye Make Up Remover (Boots, £1.99)
• Cotton pads
• Cotton buds
• Make up bag
• Make up-----Pack your daily make up and your evening make up, no more! You don't have room!
• Nail varnish-----Choose your favourite five (this will be unbelievably difficult for me!) But you can always buy a few more once you get there if you feel the urge ;)
• Nail varnish remover
• Push pins-----Get these from most stationary shops e.g. Staples, Asda, Tesco, Paperchase etc. I got these ones (Paperchase, £2.00)
• notebooks-----I suggest getting 2 A4 notebooks, 1 A5 notebook and 1 Refill pad! This gives you notebooks for any occasion. For example: The A4 ones are handy for taking to lectures, the A5 one is good for carrying around with you to take memos down and the Refill pad is a good all-rounder! Make sure they're what you need, ruled, grid etc. Spiro bound or threaded etc. I got these notebooks: Pink A4 Notebook (Paperchase, £5.00), Purple A4 Notebook (Paperchase, £5.00), Camouflage A5 Divider notebook (Paperchase, £5.00) and Linear Floral A4 Refill Pad (Paperchase, £2.50)
• Memory stick-----Important! I suggest getting the cheapest one you can (not second hand!) which is 4GB. This will be big enough for you to back up all of your assignments and important documents that you need to. Make sure you don't clutter this up with your music etc. Have separate ones for personal files and university files.
• Pens
• Pencils
• Highlighters
• Permanent markers
• Ruler
• Eraser-----Don't buy these stupid shaped ones, just buy a simple one like this! (Paperchase, £1.00)
• Calculator-----Okay, so you can get cheaper ones than it, but I loved this. It's so pretty! (Paperchase, £6.00)
• Sharpener
• Pencil case
• Staples
• Stapler
• Holepunch
• Paperclips-----Try to find some just plain paperclips from somewhere like asda or Staples. Paperchase didn't have any proper ones, but seeing as though I was making an order I made do with these animal shaped paperclips... (Paperchase, £3.50)
• A4 ringbinders
• Lever arch folders
• Plastic wallets
• Envelopes
• Stamps
• Driving license, Passport, Other forms of I.D.
• National Insurance Number
• Laptop
• Kindle
• Phone
• iPod
• Computer
• Cables and Chargers
• Rechargeable batteries
• Camera
• Printer and ink-----Get the cheapest and smallest printer you can find, and even that isn't necessary. The university will have printers, it's just useful to have your own in your room.
• Printer paper
• Inhalers
• Medicines
• Antiseptic cream etc.
• Plasters
• Books
• Weekend bag
• Hair straighteners
• Hair curlers
• Clothes!-----Don't forget that even though it might still be warm whilst you're packing, you're going to be going to university in September - AUTUMN! It will get cold, lets get real - it's England! I would suggest packing 7 full outfits and 7 extra tops. All of which are warm or have some jumpers that will go with them. Pack some cute wellies if you think you'll wear them in the wet weather. Hats, gloves and scarves will be important and your warm winter coat too - not just jackets! And don't forget that you'll be washing these things yourself for the most part, so make sure they can be washed in the washing machine - you don't want to be forking out more cash each week for dry cleaning, you want to be able to bung it in a washing machine and be done with it.