It’s back to school, but for parents whose kids aren’t quite so small, ‘back to school’ is a whole different ball game. After battling through those torturous teenage years, your eldest is finally spreading their wings and leaving the nest. Heck, who’d have thought you’d actually be dreading it?
Excuse me as I work with stereotypes here, but after years of treating your house like a hotel and not pulling their weight, your DD/S is off to uni. It’s gut-wrenching, and on top of that, you’re well aware it’s going to cost you a bomb. Not even exaggerating.
Uni Freshers
So how does it all work? If you’re new to the uni-mum/dad game, you’re in for the ride of your life. Prepare yourself for middle-of-the-night drunken tipsy texts, random requests for online grocery shops, and Facebook updates that make your skin prickle. In and amongst it all, you’ve just got to remember that your son or daughter is out there, living their best life, growing into their own skin, and learning the ways of the world. Remember that?
Kitting out Uni digs
While that’s all sounds lovely, there’s still the mahoosive moolah problem of kitting out their first fresher’s pad. Chances are in the first year of uni, they will be living in halls of residence. To describe this (as nicely as possible), halls of residence are very much like apartment blocks, perhaps with shared bathrooms, loud music, and a huge variety of undistinguishable scents that encapsulate student living.
Don’t be tempted to spend lots of your hard-earned cash on bits and pieces. Student life requires only the basics. A bed, bedding, storage, pots and pans, plates, cutlery. This doesn’t have to resemble a Laura Ashley showroom.
Don’t stick to what you know, either, shop around. You can pick up Divan Beds Centre literally at eBay prices if you just know where to look. Be smart. Shop savvy. And you can set your dear DD/S with a uni room to die for. So long as they get a good night’s sleep on a quality bed, regardless of price, they’re going to storm those assignments and bag that degree.
Get yourselves to IKEA together and get the basics done and dusted. You can pick up some essentials at bargain prices if only you can stand the crowds. Same goes for cheap and cheerful homeware stores such as B&M, there are lots of lovely bits and bobs in these places that really make a house – or a student room – a home.
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Photo Credit: Norbert Levajsics Andrew Neel
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