Tips for bills. (From a Student to a student)

So hi...

Bills, the dreaded thing most teenagers know of but have the luxury to never have to worry about them thanks to their dear parents that pay them and sort all that business out so we can stay warm, eat cooked food and charge all our electrical things.
But going into second year at uni has meant getting a flat... getting a flat has meant having to consider the bills. Not being lucky enough to have a flat with bills included meant I had to sort them all out myself.
I really have to say I think things like bills should be made compulsory in schools because whether we like it or not, it's HIGHLY likely we will all have to do our own bills at one point in our life.
So with this in mind and as a student who has just about sorted out her bills for the year I thought I would give a few tips.

Know what you're new place has and hasn't got.
When you look at a house you probably don't consider whether it has a meter, if it's heated through gas or electric and things like that but It's so so so important to consider, I spent ages having to chase up the agency and emailing back and forward to grill them for information like this, because I didn't know and most gas and electric companies want to know as much about your property as possible so they can get you the best or most appropriate deal.

Look around.
Now I didn't actually do this too much when it came to gas and electric, as I just decided to stick with the previous supplier of the property as all I needed to do was change the property to be in my name, you may also be in this position, but if not, really research your options, I definitely did this when it came to broadband. It's also a good idea to check whats available in your area, I was annoyed to find that the 152mb internet speed deal that me and my flat mates wanted from virgin wasn't available in the area of our flat. (apparently Birmingham doesn't do good broadband speed)

Council tax.
Now everyone has to pay council tax, it's just a thing, but is it? As a full time student you're exempt from council tax. I've been told in most cases the council tax is sorted by the agency in most cases but with the 2 different agencies I dealt with while house hunting the tax was required to be dealt with by the tenants. So remember to sort this out! For me in Birmingham I had to fill out an online form, I was then sent a few more forms to fill out and had to get an official letter from my uni as proof of my attendance ( although some uni's have deals with their council to make it easier of their students, mine doesn't typical) This meant I could prove I was a student and exempt from council tax.

Those are the best kinda long tips I could give from my experience of sorting my flat's bills this year. It was a scary and super adult feeling responsibility and stress but really once I had it all done, it was quite simple.

Have you had to do your own bills yet?
Let me know in the comments down below!

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Much love guys!
Chenelle

xxx

My Dorm/Uni Room Essentials

So Hi...

It's not long now till I'm back off to uni for my second year, it feels like only a few weeks ago that I was panicking about moving into Accommodation for my first year! Although I'll have my own flat ( with 2 friends) I still have a few must have items to make it feel homely. I think this is super important for your first year! It can feel pretty bare and lonely when you first move in. New place, New room, it can be pretty scary!
So I thought I would write about my essentials to make my room feel homely and comforting!
This Idea was given to me by a brand called Parachute Home! They have a load of Quality bedding and cosy things to spruce up your room. May seem expensive but I definitely think it would last and feel super soft!
Check them out here: http://www.parachutehome.com

So My Dorm Essentials?

Bedding: The Bed is the easiest and probably most effective way to immediately make your bare room feel more you. putting on some pretty sheets and adding some pretty pillows give the room a little personality and shows off your tastes!

I have a number of different bed sets and like to swap them out, My favourites are this gorgeous skyline which I got from Asda And this super summery pineapple cover. So pretty.
Throws: Are another way to decorate a bed, Mine is a simple black flurry one from primark but I'd love to get a brighter patterned one!
Pillows: I only owe 3 pillows to decorate my bed with currently but I'm desperate to build up my collection by about 10x. The pillows I currently have as you can see are three cream ones, with one in the shape of a heart which, once again was from Primark. Sorry but Primark does pretty home stuff for super cheap.

Photos: Pretty obvious but sticking up photos is a great way to personalize your uni room. I decided to put mine up in a little heart pattern above my bed which was super simple but looked really nice.

Notice board: Most uni Accommodation rooms have some form of notice board, Usually with all the safety stuff pinned to it at the beginning, since you're not really allowed to have things up on the walls in most places it's great to use this to stick up any posters, I used mine for my planner poster I got at the uni Fair (Go to these it's freebie galore) and little tickets and a t-shirt from nights out, which I put photos on top of.

Little ornaments: This won't be for every one but having little cute nik naks on my shelves other than uni books and notes definitely made my room look better.

And those are my Dorm Essential for comfort. I may do a few more posts like these, Such as Essentials for the kitchen or bath room! I know a lot of people worry over what things to take to uni.
Did or do you have thing to bring that homely feel to a new room?
Let me know down in the comments below!

Contact/Follow/Check Out!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chenloudday
Instagram: http://instagram.com/chenloudday
Email: chenday@hotmail.co.uk
Much love guys!
Chenelle

xxx

Summer Clean Up!

So hi...

I'm comfortable back at home now, and as such I've been getting used to being in my old room again. The last week It's become a right state, due to a mixture of never being there ( eg grabbing or chucking stuff around then leaving) and trying to unpack everything. The First few days back I brought a load of my things up to unpack and ended up hardly unpacking them, so my room was covered in things. I've also had trouble refinding places for things, since I re arranged a lot of stuff to fit in my uni room they don't quite fit the same now i'm back home. It took a while to get the motivation, it was that thing where I had so much to do I just didn't know where to start and so avoided it. But It could not be avoided any long, and just over 2 hours later I had a pretty clean looking room. I still have clothes to unpack and sort through my draws but walking into my room, It looks pretty clean. So. how'd I go about it?

Tackling it in sections: This is a super big thing for me, Choosing little sections of my room to clear out made the whole job seems so much easier and manageable, for Example I chose to first sort out my make-up area/desk, then my wardrobe, then windowsill and so on and so forth. it meant that the room came together much faster than I expected because I didn't stress about the room as a whole looking messy.

Clearing the whole area and restarting: With each area of my Room i tackled I moved everything away from the area. for The most part I used my bed as a bit of a dumping ground, chucking everything on there before dusting and wiping down the area itself. This just allows me to focus on what I want to put where as the space is clear and de-cluttered and I can re-arrange and move around things as I want.

Clearing the things you don't need: I have to admit I'm a little bit of a hoarder, I hate throwing things away. Toys and teddies were things I never wanted to throw away before despite not touching them for about 9 years. I haven't dumped the teddies yet as they sit hidden in my top cupboard of my built in wardrobe, but I still had some old Polly pockets sitting on my window sill that just needed to go, My room looked a little childish with them sitting there. I also just clear and tidied a lot of other things which cluttered my room but I never actually used. It's great to now look around my room and feel like it looks that little more me and more adult like.

Those are probably the core things I did to help clear out my room. I still want to change a load of things about my room but all in due time I'm dying to completely redecorate my room, I'm not longer feeling the Hot pink feature wall that makes my room look super gloomy and tints the room in a horrible light! (Which you can probably tell from these photos). The light bulb in my room also is super orange, so I want to make that brighter and whiter. So Some of the changes I want to make are small and achievable over time, While others will be a long time yet. This may only be my room once again for 3 months but this is still my home. I'll always have this place to come back to from uni, So I should make sure it's a place that reflects me and makes me feel comfortable.

Any tips or things you do to help yourself get things done (particularly cleaning?)
Let me know down in the comments below!

Contact/Follow/Check Out!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Chenloudday
Instagram: http://instagram.com/chenloudday
Email: chenloudday@gmail.com
Much love guys!
Chenelleyness
xxx