14 essentials to buy when starting university in 2023

Whether you are getting back in the early hours from a night at the Student Union or catching a few extra winks the night before a big exam, the importance of a good night’s sleep is something to never be overlooked, especially at university. And considering that mattresses in rented student accommodation can be old and the springs uncomfortable, a mattress topper can help ensure your sleep is deep and comfortable.

This topper from Silentnight is not only machine washable – so it is easy to clean and can stay with you throughout your time at university, and beyond – it is also hypoallergenic, so it is kind to your skin. It was incredibly comfortable, easy to fit thanks to the elastic straps and at its price point, it is a university must-have.

When creating your space it is important to incorporate your personality and make the room yours – which this charming cushion certainly will. And there’s no doubt in our mind that this blue and white striped cushion with the accent tufted orange will bring a pop of colour to your university room. Whether it is placed on your bed or on your desk chair for added comfort, the Dream slogan provides some inspiration. Plus, it is made of 100 per cent cotton and is machine washable, so it will easily stay a statement piece throughout your undergrad years and beyond.

Although there are countless apps to help track deadlines and plan your social life, nothing beats putting pen to paper and having all of your plans centralised. Papier’s academic diary helps you organise university life from August 2023 to July 2024, knowing that there’s less of a need for you to map out your summer fun. And in Papier’s classic fashion, you are able to personalise the planner to make it extra special, making it a great option for a going-away-to-uni gift.

Available in both a hardback and spiral bound softback, the diary’s design is not only playful, it’s practical, too. With space to write down deadlines, weekly double-spread pages – which allows you enough room to plan out each day of the week – an overview of the month ahead with monthly goals and to-do lists and even pages to track finances and grades, it’s the perfect planner to help you stay on top of your busy schedule.

The kitchens in university halls and rented student accommodation are usually quite drab, but you can brighten it up with these fun glasses from Ikea. More interesting than your usual clear glasses, these come in yellow, purple, blue and green – perfect for the style conscious student. Holding 300ml, they can be used for juice, water, wine or a cocktail at pre-drinks. And as they only measure 9cm in height, they are less likely to be knocked over than a wine or pint glass – meaning less cleaning up of spillages and broken glass.

In university halls there can be strict rules about what you can and cannot do in your room, and putting nails in the wall is often one of the no-no’s. As such, not being able to mount anything on the walls can make getting a full length mirror tricky, which is where Dunelm’s free standing mirror comes in. With a sleek black frame and affordable price point – it’s part of the retailer’s essentials range, meaning you can get other coordinating pieces – it’s a no-brainer for kitting out university rooms.

It is compact and although one of its merits is that it doesn’t take up much space, it does not easily provide a full view of your body. At 5 foot 6 inches, when we stood a metre away from the mirror, our reflection was cut off at the shoulders, which isn’t ideal when you want to see the entirety of your look. However, its neat size makes it a good addition to tight student rooms.

The George Foreman grill is a university digs classic. Most kitchens will house at least one, and the only thing you need to worry about is who is going to clean the drip tray (which luckily, is an easy task). It doesn’t take up much space on the countertop and its sleek black design means it’s not an eyesore. It uses 88 per cent less energy than a conventional oven, so it will help decrease energy bills while speeding up cooking times.

The opportunities with the George Foreman grill are pretty endless and it’s not limited to meat eaters. Grilled vegetables, paninis and veggie sausages can all be cooked on it – we rustled up a vegetable medley of peppers, onions, asparagus and courgettes in six minutes. We also enlisted the help of meat eating friends for our George Foreman fajita night and they were impressed with how tender the chicken breasts came out, taking only five minutes to cook. The only reason it lost a star from us was because Ninja’s air fryer (£99.99, Roys.co.uk) presented slightly more cooking possibilities. Still, it’s a must have for your new kitchen.

Anyone who has lived in university halls will know you are more likely to win the lottery than find an empty, working dryer for your wet laundry. Avoid the wasted money on broken driers and the stress of laundry room politics (when is it acceptable to take someone else’s laundry out of the machine?) by drying your laundry in your room on this heated airer.

This will dry your clothes far quicker than simply hanging them on a standard clothes horse – we did a full load that included a pair of jeans and a jumper in the morning and it was all dry by the afternoon. Plus, for those in a student rental and therefore keeping track of bills, Status’s heated clothes airer costs less than £0.04/hr to run, making it beneficial to both your wallet and the environment. The only downside is that, when unfolded, it takes up quite a bit of room, but it saves itself by being easily foldable for compact storage when you are not using it.

Student accommodation is not known for its capacious wardrobe space and you’d be lucky to get a chest of drawers. So, any opportunity to maximise storage space is always welcomed. Ikea’s hanging stuk compartments come with a sturdy Velcro strap that can be attached to the pole inside of a wardrobe or to a free standing clothes rack. We were initially sceptical about the strength of the single Velcro strap but were impressed by what it could carry. It was able to hold a pair of shoes in each of the bottom two compartments, three pairs of jeans, four jumpers and five T-shirts and still have a free shelf. Impressive!

Lighting candles makes any space feel cosy and creates a calming vibe. However, due to health and safety risks, university halls do not allow you to burn candles in your room. So, if you are looking for other ways to make your room tranquil, look no further than Asda’s diffuser. It uses a USB cable so is much safer to use and makes the set up easy. We also loved the minimalist design – the ceramic cover and the wood effect base seamlessly blend into the surroundings.

The diffuser comes with a ylang and white rose fragrance to use, but it is quite sweet. After adding only four drops of the scent to water, the mist filled our bedroom with a sickly, sweet smell. However, if you aren’t a fan of the included scent, that’s OK – you can add your own essential oils to the water. You can either diffuse the mist continuously until the water tank is empty or you can use the power-off timer for safe use, selecting up to three hours of misting before the diffuser automatically turns off. There’s also a light function forfurther relaxation, but we found you have to remove the cover for the best effect, which slightly ruins the aesthetic.

Having never used an air fryer before (yes, we are very late to the party), Ninja’s air fryer AF100UK was the product we were most excited to test. And boy, it did not disappoint. Firstly, the set up could not have been easier. We simply peeled off the tape and it was ready to go. However, one thing to note is that the cord is rather short, so you will need a power outlet at the level of your countertop. The instructions manual is clear and concise, while a diagram on the front panel gives you the cooking times and temperatures for go-to foods, including: chips, fish and meat. It also came with a recipe book to help with inspiration.

We decided to test two student snack essentials. First we sliced a potato and made a singular portion of chips in 10 minutes, using a teaspoon of oil. The chips could have been slightly crispier, but the ease and minimal time it took to make them outweighed the slight lack of crispiness. Next up was frozen mozzarella sticks – we know the pain all too well of trying to achieve a perfectly crispy outside while maintaining the desired gooey inside when using an oven, but after eight minutes in the air fryer (without oil) you would have thought they had been deep fried. Absolute perfection and perhaps the best solution for snacking during any late night study session.

Laptops don’t get much more affordable than the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i. Perfect for churning through written homework, watching the odd YouTube video and firing off emails, this Windows 11 laptop keeps things simple with a cheap and cheerful Intel Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. That means you won’t be playing Call of Duty on this thing – which could be a positive, depending on your perspective – but the slim design and 1.4kg weight make the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i perfect for chucking in a backpack.

JBL’s go 3 eco speaker is small but mighty, and gives you up to five hours of playtime after a single charge. We particularly liked how light it is, and were impressed by the quality of the bass, considering the speaker’s diminutive dimensions.

IP67 waterproof and dustproof, the speaker can bring the vibes anywhere, whether you’re studying in your room, enjoying drinks in your kitchen, or hanging out at the park. The integrated loop makes it ideal for attaching to a backpack or bike while on the go, too.

Coming in three fun colourways, the speaker is also environmentally conscious. The grille on the speaker is made with 100 per cent recycled fabric, and the speaker as a whole was created using up to 90 per cent post-consumer recycled plastic, which is music to our ears.

Habitat’s Lizzie desk lamp comes in a cheery orange and it might just make long, late-night study sessions a little more pleasant, adding some funky yet functional flair to your bedroom.

The lamp can be adjusted easily while it is switched on (without fear of burning your fingers), by using the stem on the back of the shade. It does not come with a lightbulb included but, at this price, we aren’t complaining.

Rigid enough to be used as a laundry basket in the corner of your bedroom, when you’ve run out of clean socks and it’s time to cart your clothes to the communal laundry room, the straps on Ikea’s klunka bag make it easy to transport.

We love the bag’s minimal design, featuring dark grey stripes, but we wish the straps were slightly longer, so we could sling them onto our shoulder, too. That being said, we still found the bag easy to carry, and, as doing laundry is never the most enjoyable of tasks, anything that makes life a little easier is a win in our book.