Moving to university can be tough. Living with other people and adjusting to their habits, keeping the place tidy, all while balancing uni work. We’ve put together a list of household tips to ease your transition into university accommodation.
Student houses have a reputation for being messy but having a cleaning rota can help you to fairly divide up the chores – if you stick to it! It’s important to get to grips with the basics of cleaning before you move away from home, such as which cleaning products are best for which tasks. We have a variety of articles to help with this, such as our guide on The Best Way to Clean Your Bathroom.
We definitely recommend investing in some decent household gloves and thicker bin liners – you’ll thank us later! There will always be a reluctance to take out the bins until they’re practically overflowing and the last thing you want is it tearing as you do so. Chances are, you’ll have to clean some pretty grim things at university, so trust us on the gloves!
One thing that is always surprising is how quickly the washing up can accumulate! Take responsibility for your own dirty dishes and it’ll help move things along. Take a look at our Guide to Doing Dishes if you need some help getting started.
There’s not always enough room for all your dishes to be drying at once, so we suggest a collapsible dish rack that you can pop in and out of the cupboard as and when you need it.
Not everyone who goes to university knows how to do laundry, so make sure you get the basics under your belt before you go, including which detergents to use and how to sort your clothes by colour. You will likely have to use a laundrette if you’re in university halls, so a laundry basket with handles will make it much easier for you to just grab your laundry and go.
Student accommodation is famously susceptible to dampness and mould, so try to air your washing outside if you have a space to do so. If you really must dry it inside, make sure it’s in a very well-ventilated space with the windows open. Following on from this, some dehumidifiers will also prevent your house from getting too damp.
There is likely to be limited storage in your room, so consider some under-bed storage to hold some of your extra clothes. On the other hand, decorative storage boxes do wonders for adding your own flair to the room while also providing a practical storage solution.
We hope these tips have given you some things to think about before you move away from home. Don’t forget to check out our Student Bedroom Essentials to see what else you might need to bring!
