For all freshers, the idea of living in university accommodation is both exciting but overwhelming at the same time. Hopefully this list of important things to pack will help make the preparation for university less stressful.

For international and GB students, it is important to note that for most items such as duvets and kitchenware it is easier to buy them in Belfast at places such as IKEA on the way to your accommodation instead of buying them in your home country and flying them over.

The university offers accommodation box packages which includes bedding and kitchen essentials, which are very useful for international students.

Find out more about Queen's accommodation

Clothes

It’s important to pack sports gear, especially if you already have a sport in mind that you want to join. If you don’t play any sports it is still useful to have at least one gym outfit. It rains often in Belfast and it can get very chilly, so make sure to pack a waterproof coat with a hood and a thick winter coat. I ended up having to buy a special winter coat for Belfast because I find it way colder than what I’m used to.

It can be useful to have summer outfits for September and May however for most of the year, jumpers will be your best friend to keep you warm. Students tend to forget to pack a few silly costume items such as random hats which can be used for society socials, Halloween or themed parties because at university these happen frequently enough.

Check out Halloween happenings at Queen's accommodation!

Another thing students tend to forget is formal attire. Around Christmas time and in second term you will have a few formals on which are black tie and so require a long dress with heels or a tux, so if you have some at home it’s cheaper to bring them with you than buy new ones when you get to Belfast. I usually bring four long dresses each academic year in different colours for all of my events to give me a nice selection.

You never know when one set of smart clothing will come in handy such as a work blazer and trousers/skirts for interviews or internships as Queen's host a few smart attire events, so it’s better to pack one set of smart attire in order to be prepared.

You will spend your whole university time in casual clothing so make sure you have lots of comfy clothes for lectures and studying as well as nice clothes to wear out clubbing or on nights out.

Read student Ghada's blog about Belfast Weather Essentials

Bedroom items

A mattress protector is not essential, however it is quite nice to have to make the beds comfier. Most bedding items are better if you order them online to arrive at the university accommodation so that when you arrive you can easily collect them from the reception, that way you can save money on flying over your duvet etc.

A blanket is a nice item to have to chill out in the kitchen with or on your bed in the winter months. Don’t forget to order or pack hangers because they aren’t usually included unless you’re lucky enough that someone left theirs in the wardrobe last year.

Make your accommodation cosy!

When it comes to bedding and towels it is useful to have two of everything so that you can put on new sheets while one set is in the wash.

To help dry your clothes a clothes dryer is something that I would consider essential because tumble drying your washing is expensive and some clothes can easily dry in your room on a clothes horse. This will save you a lot of money and will be used regularly. Students from Northern Ireland don’t usually need to bring a clothes horse because most of them like to do their washing at home however you never know when you might need one.

Finally for your bedroom, a laundry basket or bin is great to get because it will be used daily. There are so many cheap ones online that can fold up and not take up a lot of space.

A laundry room is also available in Elms BT9

Kitchen items

Most kitchen items are best to buy over in Belfast. Many supermarkets do bundle deals in August and September filled with cheap cutlery and crockery etc. The most important thing is to pick colourful or stand out cutlery and crockery because in first year accommodation they easily get lost.

When I first moved into mine, I used a red nail varnish to put one red dot on each of my kitchen wear and it worked really well and meant that I didn’t lose any kitchen items which was a miracle.

It’s best to have at least two of everything and have a lot of Tupperware because you will end up doing a lot of batch cooking and will need somewhere to store all of your leftovers. 

Keep track of your kitchen utensils

Miscellaneous but useful

For Belfast specifically, a small umbrella that can fit into your uni bag is so useful.

One thing a lot of students forget is basic first aid things such as plasters or Savlon cream and most importantly cold and flu medicine because in freshers' week you will most likely get freshers' flu.

Cards are also a nice thing to bring or any variation of game or drinking game to do together as flatmates. My flat had a Nintendo switch that we all played Mario Kart on together, so it’s nice to have something for you all to bond over.

Hopefully this blog helps you to remember useful things to pack that you hadn’t thought of or had forgotten about. A lot of things you can order online straight to your student accommodation if you get there and realise you have forgotten it.

Find out more

Information for GB students

Queen's Accommodation

Queen's welcome and orientation

Charlotte Jennings  Politics and International Relations | Undergraduate Student | London, England I'm a Politics and International Relations student in my second year at Queen's. I am from London and currently live in student housing but lived in Elms BT9 last year. I love to be a busy person and am a member of multiple societies and teams at Queen's. I am also undertaking a charitable project at Queen's called the Zambia project where we host fundraisers in order to collect money and aid for our missionary trip to Zambia. In my spare time I teach water sports in Bangor and so far I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Belfast even though it is very different to London. I would highly recommend the university to anyone as I have had the best experience here so far and have fallen in love with this country.