Just a few tips I have learnt from my first year of living in shared halls. :)

En-suite is the way forward! It was a no-brainer having my own bathroom. After seeing what the shared kitchen ends up looking like, (you don't want to know) I am glad I chose to have an en-suite bedroom. 

The en-suite bathroom also comes in handy for doing the washing up! Only a few weeks into the start of year, I decided to wash my dishes in my bathroom sink, as it was a lot more hygienic than the kitchen sink ones. Mouldy food festering, and blocked smelly kitchen sinks - no thank you! This also deals with the problem of people stealing cutlery etc.

Make sure your kitchen cupboards have locks on! Luckily my cupboards did. However, the lock on one of my cupboards could be twisted so that it could be opened, which resulted in someone stealing my sieve. (I got it back, but I'm still sour!!) Because of this, I vowed to keep my sieve and other essentials such as my baking tray safe in my room. 

Get your own kettle for your room. I've only recently got a kettle for my room with 5 weeks to go of my contract ending, but I have no regrets! I bought a kettle for the kitchen to share, but someone broke it. (I know who you are and again, I'm sour!) As no one else could be bothered to buy another kettle, most of the year was spent using a pan to boil water. This is a massive pain! 

Although it may not sound like it, I did enjoy my first year at uni, and there are plenty of positives of shared halls. However, I would strongly suggest following these tips to ensure the best experience of living in halls.