I wished my hall room was this pretty but oh well.......
HOLA AMIGOES. It's that time of the year where all the freshmen from NUS/NTU move into their halls and after my OG mates asking me almost everyday WHAT SHOULD I BRING/HOW TO CLEAN THE ROOM, I decided that its high time I should come up with my second "Guide To..." and here it is.
Even though I stay very close to the border of Pulau NTU, I've decided to become a boarder, or more like my parents decided for me to become a boarder to "experience the fullness of college life!". Yeah yeah whatever. Hence I'm also one of those being put to the challenge of how to move into hall in the most efficient way as possible since my family doesn't own a car (as my dad thinks that owning one is a liability and burden).
I'm gonna start by dividing this post into two sections: Before you move in, and when you move in.
Before you move in
1. Come up with a packing list
I got it from Pinterest and this may help you a bit. But please do leave the decorative items to the last when you have settled all your living necessities down in your room already. And some items are not necessary/impractical to be used in Singapore like.... rain boots and AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME TO WATCH DVDS IN HALL.
On the first move, please only bring the bare necessities e.g. Cleaning stuff and also you may like to bring your bedsheet and toiletries. ADM STUDENTS PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADD IN YOUR ART SUPPLIES INTO YOUR PACKING LIST!
I would choose to bring the deco items on my second last trip to hall before I officially move in. And I would only be bringing my clothes when I move in.
2. Get all the cleaning agents you think you need!
If you heard stories from your seniors about how the hall room is super clean and super homely the moment you move in....
As they are prolly lying to you unless they have really gotten it lucky in their own hall. I don't know how the situation is like in NUS or in other halls in NTU. But in my Hall, I shan't say which hall, both me and my OG mate got it BAD. When I moved in, ALL the racks and cupboards were covered with a THICK layer of dust, the mattress was dusty, everything was dusty and there were even strands of hair around, it was like I stepped into a dust palace.
Unless you want to live like a dust-mite (or maybe you are a dust-mite), I would advise you to bring tonnes of cleaning agents and tools to aid you in your ADVENTURE TO CLEAN YO HALL ROOM. Recommended items to bring are things like, Febreeze, clean mop, floor wipes from Daiso, Dettol spray to disinfect your room, clean rags, dirty rags and toilet paper to wipe dry wet surfaces.
3. Always think twice before getting (expensive) new furniture for your hall room
no.
I mean like come on guys, you may just be staying only for less than a year in your hall. Imagine if you move out one day and have to lug all these things back home with you. Will there be a space to put that huge painting in your room? Where will you find a corner for that huge lampshade?
And also, unless you have lots of money to blow, the go-to place for hall room stuff is Daiso, Ikea and the dollar-store/ABC Mart. I got most of my stuff from there, like new bedsheets and quilt covers from Ikea, Daiso for many of the small little necessities and storage and dollar store for the cleaning agents. You may also want to try out qoo10 to see if you can find anything from there!
4. Establish a good relationship with your roommates
Communication IS THE KEY. Always communicate. If you have any crazy ideas you think they may or may not accept, always discuss with them/him/her first before you embark on it, because after all, you are sharing the room with them (unless you are just one of the lucky ones who got a single room). If you are bringing huge items, tell them. Share with them/warn them about your weird living habits so that they would not get a shock after they move in with you (e.g. If you sleepwalk/snore/sleeptalk/sleep late/get a panic attack easily, please do tell them.)
My roommate and I may not be on the best of terms back in Secondary school but after N years of not seeing each other around, I'm really really really glad to have my coursemate and now, classmate as my roommate after the whole long months of settling the rooming arrangements and blah blah. Second tip is to always accommodate one another and SOLVE ALL QUARRELS AND ARGUMENTS THAT DAY ITSELF. It's something like treating your roommate as your lover and yes, whatever happens in that room stays in that room. Do not go around bitching about your roommate because that's not very cool. Both of you are sharing your lives with one another so it's easier to live when you guys are not cutting at each others throats the whole time. You guys are not cats, so stop having cat fights. If you have a squatter in a room (like mine), that makes three lives. So share your lives one or two ways.
Your roommate might not turn out to be your best friend but at least I'm pretty sure if you handle it well, they will be your good friends. :)
5. Make sure you have accepted your hall posting and paid the acceptance fee before heading down to hall
PLEASE DON'T BE A BLUR CAT LIKE ME, I ONLY REALIZED I HAD TO PAY $500 THE NIGHT BEFORE AND I FREAKED OUT.
6. FIRST WORLD INTERNET PROBLEMS
Bring a LAN cable. I was asking my senior if the hall rooms had wifi and he was like, "wai your head ah":/ NO NTU HALLS DO NOT HAVE WIFI IN THEIR ROOMS *bawls* so if you have a LAN cable, please bring it.
If you are one of the unlucky ones who owns a mac that doesn't have a LAN port, like me, do buy an adapter before you officially move in. It will save your ass. Don't say I never warn you, and thanks BX for reminding me to make this edit.
Oh and also, bring at least one manifold. Most of the power points in the room are underneath the table :/
When you move in
1. Go to the Hall office to sign the relevant documents and collect your key.
For NTU students, please remember to bring along your NRIC while collecting your key from the hall office (which is located in your hall premises). You will be asked to sign a document and for me, I would be given two keys. One is the Key Fob (I think I would name my fob Fall Out Boy) and the other is the mailbox key.
Please remember to validate your key at the machine outside the office! And read the instructions on the blue paper they gave you. There will NOT be a senior leading you up to your room as that only happened on 26th and 27th July for those who checked in early.
And also, for the $8/day rule if you want to move in early, please do not pay that bill when you collect your key. The fees will be automatically added into your following month's bill.
For NUS students, I think you need another student blogger to come up with a similar post like mine as I have no idea how your system works. Sorraye:/
2. When you move in, only unpack the cleaning agents first and start cleaning your room
Steps to clean your room:
a) Clean the cupboards, drawers, desks and shelves first.
Please don't be a sloth and werk it while cleaning because you won't know when's the next time you will be so free to clean your room up so thoroughly.
b) Test whether the lights, power points, cabinet doors and fans are working or not.
My roomie's desk light was faulty so there is a possibility that things might not be working in your room! Please note that the drawer with a lock in your wardrobe has no key provided to it. If you would like to lock anything, please use the drawer next to it, and bring your own lock and key!
c) Lift the mattress up from your bed frame, clean the bed frame, dust the mattress and select the side that is cleaner, then put it back onto your bed frame.
Donut expect clean mattresses in hall. For my room and my OG mate's room, the mattresses have yellow/brown patches on it. I do not want to know what caused those patches so... unless you are Lumlum who wants to buy her own mattress (xiaolianzxz so atas worz), then febreeze your mattress INTENSELY before you put the fitted sheet over.
d) Clean up the floor and the walls underneath the table
When we mopped the floor with Magic Clean, the wipes turned black instantly.... I think that's a sign you guys have to clean your floor right.....?
3. Slowly start unpacking after you've won the war against the dust mites (and hair balls)
Oh! And here's an idea, use storage boxes on top columns of shelves that you can't reach! Makes things easier when you want to take those things down... and also enables you to clean less.
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And there! You are all ready to enjoy your hall room with your roommate!
I hope this post is as comprehensive as you guys would want it to be as I literally rushed this out in half an hour when I got the request from my OG mates who are moving in today. Thanks xiaomonks you guys are awesome! :) And I hope this post did not come too late! Now.... Time to pack my shit up and have my round two of moving into hall.
If you guys have any queries, do feel free to drop me an email at hipsterrrific@gmail.com, or hit me up on my ask.fm!
Stay hipsterrrific,
Ming Rui
