During your time at university, you will discover that many students can’t do even the simplest of household tasks like cooking, cleaning, washing or ironing. Some live off Pot Noodles for this exact reason, or wear the same clothes every single day for a month until they visit home and get their mum to wash everything.
A new study from Aldermore confirms that one in four students say they have ‘helicopter parents’ and that they struggle with basic household tasks.
Most of those living in a shared house at university said that the experience taught them basic home maintenance skills (83%) and even more students said they felt “more confident about looking after a property because of their student housing” (86%).
What tasks should you learn before moving out?
- How to cook – nobody is expecting you to cook a Michelin Star meal with the budget or kitchen size of student accommodation. Just knowing how to throw together some easy meals and the essentials (pasta, rice etc.) will be enough to get you by. On top of being a good life skill to have, it will also save you money if you can cook because takeaways and ready meals are so much more expensive. Home cooked meals are often more nutritious too. If you’re looking for a few simple recipes, click here.
- How to clean – keeping your shared living areas clean, prevents any unnecessary spats with housemates, it also prevents the spreading of any germs. Get yourself some Dettol surface cleaner and cloths or kitchen roll to help get rid of most spillages or areas that need a simple clean. Bleach and toilet cleaner will keep things fresh in your bathroom. Black mould spray can be handy to have in some student accommodations too! Keep a dust pan and brush nearby but don’t worry because most accommodations provide a hoover and mop bucket.
- How to use a washing machine – it sounds silly but practicing how to use the machine before moving to uni is actually a really big help! Whilst most have different settings just getting the basic grasp on the process is still a good idea. Learn how much you need of the washing liquid and the fabric softener per wash, as well as how to separate your coloured clothing from your whites. As a student you will learn pretty fast how to be efficient when it comes to doing a load because most student accommodations charge a hefty price for use of the washer and tumble dryer machines.
- How to iron – although probably the least important because there are ways around this, such as having your clothes up straight away to let the creases fall out. Having the skill to iron can be handy if you’re going somewhere nice and want to crisp up an outfit or if you want to make a good impression at a work placement or job interview.
- Managing money – I would say this is the biggest thing you should learn before moving out. You can cope with having a messy bed every now and then, but if you don’t know how to make your money last until your next student loan payment then you will have to learn pretty quickly!
Benefits of learning these tasks
Admittedly, it’s nice to be the focus of attention when you go home for the holidays or for a weekend. However, even if you don’t take your washing home to the parents you can still make the most of not having to cook for yourself!
By learning to do all of these household tasks yourself, you become slowly more independent and allow yourself to transition into adult life easier. Getting used to living away from home whilst at uni will prepare you for the day you inevitably move out of your parents’ house for good.
