The Residence Survival Guide
Part 1.5: What to Bring to an Apartment or Suite Style Res
By Danielle Lorenz
Now, for most of you, the previous article I wrote is sufficient, as it covers all of the things you will need in your room. However, some of your peers are lucky, in that they are in suite or apartment style res (i.e. Keyes or Bates): so not only do they have their own bedroom, but they have a kitchen and bathroom(s) that are shared with their roommates. Downside being they pay a little bit more, and clean up after themselves more, so I suppose in some ways you are all more or less equal. Anyways, here is an article specifically for those who live in MKB (BAM!).
Even though I lived in a traditional-style residence in first year, I ended up facing the same situation as the lot of you are about to face in my second year. It occurred when I moved into a student house, where I have been for three years now. So, here is my advice on some of the things you will need for this upcoming year, as students in MKB (BAM!).
Personally, I think the easiest way to get all of the things you need for the year is to have one person purchase everything, divide the cost by the number of people in the room, and pay the purchaser back. That way, everyone is imputing the same amount of money and everyone is sharing the same products.
Items of this sort include: toilet paper, hand soap, cleaning supplies for the bathroom (toilet brush, toilet cleaner, a cleanser for the shower, squeegee for the shower, Windex), possibly an air freshener for the bathroom, sponges, paper towel, cleansers for the kitchen, something to clean the floors with if you don’t want to use the Cinderella method (Swiffer or Dollarama equivalent).
You’re almost all set. But what about the big stuff; the TV, the microwave, the blender, the toaster, the George Forman, a DVD player and any other appliances or electronics? For this I think you have two options. The first is for everyone to buy the stuff you need, and divide the cost. Come April when you are going to move out, you sell the items, and split the profit.
However, I think the best way is for everyone to see what is available to them (maybe Grandma has a microwave she’s not using?), then talk it out and see who is able to buy the other stuff. At the end of the year, everyone brings home what they brought. True, everyone is going to be using “your” microwave, but you will be watching someone’s TV, and so on. That way, you can also use your item in years to come, be it in a student house in your second year, or later on down the line. You may also want to include items like dishes and pots and pans, or everyone may just want to bring there own. I personally have found it much easier for someone to bring a set of dishes and everyone share them, rather than everyone bringing their own.
There are a few additional items you may want to bring that are the sort of items that you probably don’t want to split the cost of, such as a soap dispenser and/or holder, a bathmat, towels, something to hold the toiletries in the shower (check out Dollarama), shoe racks to hold wet shoes, decorative throw pillows etc. These items will also go home with the person that brought them.
I think I have covered everything that students in MKB (BAM!) may need. And, like in the previous article, refer to the forum topic about stuff to bring to res if you feel I have forgotten anything.
Also, thank you Ron Levitin who gave me the inspiration for this article by asking me the initial "what should I bring?" question.
