Welcome to Halls!
It’s everyone’s favourite weekend of the year - move-in weekend! The time where your parents will disagree with any and all furnishing decisions you make, and advise you to bring 101 things you don’t end up using, but take anyways so they feel like you’re properly settled in (trust me, take it on the chin and move forward). Whilst this weekend is massively exciting (you’re in a new place, by yourself and gaining some major independence), it can also be quite scary. But have no fear, I’m here to guide you through everything you need to know about moving into halls.
I’ll be splitting this article into a few sections, purely for convenience (but also so I don’t lose track of what I’m saying); things you don’t necessarily need to bring with you but should get your hands on ASAP, halls politics, making your shoebox room feel like home and your first night alone in the big wide world.
MY TOP 3 ESSENTIALS FOR ONCE YOU’VE MOVED INTO HALLS
Whilst you can be almost certain your parents will have sent you to university will all manner of things, there are a few things that you need to make sure you’ve got your hands on in order to maximise living at uni
storage bags - many university rooms will come with plenty of storage space, including under your bed or on top of a cupboard. However, these rooms have been used by several people before you and as such, you might not want to just stick your stuff under your bed without any protection from the past (and also dust mites!!!) I personally love these Ikea storage bags, but any sizeable bag with a zipper will do.
a lint roller - for some reason unknown to the world, university halls are just about the dustiest place ever (hence the danger of dust mites), but a lint roller will be your absolute best friend through university for that reason, and also because university laundries often have a lot of lint in their dryers. This lint roller is the one I’ve used for years (my mum had them in our house before I moved out!) and they’re super helpful because you can just replace the roll itself so you don’t need to get a new handle every time you run out!
a door stop - any from Amazon will do, they’re so cheap but so incredibly useful (just make sure you don’t get caught by room or flat checks with yours out!). Having your door open is very underrated as it gives you so many more opportunities to interact with everyone else in your flat. In my flat last year, 3 of us pretty much always had our doors open which, whilst meaning we could just ask each other things if we needed to, also meant being in our little shoeboxes felt a little less alone.
HALLS MOVING-IN POLITICS
Having gone through a bit of a bumpy ride over the course of my year in halls, it’s safe to say I know a thing or two about halls politics. I’ll be uploading a more general article about halls politics in the future, but for now I’ll just speak about politics specifically when you’re moving in. Odds are, your flat will be incredibly full of parents and your flatmates on move-in day, and everyone is far too focused on unpacking and getting settled to be making friends. That’s okay. Remember that you’re all in the same boat of just trying to sort yourself out, so even if you only manage to say hi to one of your flatmates in the first few hours, not a worry at all. What I would recommend is, once all the parents have filed out, organise some kind of group activity (like having a pizza night, or all playing cards together) to get to know everyone in your flat and set yourself up for a good year. This won’t always work, some people just aren’t social creatures or might give up on interacting with the rest of you after a few days, but it’s important to make the effort in the first place to at least know everybody’s names, where they’re from and what degree they’re doing (these are the 3 most common questions you’ll get for the next few weeks, enjoy!..)
YOUR PRECIOUS SHOEBOX
When I first moved into halls last year, one of the first things my mum said after we walked in was ‘this is your little shoebox’, referring to the fact that halls rooms can in fact feel like you’re in a shoebox. They’re often perfectly square or rectangular with no outstanding features whatsoever. So, how do you make it home? There are several rules (unfortunately) that you have to follow in halls, one of which is that you can’t use candles (I have a personal vendetta against this rule, but also understand why it exists - fire alarms get old really quickly in halls). Instead of burning a candle though, even just having one sitting open in your room can make the whole room smell a little bit more like you. Alternatively, getting a diffuser (Sainsbury’s often have these on clearance!) is a great idea to get your room smelling a little more like home.
Bring a blanket and a pillow from home! Yes, I know in September it’s not really remotely cold enough to need one, but bringing a blanket from home can bring you worlds of comfort on your first night in halls, and the same can be said for having your own pillow. Additionally, if you’ve got a set of sheets that you’ve used for years, and they’re the right size for your bed, why not bring them too? Making a home out of halls is all about bringing home to you.
And finally, stick up some photos, some posters, whatever you can get your hands on to make your walls look a little less empty. Having a room that doesn’t look like such a blank slate anymore can make such a difference in how comfortable you are in that space. You’ll be spending a lot of time in there over the next year, so it’s important to make it your own. You’ll definitely pick up different bits that you can bring into your room over the course of the year, but the most important thing is to understand that it’s your (sort of temporary) home. Nobody wants to live surrounded by old dirty dishes, dirty laundry or dusty surfaces so make sure you take care of your precious shoebox so that it can always be somewhere that you can come home to and crash after a long day.
YOUR FIRST NIGHT IN THE BIG WIDE WORLD…
… will most likely not be spent in bed but, rather, out partying. Or in your flat kitchen partying. Or playing cards. The point is, you’re unlikely to be in your room (and if you are, I strongly encourage you to go out and find something to do!) and you’re unlikely to be alone. Freshers’ Week is nothing else if not incredibly busy and full of life. You’ll spend late nights out partying and late mornings sleeping in, and spend plenty of time getting to know people in your flat, in your accommodation generally and on your course (and also that random person you met in the club). But eventually, everyone needs to sleep, and that’s when it can get a little lonely. Fortunately, you should be tired enough that you just fall asleep without a problem, but in the case that you’re not, here are some quick tips to help you out:
Watch some TV - everyone has a comfort show on Netflix or Disney+ that they love watching over and over again, even if they know the whole thing back to front. So why not put that on? It’ll help you wind down if you’ve been out and running around and you’ll be asleep before you know it.
Read a book - yes, I know it can be quite boring for some (and incredibly difficult to do if you’re drunk), but it’s also a great way to wind down after a really big day, so give it a go.
Just close your eyes - that somehow is some of the best sleeping advice ever, although it seems incredibly stupid and obvious to say. Don’t keep yourself up late worrying about the fact that you’re alone or that you don’t know anyone, etc. etc., just close your eyes and go to sleep. See? All better.
Moving into halls can be quite the experience, full of navigating very busy hallways and holding doors open for more strangers than you can count, but it’s also one of the most exciting days, and one that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Remember that it’s a positive experience and not something you should be dreading. Uni is exciting! (sometimes)
Have a great Freshers’ Week (and to those that have already had theirs, I hope that you’ve been able to gain something from this article too), and I shall see you tomorrow for the next instalment of our Freshers’ specials!
Mia