Tips for finding good student accommodation.

Every year most students move into student accommodation so that they can live and study at university. However, it can be a task finding the correct place for you to live and its tricky finding something that ticks all the boxes. As a student in my second year of studying, I thought I would share with you some tips that I wish I knew when I was moving into student accommodation.

TAKE PHOTOS. This is so important, especially if your landlord has a habit of blaming you for damages that were already there. When you move in to your new accommodation, be sure to take some photos of damages, marks or stains that were already there. This way your landlord cannot accuse you of doing the damages. 

LOCATION. Be realistic when it comes to location. It could be a lovely place for you to live, but it might be too far away from your place of study. Will you really want to incur yourself extra travel costs and time? Will this be worth it? 

HEAT. I made the mistake of not checking for double glazing in my first rented accommodation. It may not seem like it, but this can make a huge difference to bills and your welfare. Its not nice to be cold, so make sure you consider double glazed housing before signing anything! 

PRICE VS. QUALITY. Keep in mind the phrase "you get what you pay for", and make sure you actually do! Landlords may have a habit of trying to rip off students because they're younger and they think that they can get away with it. Do some research about the price vs. the quality of the accommodation in your area and make sure you're getting value for money! 

TAKE YOUR TIME. There tends to be a rumor that goes around every year that all the houses get taken up early. This is not true! Take the time to look around for properties, chances are the longer you wait the cheaper the property will be! 

REVIEWS. Once you find a property you like, search the landlord and look at reviews online. Do they try and rip you off? Do they try and blame you for everything? Make sure you know what you've got yourself in for if you do end up signing for the property. 

OPEN MIND. Finally, student life isn't exactly luxurious. You should be willing to make compromises with what you can afford, so enter the world of property searching with an open mind!

 

How I Organise Precious Items.

I have a few cute items that I really like, either gifted or bought myself, that I like to display in my room. It can be quite tricky deciding how to organise them and display them, but I have found a way which I really love which I am sharing with you today!

First off, I found this tray in my house that used to hold soap and a cup for the bathroom, I have no idea where its from but I used this as the basis of my display, since the items are only small. 

The items include two necklaces, two mini perfumes and a little bird cage from a necklace that broke. I literally just organised these how I liked and I think I made a pretty cute display for my room! If I ever want to wear or use these items I just reach for them and lay them back down when I want to. 

How to you display your special items?

EMILY

My Top 5 Most Useful Items As A Student.

Now that university is out for the summer (for me anyway), I have decided to share with you some of the items that I find most useful as a student. I'm in my second year of uni. and I have successfully discovered how useful these items can be!

1. DRAWER DIVIDERS. These are so useful for those who have so much stuff to organise, which I imagine includes you if you're reading this. I use these dividers for both makeup organisation and clothes organisation. If you're moving accommodation each year, these may be specifically useful because you never know how much storage you're going to get and you might have to compromise!

2. INTERNET BANKING APP. This may not be considered an "item" but is useful nonetheless just because it makes banking so easy. If you're like me and like to constantly keep on top of your spending, then its something you can quickly use to make sure everything is going OK. 

3. PORTABLE PRODUCT HOLDER. My product holder is quite a new addition to my list of useful items, but it makes such a difference and really helps to tidy my stuff in the bathroom. I keep stuff like E45, BioOil, and shampoo in there and its so easy to move from my room into the bathroom if necessary!

4. WATER BOTTLE. With uni. being hot and stuffy at times, its important to keep yourself hydrated so that you can concentrate properly and keep yourself healthy. A water bottle is an essential for me, whether its one you buy new or one you reuse, they're always handy.

5. ELECTRIC BLANKET. This is useful for the winter, especially since its basically always cold in Newcastle. Student housing doesn't always have the best insulation either, and for that reason it helps to keep you nice and toasty in bed. It may also help with the bills as the heating may not need to be turned on! 

Updates.

Just a post with a few little updates.

ONE. I've been busy recently so actually finding the time to even think about posting has been hard. Its getting to that time of the year when uni. students have to move out of their accommodation and bring all their stuff home. I've been sorting through stuff, and deciding what to keep and throw away. 

TWO. I'm kind of having writers block, I just don't know what to post about. I mean, I've got SO many ideas but I'm hesitant about them and I don't know why. I'm hoping solid ideas will come my way soon.

THREE. The layout. The layout of my blog... the design of my blog... I'm just not at all happy with it. I keep tweaking bits here and there but nothing seems to be to my tastes. You'll probably see a lot of random changes if you follow my blog.

FOUR. The main thing that's holding my blog back at the moment is that I don't have the right experiences to run a blog yet. I know this will come with time, and I'm still getting used to things, but my hopes are up for the future! 

EMILY

The Body Shop: Moringa.

My obsession with The Body Shop started around Christmas time last year, when I was gifted with so many delightful products from there. I completely fell in love with the Passion Fruit, the Peach and the Satsuma smells, but what enthused me the most were the Moringa products.

I go through phases with what smells I prefer, sometimes I really crave a fruity smell and sometimes I fancy more of a nutty scent. But something that I just can’t seem to grow out of is Moringa, its just so fresh and natural and it makes me feel so refreshed morning and night.

My favourite product from the Moringa range has to be the body butter. The consistency is beautiful and, in my opinion, it is creamier than the other body butters from The Body Shop. It glides fabulously on my skin, and it goes a long way too! 

What's your favourite scent from The Body Shop range?

EMILY