packing for uni when you have a lot of hobby items

hi all! im attending university this september and my parents have started telling me to sort out my belongings/throw away basically everything i wont bring to uni because they dont want to store it for me. this is a little unexpected for me as i never anticipated having to basically throw away everything i wont bring to uni, i don't even know if they'll store clothes for me either (because ive heard people say not to bring all ur clothes to uni, just the ones for the season) :frown:

. now im really not sure what to do, i love art so i have A LOT of art supplies especially ones that are expensive and i dont really want to throw them away like that, aswell as a lot of books and yarn for crochet. i have no idea how much space im going to have for these in my uni accom so i really dont know if i can bring them with me. has anyone been in a similar situation to me, and if so what did u do?

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

That's quite surprising to hear from them. I would suggest sitting down with your parents and discussing this, and explaining that particularly in first year, you won't have a long term permanent place to stay.

Usually halls contracts are only for the academic year, and at some unis (Oxbridge) you need to actually full move out of your accommodation during the breaks. Also it's typical for students, especially in first year, to plan to go home during the breaks anyway - it would be impractical to bring everything with you every time. Additionally worth pointing out to them even after first year, student rentals in the private sector can be quite varied and usually students will only stay there for a year or two. It would make things much more expensive to bring everything with you while moving multiple times in the span of just a few years.

While obviously storing it in a paid storage depot is impractical and not recommended, is there a reason they aren't happy for you to keep your things in your room at home? Are they planning to immediately remove all the furniture and your things in there when you move out? As they may need to manage their expectations in your moving out anyway as above. Going to uni for a lot of students doesn't mean you've "left the nest" and will not be returning except for short visits...

Reply 2

toastedcake

OP

7

Original post by artful_lounger

That's quite surprising to hear from them. I would suggest sitting down with your parents and discussing this, and explaining that particularly in first year, you won't have a long term permanent place to stay.
Usually halls contracts are only for the academic year, and at some unis (Oxbridge) you need to actually full move out of your accommodation during the breaks. Also it's typical for students, especially in first year, to plan to go home during the breaks anyway - it would be impractical to bring everything with you every time. Additionally worth pointing out to them even after first year, student rentals in the private sector can be quite varied and usually students will only stay there for a year or two. It would make things much more expensive to bring everything with you while moving multiple times in the span of just a few years.
While obviously storing it in a paid storage depot is impractical and not recommended, is there a reason they aren't happy for you to keep your things in your room at home? Are they planning to immediately remove all the furniture and your things in there when you move out? As they may need to manage their expectations in your moving out anyway as above. Going to uni for a lot of students doesn't mean you've "left the nest" and will not be returning except for short visits...

my parents want to give my room to my younger siblings i think, and they keep saying how i wont be coming back for long anyways so if i do i can just sleep downstairs because my mother will move her work area upstairs into the room my sibling is currently in, then put my bed in what is essentially the dining room for when i come back and like set up a curtain or smthing to seperate it from the living room (or have me sleep on the sofabed),, i've told her that im going to need to leave things because i wont have space and sometimes she'll agree but then talk about how she needs me to clear my room out for when my siblings move in, and hasn't really said much about how (if she would) she'd help me store my stuff if my entire room is being given away and the other bedroom is going to be used for work.

for reference, i intended to return maybe once a month because my mothers a nail tech and id rather come back for a weekend every month to do my nails with her (the train ticket home would be cheaper than going to a new nail tech), so it's not like im going to be gone for months at a time as she's implied.

Reply 3

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

21

Original post by toastedcake

my parents want to give my room to my younger siblings i think, and they keep saying how i wont be coming back for long anyways so if i do i can just sleep downstairs because my mother will move her work area upstairs into the room my sibling is currently in, then put my bed in what is essentially the dining room for when i come back and like set up a curtain or smthing to seperate it from the living room (or have me sleep on the sofabed),, i've told her that im going to need to leave things because i wont have space and sometimes she'll agree but then talk about how she needs me to clear my room out for when my siblings move in, and hasn't really said much about how (if she would) she'd help me store my stuff if my entire room is being given away and the other bedroom is going to be used for work.

for reference, i intended to return maybe once a month because my mothers a nail tech and id rather come back for a weekend every month to do my nails with her (the train ticket home would be cheaper than going to a new nail tech), so it's not like im going to be gone for months at a time as she's implied.

Well I think this is something you need to have a conversation about as I said - it sounds like your parents' expectations aren't aligning with your own which is where this point of contention is arising. If you make it clearer that you aren't seeing this as "moving out" fully and that it is likely you will be coming back not infrequently and potentially staying for more than just a day or two, they may understand the need for you to keep more of your stuff there.

It may also be something for you to discuss with the siblings in question, about keeping your stuff in "their" room(s) in future.

Reply 4

UCLan Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by toastedcake

hi all! im attending university this september and my parents have started telling me to sort out my belongings/throw away basically everything i wont bring to uni because they dont want to store it for me. this is a little unexpected for me as i never anticipated having to basically throw away everything i wont bring to uni, i don't even know if they'll store clothes for me either (because ive heard people say not to bring all ur clothes to uni, just the ones for the season) :frown:

. now im really not sure what to do, i love art so i have A LOT of art supplies especially ones that are expensive and i dont really want to throw them away like that, aswell as a lot of books and yarn for crochet. i have no idea how much space im going to have for these in my uni accom so i really dont know if i can bring them with me. has anyone been in a similar situation to me, and if so what did u do?

Hi @toastedcake,

I relate to this topic a lot as I have creative hobbies and have plenty of supplies myself. In my case, when I moved out, I almost took everything I could only keeping a few bits of clothing for when I visit so I wouldn’t have to take too much back and forth.

I would say that if you can and have the option to visit your accommodation before moving to get an idea or even looking at the images/ floor plans then that would be a great start. If not, then I would take as much as you can if needed and if you are organised with your storage, you can make it work! My first-year accommodation was small, and I managed to organise my items in a way that was easy to get to but also didn’t take up too much room.

Hope this helps 😊

Zac - Final year Fashion promotion and marketing student

Reply 5

hallamstudents

Official Rep

18

Original post by toastedcake

hi all! im attending university this september and my parents have started telling me to sort out my belongings/throw away basically everything i wont bring to uni because they dont want to store it for me. this is a little unexpected for me as i never anticipated having to basically throw away everything i wont bring to uni, i don't even know if they'll store clothes for me either (because ive heard people say not to bring all ur clothes to uni, just the ones for the season) :frown:

. now im really not sure what to do, i love art so i have A LOT of art supplies especially ones that are expensive and i dont really want to throw them away like that, aswell as a lot of books and yarn for crochet. i have no idea how much space im going to have for these in my uni accom so i really dont know if i can bring them with me. has anyone been in a similar situation to me, and if so what did u do?

Hi @toastedcake ,

I would also recommend trying to have a look around the accommodation that you are planning on staying at before you move in. Usually you can book tours of specific accommodation so when you have decided where you are going to be staying, look online and see if you can book a tour. This would usually include a tour of one of the rooms like the one you will be staying in so you can see if you would have enough room for all of your things. Usually in uni rooms there is a wardrobe which might have a couple of shelves in and sometimes a chest of drawers so it depends how much stuff you have and how big the room is. It's also worth looking if there is storage under the bed or space under the bed as sometimes there is space under the bed where you can put boxes. If there is, try and measure the space so that you can buy boxes that fit underneath.

Some people bring all of their clothes to uni at once and some bring different clothes depending on the time of year and switch them around. It really depends how much room you have in your room and also how many clothes yo actually have!

It's also worth talking to your family and explaining that you will be coming home more than they think. Maybe they just haven't realised how often you were planning on coming back and you could agree that you could still store your things there. They could still use your bedroom for someone else but you might be able to store some of your things in the house still as you might not have enough room in your uni accommodation for all of your things.

I hope some of this helps :smile:

Lucy -SHU student ambassador.

Reply 6

kitpanda2005

6

One thing that some people do is to leave their items in a storage unit over the holidays to make it easier to not move everything up and down the country. In your case it would also be good as it would mean you can keep your items without having to get rid of valuables. See if you can get your parents to agree to paying for this or going half's with them seeing as they are the ones wanting to move you out. I'm very sorry that this is the situation given to you and it must be really frustrating dealing with it. A last resort is to mayve contact the university and see If they can help provide any storage facilities. But yeah I recommend just search up the area and find some storage facilities and compare the prices and go for the best cheapest one.
hopefully this helps and your situation will be sorted soon ♡♡♡ rooting for u!

packing for uni when you have a lot of hobby items

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