Advice for moving into self-catered accommodation
By Lauren, from Scotland, studying Politics
Perks of self-catered accommodation
One of the benefits of self-catered accommodation for me was the ability to cook and eat your own food in your own time. Although my friends in catered halls said that there is a wide variety to pick from, living in self-catered accommodation meant I had a lot more flexibility. If I was craving a specific meal or was back late from my society meetings, being in self-catered accommodation meant I was able to make and eat my meals without feeling pressured to set mealtimes and plans.
Another benefit of self-catered accommodation was being able to try new recipes and learn to look after myself by cooking delicious food! When I’m at home, I love to cook for my family, so when I came to university, I used my cooking skills to learn how to batch cook and what ingredients you can bulk buy and freeze. This has really helped me in my second and third year, and has helped me save money.
One aspect of self-catered accommodation that I struggled with was looking after myself and making sure to fuel my body. While cooking all your own meals can be fun, sharing a kitchen with four other people sometimes felt a bit overwhelming at times. Whilst most of our mealtimes happened at different times in the day, sometimes my flatmates would like to have friends over to socialise in the kitchen area whilst I was wanting to cook myself food, which stressed me out a bit. Something that helped me, was realising that we all need to fuel our bodies, and that cooking myself dinner and fuelling myself was more important than what I thought my flatmates were thinking.
Top tips for self-catered accommodation
My number one top tip is to bring shoes that you can easily slip on. These are a lifesaver when the fire alarm goes off randomly when someone’s left their toast in the toaster or forgets to open a window before opening the oven. They can also be useful if your shared kitchen gets a bit messy, as you can walk around without worrying about stepping in something.
Another top tip is to bring or buy a collapsible drying rack for laundry. Although self-catered accommodation has washing and drying facilities, the dryers were often in use when I needed them, and my room was warm enough that clothes could dry overnight on the rack. I wouldn’t recommend over-the-door drying racks though, as they aren’t allowed in a lot of accommodations for fire safety reasons, and the one I brought didn’t end up fitting on my door. Instead, opt for a collapsible one that folds away under your bed or in a corner. I still use mine to this day!
What I wish I brought
One of the items I wish I brought was a Dishmatic. If you’re like me and have no idea what that is, it’s a sponge attached to a plastic tube which holds dish soap. When you wet the sponge, it mixes with the dish soap to clean your dishes without having to fill up the sink every time. This lets you quickly do your dishes, instead of letting them pile up at the side of the sink. A few of my flatmates had them and I was so jealous! They are around £5 from the supermarket and you can get a pack of replacement sponges for the same price.
Self-catered worries
One of the things I was most worried about moving into self-catered accommodation was how well I would get on with my flatmates. I have anxiety so moving in with four other people who I had never met before really scared me.The first thing that I tried to remember before moving in was that we were all in the same boat – we were all moving to a new city, meeting new people, and were going to be living with each other for at least a few months. Something I did to prepare was trying to find people in my accommodation through social media (but be careful of the information that you share online!) and my accommodations group chat, and through this, I was able to find two of my flatmates and talk to them before the start of the semester.
Another thing that helped me was reminding myself that although I was living with my flatmates, that didn’t mean I had to be best friends with them. Although I got on with my flatmates, the nature of shared accommodation means that you’re put in a flat with people who you may not have talked to otherwise, and that’s okay! Instead, I realised that there were other people in the building who I had more in common with, so made friends with them and we went to different social activities together.
Ways to socialise with your flatmates
One of my favourite ways to chat and socialise with flatmates is through planning flat dinners or trips. These don’t need to be weekly occurrences and can be as simple as reaching out to your flatmates and asking if they want to come along with you to go shopping, or to an event on campus.
If you’re more reserved or nervous around new people, why not bring some snacks or bake some cakes or cookies (depending on allergies) for your flatmates? The ResLife Team also hosts regular events in university accommodation, and you can go along by yourself or as a group.
Find out more about the ResLife Team
How to make your room feel like home
Something that I struggled to adjust to when moving into accommodation was homesickness. One thing that I did to make my room feel like home was incorporating as many items and reminders of home as possible. In my room, I had a noticeboard where I put pictures of my friends, family and favourite places, and when it came to my bedding and other decorations, I tried to incorporate reminders of home.
Another thing that helped me was using the same laundry pods as my mum, which helped me adjust to my new surroundings, and reminded me of home!
Overall, living in self-catered accommodation can be difficult at times, but the extra flexibility and added social factor it brought really pushed me out of my comfort zone, and helped me adapt to the new chapter of my life.
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