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Monday, 26 August 2013

Back to School Series # 3: University Living Essentials

Hello Lovlies!

In this edition I will be covering the different necessities you will need in different types of living situations when or if you decide to move closer to your university.

The first is for a dorm room on campus (Single room -shared bathroom with neighbor-)
- MATTRESS PAD! (Do you want to sleep on someone old mattress? and it will be much more comfortable with one)
- Duvet and pillows
- Desk Supplies (You will have a desk, so bring all the supplies you will need)
- Mini-fridge and Microwave (Find out ahead of time if these are allowed in your room)
- Snacks (If you do not have time to do and get a meal, having easy to make food that can be prepared in your microwave will be very helpful, especially for late night study sessions when the cafeteria is closed.)
- Plastic drawers (You know what I am talking about right?)
- Hangers (Yes I know its obvious but all this organization stuff is very important)
- Cleaning Supplies (Yes it is very important! Clean before you set your room up! and of course keep it clean, but you will also need to make sure the place is spotless before you move out or there is a chance that you will be charged.)
- Laundry Supplies
- Cork Board and Big wall calender (ones you can write on and erase -dry erase-) 
- Lights (Find out if your room comes with a side table lamp or a desk lamp)
- TV/DVD player (If you are not one that will be going home every weekend there is times that you will not have anything to do. Yes most of the time you will be busy and this could be a bad thing, especially if you have no self control but having a TV could stop your bordem if you ever find a moment that you are not swamped with school work. Yes there is usually a common room with a TV by try finding it free where you can watch whatever you want to watch...)
- iPod dock or clock radio (These items could do the same thing, I even  recommend loading your iPod with none lyrical music that will keep you awake and calm to help you focus on your work.)
- All your personal effects is obvious as well but I will include it.
- This includes
            - Toiletries
            - Clothes
            - Jewlery
            - Make up
            - Pictures or memorabilia from home (Such as stuffed animals)

This next list is if you are living in a house, on or off campus.
- First off I recommend that you include everything in my previous list in this list as well!
- MATTRESS PAD! (Do you want to sleep on someone old mattress? and it will be much more comfortable with one)
- Duvet and Pillows
- Desk Supplies (You will have a desk, so bring all the supplies you will need)
- Mini-fridge and Microwave (Find out ahead of time if these are allowed in your room)
- Snacks
- Plastic drawers
- Cleaning Supplies
- Laundry supplies
- Lights
- Cork Board and Big wall calender (ones you can write on and erase -dry erase-)
- TV/DVD player
- iPod dock or clock radio
- All your personal effects is obvious as well but I will include it.
- This includes
            - Toiletries
            - Clothes
            - Jewlery
            - Make up
            - Pictures or memorabilia from home (Such as stuffed animals)
Also you should have
- Money
- Shelves (If you are moving into a place off campus)
- Desk (If you are moving somewhere off campus)
- Food (Split with roommates if you have)
- Kitchen stuff (Do not bring good stuff, it will get damaged -Split with roommates if you have them-)
- Shower Caddy (This is if you are sharing a place with more then one other person, people will steal from you)
- Plenty more that will be essential for you but not for others
- DO NOT OVER PACK!!! (Chances are these places are small and bringing your entire childhood with you from home is not going to turn out well!)

This are some of the basic necessities I would recommend that you bring with you when moving closer to school and away from the parents!

Never Back Down
Never Give Up!

Crystal xxoo

Back to School Series #2: University Essentials

Hey again! This is the second installment in the Back to School Series. This time, as you saw in the title I will be focusing on University essentials. This has nothing to do with dorm room essentials I will cover that in another post. This is going to be general essentials, I will post a few supplies that may be needed for certain degrees but you will have to wait to receive a syllabus from your professor for further instructions.

A general list of supplies will be helpful, and you may be surprised with some of the things you find.

- AGENDA! **(You thought I put emphasis on this in my high school list its a lot different now. No matter what program you are in, or what you are doing an agenda should be the one thing that never leaves your side. You should keep this in your bag so that you have it when ever you need to write something down. I know I said it will be a savior before but its a lot different now, without it you will forget things. You will have multiple readings for every class, no matter what program.)**
- Pens, Notebook/Free Paper, Binder/if using paper (This is all depending on what you decide to use but I would recommend having loose paper for anytime you need to hand a question or small participation in lecture. Also loose leaf paper/notebook is helpful in tutorials and practical seminars.)
- Pencils (Again, similar to the high school list, this is mainly for scantron)
- Highlighters (I found these much more helpful in university then I did in high school. Since you buy your textbooks -even if you rent them- the book store usually does not care if the book is highlighted -they only care about water damage so do not drop your textbook in the bathtub or toilet!- So highlighters will be very important for textbook readings and note taking)
- Post-its (Yes post its! Buy them! You will need them, similar to highlighters you will need them for textbook reading and note taking)
- A laptop (This depends on how fast you can type, or now well you can write short hand but if you feel comfortable then I recommend typing your notes, it is much neater and more organized.)
- Printer (I personally recommend a small HP inkjet printer that takes the big cartridge. Yes the ink is rather expensive but it lasts on average 5000 prints which is amazing! The cartridge is around $90 and the printer is about $100 but it is so worth it since one cartridge will last you more then one year. The only con is it is not a colour printer but with school you will rarely if you ever need need to print in colour.)
- USB/Hardrive/Disks (If you are typing your notes, and even if you are only planing on typing assignments, having one or all of these devises will be a great help in making sure you do not lose your 15 page essay when while you are finishing up on your 14th page. BACK UP BACK UP BACK UP, I can not stress this enough. You need to constantly save your work and back it up. Professors do not care if your laptop stopped working, you should have backed it up! Even if you do not want to invest in any of these I would recommend that you email to yourself or use google drive, or cloud, anything that you are able to access your work from another computer.)
- iClicker (Your professor will let you know if the class is required to buy an iClicker, and if you do they will be available in your school bookstore)

 For other programs some things you may need are
- Lab coat and goggles (The Sciences)
- Calculator (Science and Math)
- Art Supplies (If an art student)