It’s September, which used to be simple enough if you have kids. A week of panic-buying of stationary and uniform, and then the slow adjustment to early starts again. Now, for many, it’s a case of leaving them with strangers in a new house, flat or halls to properly fend for themselves as university students. It can be all too emotional and chaotic to prepare them with everything they might need. If you’re a student, no matter how independent you consider yourself to be from your parents, it can be even a little daunting when the time comes. Some of us at Property Property Property were students ourselves, so we know how it feels!

Below are a few tips that we hope will help when it comes to moving away for the first time to university:

1) Insurance

Ensure you’re fully insured for valuables like laptops, phones and any equipment you take with you, including that which you’ll need for your course (e.g. if you study computing or music). Often an insurance company will have a booth at your Freshers’ Fair and be able to advise you further.

2) Storage and packing

A thrifty tip would be to try and save your boxes, crates and wrapping for when you move out at the end of the year. You’ll be doing a bit of moving about from house to house, or back home, in the next three years, so keep that in mind. If you live in a particularly student-populated area, it might be hard to get these at the end of term. If your next tenancy doesn’t begin straight away or you live too far away to bring stuff back home with you, consider a storage facility to tide you over.

3) Priority Packing

Pack only what you really need. For instance, do you need your entire DVD collection  with you? Can you not watch these things online? The same goes for clothing. Do you need your summer apparel for your first term from September to December? Prioritise what is important and pick up other stuff when you’re next at home. If you end up with a smaller room it can be hard to fit everything in if you take too much.

4) Your Car

Most student areas have excellent transport services so you won’t need your own car. It can also be very difficult to find and afford parking all the time. The best bet would be to get to know the area in your first week and find out about travel tickets online for weekly, monthly or even yearly periods.

5) Utensils and Bedding

For things like kitchen utensils or bed linen, many shops, either on campus or department stores, offer all-in-one packs specially for students which saves you buying bits and pieces, here and there and possibly doubling up or forgetting stuff.

While these tips can come in very handy, many find that it’s when you’re in need of something that you make new friends at university as a way to break the ice; so don’t worry too much about making sure you have everything so much that you don’t enjoy your first few weeks away.