When you arrive your room may look a little plain but remember it doesn’t have to stay like that. Make yourself feel more at home by personalising your space. Your room is yours for the duration of your agreement and we want you to feel at home.
A few ideas on how to make your halls a home:
• Brighten up your space – bringing your favourite bedding from home or investing in a new set is a great way to personalise your space & add some colour!
• Use your noticeboards – We’ve provided pin boards in all bedrooms and apartment communal areas and we’re happy for you to decorate these with posters or photographs from home. However, we do ask that you do not stick or pin anything up outside of these areas as they could damage the walls or furniture.
• Lighting – invest in a desk or bedside lamp if you have room. Lots of students also bring battery powered LED fairy lights to place around their desks too.
• Your own scent – Unfortunately candles aren’t allowed, however you can bring a reed diffuser to add your own scent (or your favourite scent from home!) to your new room. If you’re not keen on diffusers then even something as simple as using your favourite fabric softener from home can add a comforting smell to your bedding and clothes when doing your laundry
Your new home
Once you’ve arrived and found your room, it’s time to unpack and settle in. There are a few important things to remember:
- Familiarise yourself with the fire evacuation plan – Your residence’s fire evacuation plan can be found in your flat, whether this is on the back of your flat door or lift lobby. Please make sure that you familiarise yourself with the nearest fire exits and the escape route out of the building.
- Check over your room – Once you arrive in your room, please take a moment to check that everything is in a clean, tidy and working order. The residences teams have been busy working on the residences to ensure that your accommodation is in tip-top shape before you arrive, however if you find something that is not working or needs attention, please report this to the reception team in your residences and they’ll make sure it is addressed ASAP.
- Complete your inventory – Once you have arrived, you will be sent an email to invite you to complete an online inventory for your room and any communal areas that you have access to. Your inventory is a record of the condition of your room. We encourage you to complete your inventory as soon as possible (and within 5 days of arrival) as it’s your opportunity to inform the Residences Team if anything is missing or damaged.
- Remove all unwanted packaging once you have unpacked – Please remove all boxes, bags and other items that may cause blockages from all access routes within your flat and along the corridors. Your halls has a designated bin store area for all refuse and recycling.
- Don’t forget your key – Depending on which accommodation you live in, you will receive a key and fob or key card and post box key on arrival. Please make sure that you take your key with you when you go out – accommodation will give you a lanyard to keep your keys or key card safe. If you lose your key or have any problems with your key or lock then please visit your reception (during office hours) or call Security on 01522 886062 (outside of office hours).
- Explore – Once you’ve unpacked your room, take a look around the building to make sure you know where essential areas are, such as the bin store, the launderette, the reception and where your post boxes are located – it’s good to know where to collect your parcels from.
- Meet your ResLife Team – Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the area then the last tip from us is to meet our team. We will be running lots of free events and competitions throughout the year to encourage you to make the most out of your time in our halls. Come and see us in our brand new ResLife Lounge which is our social space exclusively for our residents. If you have a question and aren’t sure who to ask then we are contactable over our social media, email or by telephone every evening between 18:00 – 00:00.