Things They Need To Know Before They Go - 4

·               How to cook basic meals - As with basic cleaning skills mentioned below, any student can learn how to cook basic meals, but not every student will have the tools they need to cook. At the very minimum, students should consider what kind of cooking tools and appliances will be available in their particular residence halls. Will a microwave, refrigerator, coffee pot, kettle, or a complete kitchen be available?  Once they have this knowledge they will know what utensils, pots or pans to bring with them. If they will only have access to a microwave, bringing a full set of steel saucepans, will be useless.

If he will have access to a full kitchen, your chils can get started on the “real world” business of preparing basic meals. Even if he’s never cooked before, boiling eggs, cooking pasta, rice, or boxed meals is a good way to start. A two to three quart saucepan and a steel spoon are all that will be needed. Even if the cooking instructions are not on the package, they can be found online in about 5 seconds. Gotta love smart phones!

·               How to clean - Once again, students should learn about what will be cleaned for them and how often, and what they will have to clean for themselves. If your child is living in a traditional residence hall, the common areas such as hallways, lounges, and bathrooms are usually cleaned daily while each student is responsible for cleaning his own bedroom. To clean a typical residence hall room, students really only need a bottle of all-surface spray cleaner and cleaning cloths or wipes, window and mirror cleaner, a whisk broom and pan, or small or handheld vacuum if the room is carpeted.