Student survival kit - ideas please.

Check with the student accommodation he will be staying in. They may have some communal facilities which include ironing / board etc. Some expect you to have your own kettle/ toaster. My kids found a mini fridge they could keep in their room useful , but maybe best to let him settle in and find out what the accommodation does/ doesn't provide before buying anything major.

How about some stationery items? I doubt that he will do much ironing. My son never washed his football kit. Just dried it and wore it the following week. My daughter had a small plastic airier that was suspended from the ceiling . She used it to dry her underwear. A room fridge is great because nothing is safe in communal fridges. Shower gel and washing powder to start him off might be a good idea. We used to give our kids tinned beans and tomatoes and bags of pasta and jars of coffee.

I agree. If he has little in the way of storage space, you'll find yourself bringing a lot of his stuff back home, so best to find out how the land lies with his accommodation first.

Kitchen knives, scissors, chopping board and plastic food boxes, to add to the list.

The mini fridge is a good idea, as he has to inject growth hormones daily and they have to be refrigerated.
He will have to do a lot of hand washing because he is doing dance, and you know what a stink stale sweat makes when dried on and re-worn!
It is very frustrating not knowing about his accommodation. He should know next week, but it will be first come first served when he gets the email offer. He is like me in that he likes his ducks in a row and sorted.
On his birthday I bought a giant plastic microwave cup with a lid and a book of Meals in a Mug. We shall have to wait and see whether there is even a microwave there.
Keep the ideas coming please. I am adding to the list!

Most modern Halls are out of this world compared to the past. A mini fridge sounds brilliant.

Toilet rolls!

We bought our kids mini (beer!) fridges from Lidl when at uni. They quite often have them in store at this time of year.

Boards for preparing food on. work counters are rarely clean and who takes time to clean before making a sandwich.

DGS always had a few rudimentary cooking pots of his own as the ones in accommodation whether Uni residences or a rented house were never good. He also had a few implements such as food prep knives and wooden spoons. They soon sort themselves out once they are there.
I taught DS a few basic recipes before he went and DGS knew a few too.
Another skill is to know how to use a washing machine and to sort their washing so it does not all end up grey! Non iron things are handy too.

Plastic boxes for the fridge in case he has to share a fridge/freezer with others; he can label the boxes and hope others don't pinch his food.

Or is he catered?

When our eldest DGD started at Uni I was looking for a simple cook book for her and came across "Nosh". Absolutely brilliant! She used to send us photos of the first meals she did prompting me to reply asking who she was and what had she done with our DGD!
Need to check if fridges allowed I think.

Coffee mugs, a plate and bowl and a few basic items of cutlery

Air freshener, odour eaters, fly spray, domestos, brillo pads, ear plugs and plenty of sticky labels saying 'Hands Off it's MINE' !'.

Hope he has a good time shysal.

You may be interested to know that this thread is linked to FB.
It is obviously very topical.

I would wait until he has his accommodation allocated before buying a fridge . My 2 sons are 20 & 22 and neither of their unis allowed anything like that in their rooms / flats for safety reasons . Kettles, toasters , sandwich makers etc all had to be in the kitchen .

( PS . My boys would have died from embarrassment to be given a bag with that message on it , despite how well intentioned it was )

A mattress topper as beds are brick hard and you dont know who slept in it last. A mini fridge for his room as nothing is safe in a communal fridge. George Forman grill with removable plates, can be used for toasties aswell as grilling other food. Underbed storage containers as storage is never enough. crockery pots and pans-cheap and cheerful as you definately will not be using them for a second year-
Good luck, try not to worry to much.

For things that fit inside the bag I would pop into a pound shop and fill it with little ideas that you will get as you go along. Emergency snacks for when too busy but need comfort for missing you all might be an idea. I agree about the bag notaggran55 BUT he might secretly love having it when feeling far from home and students are funny things can become trendy like when the papers reported that lots of themwere into teletubbies because it was a happy silly thing for them to simply enjoy.

Not for putting in your GS bag, but when DS2 started in shared accomodation, there was no loo brush. !!!

Many thanks everyone. Auntieflo I have bought a Lakeland loo rim brush and some rim blocks.

Never thought about the bag! it was only cheap so perhaps I should replace it with a plain one.

Be careful what/how much you buy as most halls require students to remove all their stuff in the holidays as the rooms are used by others then. It may all have to be carted back and forth.

In my university days the halls of residence usually had storage rooms you could leave stuff in over vacations, at your own risk. My parents lived abroad when I was at university and I dumped stuff in the storage rooms every vac, as I flew to and from home, which meant limited luggage.

Nowadays they could always hire a a small commercial storage space. Not too expensive when only done for a few weeks.

A mini fridge was very useful for all 4 of our children. A tin of biscuits also useful and a couple of mugs, plates, glasses, sets of cutlery. I found packing 2 rather than just one of these a great way to be sociable from the beginning...but it does depend on what is already included in the accommodation. And hangers for clothes......there are never enough of them.

The Student room has a great list about what to take to Uni, here. It looks most comprehensive to me. I hope you find it useful.

bit.ly/2vi0AOz

Do a student a favour and tip them off about forming appropriate friendships. I found this novel warning Freshers about partying too hard.
- 'What If I Go?' by Polly White
Best of luck, Fiona