Hey guys! It’s Sehla, I’m a postgraduate student at the University of Nottingham. I’m
almost done actually, but I’m getting my MSc in Supply Chain and Operations Management.
So in this video I’m going to give you some of my own tips for packing for Nottingham
and then some general tips as well as how to make the best of your packing experience.
This one I actually got from my younger sister. She said “do not stress pack” and it’s
actually pretty smart because come to think of it, if you stress pack you’re likely
to forget things. So make sure that you make a list of the things that you do need
to take and then start packing about three or four days before you have to leave. I won’t
say start packing more than a week earlier because you tend to do things last minute,
there are things that you need to get last minute.
Before you start packing make sure that you’re very clear on the packing limit, the luggage
limit that you have with the airline that you’re travelling with. When I was leaving I
had a pretty good weight limit. It was about 40kg and that allowed me to take quite a bit
of stuff with me. But there are some airlines I’ve heard which allow only 30kg.
There are some airlines which allow even more, so it all depends. Make sure that you’re very aware.
If you’re coming from a warmer country there’s a very high likelihood that the warmest thing
that you own in terms of clothing might not be warm enough for the UK. I’m not saying
the UK is very cold but it’s very windy. The cold is almost penetrating and that can
be really harsh. What I did wrong actually was I took a few jackets over here. Not only
did they add to my luggage weight but also they were pretty useless because they weren’t
warm enough. So I think on about my second day when I had arrived at Nottingham I had
to go to the market and I had to get myself a windbreaker.
I do suggest keeping a separate bag to keep all of your valuable items in. Maybe something
in your hand carrying or maybe something in your overall luggage. I did take a few jewellery
pieces, a few valuable items here and there, and this is what I packed them in. This is
actually a lunchbox. I know it’s pretty childish but it’s very useful because it
comes with a lot of space so I was able to fit in a lot of stuff over here. Not only
my jewellery or my valuable items but I am a makeup freak, and makeup does come in fancy
packaging, glass packaging and everything. But for anything you think might break, I
would suggest something like this because it’s padded so it didn’t break. You can
obviously tape it up, you can put newspaper around it. Anything to pad it from breaking.
But if you have something like this it can come in very handy.
How to make sure you make the best use of the space in your luggage. I actually just
watched some Marie Kondo videos and I would suggest the same to you. You can find a whole
series of Marie Kondo on Netflix. If you don’t have Netflix you can look it up on YouTube.
She does give very nice tips on how to fold your clothes, how to keep your things in a
very accessible manner. I did have my sister helping me while packing and she’s much
better at packing than I am. I think she is the Marie Kondo of our house! But just generally
if you are packing for yourself or if you are packing from Nottingham to come back home,
watching Marie Kondo videos really helps.
This is the last and final tip. Keep a bag of toiletries with you because you won’t
be able to go out to the market just on your first day and you don’t want to be stinking
on your first day over there as well. Maybe get mini bottles for shampoo and conditioner,
maybe get a small tube of toothpaste etc. Keep it in your overall luggage. But do not
rely on going out to the store on the very first day.
Finally, in light of the pandemic I do suggest keeping a small pouch with travel sized sanitiser,
a few spare masks, a couple of hand gloves etc. and a lot of wipes. They should be alcohol
wipes so anything you might need to sanitise in your space. I do remember when I was travelling
back when the pandemic had started I did keep a few alcoholic wipes with me and a lot of
sanitiser and I was able to stay safe from the pandemic.
So these are my tips and tricks. I hope you make the best use of them and I hope that
you have a great time at Nottingham like I did.