The leaves are turning yellow and orange. The air is getting chillier. It can only mean one thing: Winter Halloween is coming. If you’re going to, or throwing your own, Halloween costume party, you’ll want to look fantastic. But there’s a problem: you’re a bit strapped for cash this year. So, let us give you 13 chillingly cheap Halloween costumes for you to look great this Halloween.

Even if you’re not one to celebrate the holiday, you can’t avoid noticing it. Not only do the stores noticeably start pedaling more and more Halloween wears, you’ll no doubt have at least one friend on social media who hasn’t shut up about the super spooky holiday since mid-August.

But Halloween also means big business.

In 2017, people in the UK spent on Halloween, which is £10 ($13) million more than they spent in 2016. But if you think that’s scary, the USA spent a petrifying $9.1 (£6.9) billion!

Jinkies!

Costumes are a big expenditure when it comes to Halloween costs. Last year, out of that staggering $9.1 billion spent on Halloween overall in the USA, , was on adult costumes alone.

Never fear! We’ve got 13 lighthearted cheap Halloween costumes that will help you make an impact without having to break the bank, starting from as little as $9/£6.

But first, lets go over some dos don’ts for when it comes to shopping for your cheap Halloween costumes.

Cheap Halloween Costume Ideas Shopping Dos and Don'ts

Don’ts

Don’t leave your cheap Halloween costume shopping until the last minute! Not only will lines at costume stores and shops be long, but many things may start to run out. Shops may even increase the price of in-demand goods.

Don’t buy Halloween themed versions of everyday goods. Sometimes, slapping a scary witch or a creepy ghost on the side of the packaging or on the product gives stores an excuse to charge more. You might be able to make a spooky version yourself using the standard version for less than the markup of the Halloween version.

Don’t just shop in the most obvious shops for Halloween items. Some larger stores which you might not instantly associate with Halloween, like hardware stores, may have a Halloween section too. Here, you might find things that you won’t get in other stores. Or they might have a better availability of stock because fewer people are buying Halloween goods from there. It’s worth checking them out if you’re finding certain items difficult to get hold of, or even for some unique inspiration.

Do

Do buy more materials than you need. Nobody’s perfect, and sometimes mistakes might be made when making a your cheap Halloween costumes. Try to have some extra materials handy just in case you need to start over. Worse, sometimes you can unexpectedly run out of materials despite being sure you bought what should have been the exact amount needed.

Do raid your wardrobe and see what items of clothing you already have. The most expensive costume in this list is $47 (£39), but that’s because it assumes that you don’t have all the necessary items. These can be made significantly cheaper if you’ve already got some of the items of clothing to hand.

Do get your friends to help you. Not only can this save time making your cheap Halloween costume, your friends might be better at doing certain things than you are. Helping each other out can also be a fun social activity to really get you in the Halloween spirit.

Do keep checking store offers regularly. Sometimes, the things you need might come up on offer before you start making your cheap Halloween costumes. Keep checking your local stores’ offers to see if you can pick up materials extra cheap. This can also apply to any other aspect of your Halloween preparation.

Do have fun with your cheap Halloween costumes. Many in the list below won’t be as impressive as someone who has spent 100s on their costume. Some even verge towards funny Halloween costumes rather than be anything too serious. Enjoy the joke or reference, and be proud of your DIY handiwork.

Cheap Halloween Costumes

#1 Error 404: Costume Not Found

This is one for the computer geeks among you. A “404 Error” is what is displayed when a web page you’re looking for cannot be found. In its most basic form, you’ll get a white screen with a message saying “Error 404: Page not found”. So why not adapt this for you or your group's cheap Halloween costumes?

1. Use a plain white t-shirt
2. Write/print “Error 404: Costume Not Found” across it

Use fabric pens to write it in your own delicate hand. However, if your handwriting is not the best, you can also buy some printable t-shirt transfer sheets, print out the message in a nice font (preferably not Comic Sans or Times New Roman), and iron it onto your t-shirt.

Either way, you can either go for just the plain text, or unleash your creativity to add some extra details.

404 Error: Costume Not Found Shopping List

• Plain white t-shirt (from $5/£3)
• Fabric pens (from $10/£7)
• T-shirt transfer paper (from $12/£9)

Total: $15-17/£10-12

#2 Frankenstein

This one’s for the literary pedants. For this costume, you’re not going need a lot of green face paint or a trip to the hardware store for extra large bolts. Why?

Because you’re not the monster.

Mary Shelley’s iconic novel is actually named after the doctor who created the monster: Victor Frankenstein. The monster has no name and is simply referred to by several monikers, including “the creature”, “the monster”, and “the wretch”.

1. Purchase a lab coat
2. Create an ID using a plastic ID badge holder reading “Dr. Victor Frankenstein”
3. Use safety pins to attach ID if needed

You can accessorize your costume with many other things, such as a stethoscope, a mad scientist wig, or maybe even splash it with some fake blood. Just keep showing people your name badge to remind them that you're Frankenstein the doctor, not the monster.

Frankenstein Shopping List

• Lab coat (from $12/£10)
• Plastic ID badge holder (from $6/£4)
• Safety pins (from $5/£3)

Total: $23/£17

#3 Fake News

Honestly, what’s scarier than fake news. Misinformation is rife among our media. Lies are being spread daily in our newspapers and on our social media pages.

The horror of it all!

So why not put the unreliable-news-source willies up your friends this year by going as fake news. If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere that offers free newspapers on public transport, then this costume can be very cheap indeed.

1. Using a red marker pen, carefully write “fake” across pieces of newspaper
2. Put strips of double sided tape all over your clothes
3. Stick prepared sheets of newspaper to them

Please be aware that newspaper catches fire easily, so we really wouldn’t recommend this costumes if you’re planning on being anywhere near a bonfire. You should also execute caution around candles.

Fake News Shopping List

• Newspaper ($1/£0.50)
• Double sided tape ($6/£4)
• Red marker pen ($2/£1.50)

Total: $9/£6

#4 The Invisible Man

Become the transparent scientist with a penchant for violence from the novel by H.G. Wells, made iconic by the 1933 film directed by James Whale. This costume relies on you already having a suit, jacket, or other formal wear. Otherwise, buying a formal outfit will significantly rack up the cost of this costume. However, you don’t have to be overly formal, and this costume can still work by making it fit around the clothes you already own.

The only extras items of clothing you might need to buy are the gloves and sunglasses. These items do make it one of the more expensive costumes on our list if you don’t already own them, but these can be used again for other occasions.

1. Warp your head and neck area with gauze dressing/bandages, leaving gaps for your eyes
2. Secure bandages with safety pins
3. Put on your formal wear
4. Don some sunglasses or goggles
5. Wear some gloves

You can also wear a black hat, like the character is sometimes depicted in. But it’s not necessary, so you don’t need to splash out on buying one if you can’t afford to.

We certainly recommend using gloves instead of wrapping up your hands. This will make it easier to hold your drink. Don’t forget to leave the area around your mouth loose enough to stick a straw through, and ensure the bandages are not so tight that it makes it difficult to breathe.

The Invisible Man Shopping List

• Gauze dressing/bandages (from $8/£6)
• Safety pins (from $5/£3)
• Sunglasses or goggles (from $15/£12)
• Gloves (from $10/£8)

Total: $38/£29

#5 Rosie The Riveter

Whilst there’s nothing “scary” about this iconic look, it’s a great way to channel your inner female strength at your Halloween Party.

Rosie the Riveter is the nickname for the female figure that appeared on World War II propaganda posters in the USA, calling for women to take on the jobs of men who had to fight in the army. These were often manual labor jobs, such as riveting. In the classic poster image, she flexes her arm muscles to the caption “We can do it!” Since, Rosie has become an iconic image for female empowerment.

1. Wear some blue coveralls
2. Tie a red polka dot head scarf around your head

If you don’t own a pair of blue coveralls, the same effect can be achieved with a blue or denim shirt and some jeans. If you don’t own a red polka-dot head scarf, any red scarf will do. You can make this costume fit around your wardrobe as long as you keep the signature red headscarf, and remember to keep periodically showing off those muscles (grrrrr).

Rosie the Riveter Shopping List

• Blue coveralls (from $25/£20)
• Red polka dot head scarf (from $10/£8)

Total: $35/£28

#6 Son of Man

Art lovers will definitely want to try out this cheap Halloween costume idea, inspired by René Magritte’s famous self-portrait. Again, this does require you to already own some of the clothing to keep costs down, namely a black overcoat or jacket.

1. Put on a white shirt
2. Wear a red tie
3. Get into a black overcoat or jacket
4. Sport a stylish black hat
5. Hang a picture of a green apple from the brim of the hat using a safety pin

We recommend printing out the same apple used in the painting and attaching it using safety pins. Hanging an actual apple can make the hat awkward to wear, although it can come in handy as a post-party snack. If you want a more 3D object hanging in front of your face, you can always use a plastic or a wax apple which would be considerably lighter than the real deal.

If you are going to print one out, use good quality heavy printing paper/card so it doesn’t flap about too much. Alternatively, you can paint your own using cardboard and green paint for something a little sturdier, or use face paint to paint the green apple directly onto your face.

Son of Man Shopping List

• White shirt (from $10/£8)
• Red tie (from $10/£8)
• Black hat (from $15/£12)
• Apple materials (from $5/£3)

Total: $40/£31

#7 Sim

On the subject of green objects floating around one’s person, why not got as a Sim? The Sims, created by Will Wright, is the best selling video game series of all time, selling a whopping 10 million copies across it’s series since it’s release in 2000. Whilst players can make characters of any shape and size, the game’s signature is the floating plumbob above their head.

1. Wear whatever you want!
2. Create a plumbob and attach it to an Alice band using some crafting wire

You can make a plumbob out of paper using templates from the internet. Alternatively, you can make one using pipe cleaners or any other materials. As it’s Halloween, instead of a green plumbob, you could make a red one; in the game this means your Sim is angry!

You can up your Sim costume game by cosplaying as one of the game’s memorable characters, such as a member of the Goth family, or even adding some flesh-colored pixilation to your outfit as if you’re nude! Don’t forget to brush up on your Simlish. “Sul Sul!”

Sim Shopping List

• Alice band (from $3/£2)
• Crafting wire (from $4/£3)
• Plumbob materials (around $5/£4)

Total: $12/£9

#8 M’n’Ms/Skittles

This are great cheap Halloween costumes if you’re going out with a group of friends or as a family. Become some of the world’s favorite confectionery with minimal cost and fuss.

1. Use a plain colored t-shirt in a bold colour that matches one used for the candy
2. Put a letter (“M” or “S”) on the front of it using fabric pens or t-shirt transfer paper in the style of the chosen’s candy’s lettering

M’n’Ms/Skittles Shopping List

• Plain colored t-shirt (from $5/£3)
• Fabric pens (from $10/£7)
• T-shirt transfer paper (from $12/£9)

Total: $15-17/£10-12

#9 Dominos

No, not the pizza, but the classic tabletop game. This is another great cheap Halloween costume idea if you’re going to a party as a group of friends, co-workers, or family.

1. Cut white iron-on fabric to form the dots and lines you’d find on dominos
2. Using an iron, stick these onto a black t-shirt and black jeans.

Alternatively, you can use white duct tape. However, trying to make circles out of strips of duct tape can be quite tricky (and sticky).

Dominos Shopping List

• White iron-on fabric (from $8/£7)
• Black t-shirt (from $5/£3)
• Back jeans (from $17/£15)

Total: $30/£25

#10 Duct Tape Skeleton

This idea is easy to and cheap to make, using just black clothes and white duct tape. You can also accessorize and add to this costume using face paint of any other bone-related paraphernalia.

1. Use a black t-shirt and black jeans
2. Put strips of white duct tape on your clothes to resemble a skeletal system

Duct Tape Skeleton Shopping List

• Black t-shirt (from $5/£3)
• Back jeans (from $17/£15)
• White duct tape (from $5/£3)

Total: $27/£21

#11 Jellyfish

These sea creatures may be oddly elegant, but they can be painful should you come into contact with one. Some can even be deadly! Scary, right? So why not go as one of these dastardly denizens of the deep? You’ve got the added bonus of being able to keep yourself dry should it rain whilst trick or treating.

1. Use a clear umbrella
2. Make tendrils using string, ribbon, crepe paper, or strips of bubble wrap
3. Attach tendrils to umbrella using sticky tape

You can be as creative as you want making the tendrils. Bubble wrap works very well if you’re in a hurry or aren’t confident enough in your crafting skills. Otherwise, you can go to town using different materials and colors. If you’re feeling really flush, you can use some battery-powered fairy lights! You can and even coordinate your clothes to match your oceanic masterpiece.

Jellyfish Shopping List

• Clear umbrella (from $8/£6)
• Tendril materials (from $8/£6)
• Sticky tape ($3/£2)

Total: $19/£14

#12 Waldo

Where’s Waldo? (originally named Where’s Wally? in the UK) is the much loved children’s picture-book series created by British artist, Martin Handford. Kids would have to search for the titular character, dressed in red and white stripes, in manic and overcrowded scenes.

To create Waldo’s look is pretty easy, and one that works particularly well if you already happen to wear glasses.

• Put on some blue jeans
• Wear a red and white striped sweater
• Get yourself a red and white beanie hat
• Add glasses to your outfit

If you really want to make an extra effort, you can get yourself a brown walking cane, and even add a backpack overflowing with camping accessories like what Waldo has been depicted with in some of the books. You could also adjust the costume to go as Waldo’s female companion, Wilma, by wearing a blue denim skirt with some red and white stockings or knee-length socks.

Waldo Shopping List

• Blue jeans (from $17/£15)
• Red and white striped sweater (from $15/£13)
• Red and white beanie hat (from $10/£8)
• Glasses (from $5/£3)

Total: $47/£39

#13 Bunch of Grapes

This costume is for the wino or grape juice-lover in your life. Celebrate the tasty fruit by dressing up as it.

1. Blow up some green, red, or purple balloons
2. Attach them to your clothes using safety pins

Bunch of Grapes Shopping List

• Red, green, or purple balloons ($4/£3)
• Safety pins (from $5/£3)

Total: $9/£6

Spooktacular!

You’re all set! You’ve got some great Halloween costume ideas for bargain prices. Go and have a horrifying holiday rocking your cheap Halloween costumes. 

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Not many people are aware of the importance of thorough preparation for minor injuries at home, or at least not enough, and you may be one of those people. The home is the most common place for accidents, followed by the workplace. In Europe, . of accidents occurred at home in 2014. As it’s important to be prepared for these minor injuries and illnesses, having a complete home first aid kit is key to home safety. So what should a first aid kit list for your home?

Equipment and Instruments

Begin with your own safety and be prepared to put on protective equipment first, starting with gloves. It’s important to include these on your first aid kit list to prevent cross contamination while cleaning a wound or putting on a dressing, as hand sanitizer is not always protective enough. Buy more than one pair so you’ll always have some handy.

Other pieces of equipment that may help protect you and the patient from diseases are:

• Goggles or other eye protection - to protect from potential bodily fluids entering through your eyes
• Surgical mask - to protect from airborne infection transmission

Equipment that should always be in on your home's first aid kit list is a thermometer. This can be a digital, temporal artery, or mercury thermometers. However, mercury ones are no longer recommended as when they break toxic mercury may escape.

So which thermometer to choose?

• Digital thermometer - safe for adults, newborns, infants, and children. The temperature can be measured from the mouth, armpit, or rectum. The time for temperature is also short: around a minute or even less.
• Temporal artery thermometers - appropriate for adults, children, and infants older than 3 months. Taking temperature is quick and the most accurate. It’s often in a form of a forehead thermometer.

When the temperature of a victim is too low, a thermal blanket, also known as emergency, first aid, safety, or space blanket, will reduce the loss of body heat. It’s also lightweight and very small in size when folded.

Depending on the injury, you may need some instruments to help you to treat the wound:

• Tweezers - to remove any small pieces of glass, splinters, or stings that are stuck in the wound
• Cotton swab - to help to clean the wound and to help apply any treatment
• Penlight - to examine eyes, ears, and throat, and to help give treatment in dark or low light areas

Home First Aid Kit List: Equipment and Instruments

• Gloves
• Tweezers
• Cotton swab
• Penlight
• Thermometer
• Thermal blanket
• Goggles
• Surgical mask

Specific injuries

Cuts and Scrapes

On every home first aid kit list should always be products to help treat small cuts and scrapes.

First make sure you’re wearing gloves, or washed your hands thoroughly with water and soap or hand sanitizer. Then clean the wound with running water.

Additionally, you may want to use hydrogen peroxide to prevent infection and to help remove dead skin from the wound. It works best in case of minor cuts, scrapes, or even burns. But it shouldn’t be used for deep wounds, serious burns, or animal or human bites. Instead of hydrogen peroxide, you may choose a saline wound wash. For these to be most effective, you need to remember to clean the wound with water before using these antiseptics.

Once you’ve cleaned and treated the wound you need to dress it.

For smaller cuts and scrapes, you can use an adhesive bandage. Adhesive bandage multipacks are a good choice as they consists of a variety of dressings in different shapes and sizes for use on different body parts. But you may also want to get adhesives bandages for specific locations of the body, such as for knees, elbows, and even knuckles and fingertips.

Your family members or the guests that visit your home may need a specific kind of adhesive bandage, depending on the situation and whether they have any allergies to the materials some bandages are made of. To make sure there’s plenty of what is best for your family or visitors, have as many varieties as you can:

• Waterproof
• For children
• Extra flexible
• Hypoallergenic
• Sensitive

But what about which types of materials you should use? Plastic, fabric, or silicone?

• Plastic - easily applicable but are most suited for flat and hairless areas on the body
• Fabric - these are elastic and stretchable but the outer surface of these get dirty pretty quickly
• Silicone - best for painless removal, and manufacturers claim that silicone bandages also stick to skin despite repositioning

Instead of adhesive bandages in the form of patches, there are other alternatives:

• Woven elastic bandage - for larger and more flexible areas of the body, such as a wrist or an elbow
• Butterfly closure bandage - for deeper but smaller wounds
• Spray plaster - for areas on the body which are difficult to reach. The sprayed-on film is flexible, transparent, and waterproof. It’s suitable only for minor cuts and grazes.

For woven elastic bandage, bandage scissors are needed. These have blades that are positioned at a 45 degrees angle, making it easier to safely cut bandages on a patient and not leave any marks on the skin or create any further injuries. This is because their tips are blunt and wide so they can slide across the skin without causing harm when cutting the bandage.

Home First Aid Kit List: Cuts and Scrapes

• Hand sanitizer
• Hydrogen peroxide or saline wound wash
• Adhesive bandages
• Woven elastic bandage
• Butterfly closure bandage
• Spray plaster
• Bandage scissors

Bleeding

What do you do when someone is bleeding? The first step you need to follow is to identify the severity of bleeding. You should call your country’s emergency number if:

• There’s an object in the wound
• The bleeding is severe
• There’s an abdominal or chest wound
• The bleeding continues for more than 10 minutes after treatment
• There is bleeding from the head, neck, or torso

Otherwise, use accessories in your well-stock aid kit to stop the bleeding.

Put on gloves first to prevent the injured person and yourself from catching potential diseases. Use a clean dressing pad or dressing to apply pressure to the wound. Continue to apply pressure until the bleeding stops. You may need another pad to press down on the wound and absorb blood if bleeding doesn’t stop quickly.

If it stops, you’ll need to dress it with a sterile gauze dressing and a bandage. To secure the dressing, use medical grade tape and small scissors.

Home First Aid Kit List: Bleeding

• Dressing pad or dressing
• Gauze dressing
• Bandage
• Medical grade tape
• Small scissors

Burns & Scalds

What to do when someone burns or scalds themselves? The most basic and the best form of first aid for these is to treat it with warm (around 37℃/98.6℉) running water over it for up to 20 minutes.

Why warm and not cold?

A  led by a plastic surgeon in Switzerland, found that warm water effectively cools the burn whilst preventing the most amount of tissue damage compared to cool water (17℃/62.6℉). Warm water enabled the affected area to be cooled whilst ensuring the blood flow in the area isn’t compromised, promoting better healing.

You should never use ice to treat a burn or a scold. This is because it can to the skin tissue and even cause frostbite or .

Alternatively, you can use a cooling gel.

After initial treatment of the burn, you then need to cover it with a dressing.

If you’ve not got a dressing to hand, or if the burn covers too large an area for a dressing, a great alternative is cling film. This should be laid loosely on the burn rather than wrapped around the limb. Then secure the cling film on the wound with a medical grade tape. Its advantages are that it’s waterproof, elastic, and transparent so that you can see the burn’s condition and healing process. It also keeps the moist which not only reduces pain but also helps to . 

You may use a clean sterile cotton sheet, if you don’t have access to cling film.

To relieve the pain from a burn, take paracetamol or ibuprofen.

After treating, can you use a topical cream or an oily lotion?

Only water-based moisturizing cream is recommended as other cream may contribute to skin dryness, which is detrimental for the healing process. But this should only be applied on non-blistered skin. In the first months after the burn, oily lotions as they are not absorbed easily into the skin, but they may relieve itching later on.

Home First Aid Kit List: Burns & Scalds

• Cooling gel
• Cling film
• Medical grade tape
• Cotton sheet
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen

Sprain & Strain

Most of these can be treated at home without consulting a specialist. All you need to do is put some a cold compress on the affected area and keep it elevated to help reduce the swelling.

For supporting the sprained elbow, have a triangular bandage in your emergency kit. To do so:

• Place the longest edge of the triangular bandage underneath the harmed arm
• Tie the two ends of the bandage across the opposite shoulder and the other two across the harmed shoulder
• Make sure that the bandage is not too tight and not too loose
• Check the circulation in victim’s fingers

To secure a torn ligament or a sprained joint, you should wrap a crepe rolled bandage around the affected area and secure it with safety pins. Make sure that the size of the bandage is large enough to cover the full area of the sprain as these come in different sizes for different body parts. Remember that the bandage can’t be applied too firmly or too loosely.

To apply a rolled bandage properly, the rolled part of it should always be placed above the injury and the unrolled one below the injury. Each layer should be covered by one-third of the new one.

Home First Aid Kit List: Sprains & Strains

• Triangular bandage
• Crepe rolled bandage
• Safety pins

Eye Injuries

Eye injuries can be very serious. If you’re in any doubt about the severity of an eye injury you should seek emergency help as soon as possible. Injuries that definitely require immediate attention are any injuries where:

• A foreign object has pierced the eyeball
• There is a significant loss of vision
• There is clouding of part of the eyeball

If you’re confident that an eye injury is not severe, you may be able to treat some injuries at home.

One of the most common injuries is where a tiny foreign object has caused a scratch to the surface of the eye, also known as a corneal abrasion. These can be objects in the eye like sand or dust. Symptoms of this include:

• A feeling of pressure or discomfort
• A sensation that something is in your eye
• Eye pain
• Extreme tearing
• Pain when you look at light
• Excessive blinking
• Redness or a bloodshot eye

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms you must not rub your eye, no matter how tempting it is. This can cause further or more severe scratches to the surface of your eye. In short, it can make it a lot worse.

First check the eye, using a penlight to see if there is a foreign object in the eye. If there is, you will need to do is flush out the eye with a sterile eye wash or warm running water.

Once you’re confident that the foreign object has been removed, simply treat any discomfort with paracetamol or ibuprofen. If symptoms become worse after treatment, seek immediate medical attention.

What you shouldn’t do is put an eye patch over the affected eye. Why? Because bacteria love dark and warm places, and this could cause the eye to become infected.

If any chemicals have been splashed into your eye, you should immediately flush it with a sterile eye wash or warm running water for 15 minutes. Then you must seek immediate medical attention. If you have the container of the chemical you got in your eye, try to bring it with you so medical staff are aware of exactly what chemical they’re dealing with.

For a black eye you’ll only need an ice pack to apply to the affected area to reduce swelling, and take painkillers. However, you shouldn’t take aspirin as it may increase the bleeding.

Another minor eye injury you might experience is slight leakage of blood from the eye, technically known as subconjunctival hemorrhaging. Whilst these can look a little frightening, they’re usually painless and should not result in any loss of vision. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for these, and it may take a couple of weeks to heal on its own. However, if you are concerned, seek medical attention.

Home First Aid Kit List: Eye Injuries

• Penlight
• Sterile eye wash
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen

Stings and Bites

According to statistics, more than visited hospitals to report non-canine bites and stings between 2001-2010. 67.5% of these were caused by insects.

Stings and bites from many insects, arachnids, and jellyfish won’t be life-threatening, unless you’re allergic to any of them. But they still require some treatment.

What’s important is that you should get rid of the stinger and and the venom. Remove the stinger removal with a straightedge object or tweezers. Then clean the sting or bite with water and soap to wash out as much of the venom as possible.

Then you’ll need:

• Antiseptic - to prevent infection from germs in the venom
• Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion - to relieve inflammation
• Dressing or bandage - to protect the sting or bite area
• Cold compress - to reduce swelling
• Antihistamine - to reducing swelling, itching, and hives. It provides relief from mild allergic reactions, too.
• Aspirin - to relieve pain

Remember not to ignore bad and severe symptoms of insect stings or bites and seek medical attention immediately should any of these occur:

• Fever
• Difficulty breathing and/or rapid heartbeat
• Nausea and vomiting
• Swelling of the lips and throat
• Confusion
• Loss of consciousness

First Aid Kit List: Stings and Bites

• Tweezers
• Soap
• Antiseptic
• Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion
• Antihistamine
• Aspirin

Colds and Flu

These are very common illnesses so it’s important to always be ready for them. At home, you want to choose medications to relieve the symptoms of cold or flu.

So, what should you have to hand?

You can use decongestants in tablet form to help widen the nasal passage to make it easier to breath. These shouldn’t be used for more than 3 days. 

Nasal sprays are effective for treating nasal congestion. You may choose one of two types:

• Saline sprays - to loosen up the mucus in your nose
• Steroid nasal sprays - to help widen the nasal passage but also prevent sinus infection

If you want to get rid of a cough or help with a sore throat, you’ll need benzydamine in the form of spray or mouth rinse. Cough lozenges may be preferred by some people but

Aspirin, paracetamol or ibuprofen can be used to bring down the fever and treat pain and inflammation. You should be cautious about giving aspirin to children and teenagers as it’s associated with in minors, which can be lethal.

Home First Aid Kit List: Colds and Flu

• Nasal spray
• Benzydamine spray or mouth rinse
• Aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen

Gastric Issues

In case of these, make sure you have some loperamide or diphenoxylate on your first aid kit list to help control diarrhea.

If diarrhea is severe, it’s vital to replenish fluids in your body. But drinking plain water is not effective here. You will also need to drinking plenty of electrolytes to restore sodium and potassium lost through the diarrhea. That’s why you should also include plenty of oral rehydration solution as part of your first aid supplies.

Home First Aid Kit List: Gastric Issues

• Loperamide or diphenoxylate
• Oral rehydration solution

What Do You Need to Remember When Making a Home First Aid Kit List?

Buying and gathering all necessary first aid products is not everything. You’ll need to pack it all in a proper container. Use a metal or plastic box with a handle that is easy to carry. It’s best when it has lots of compartments for well-organized storage.

Don’t forget:

• Check the expiration dates of all first aid kit contents every month and replace the expired medication and accessories with the new ones
• Always refill your home first aid kit after you use any product from it. Don’t wait till you need to use it again
• Keep your home first aid kit in an easily accessible place but out of reach of small children
• Take your emergency box with you when you travel. Pack a mini version of necessities whilst travelling by plane, although remember to ensure you remove scissors and any other sharp objects, and that fluids are less than 200ml

Home First Aid Kit List

Home First Aid Kit List: Equipment and Instruments

• Gloves
• Tweezers
• Cotton swab
• Penlight
• Thermometer
• Thermal blanket
• Goggles
• Surgical mask

Home First Aid Kit List: Cuts and Scrapes

• Hand sanitizer
• Hydrogen peroxide or saline wound wash
• Adhesive bandages
• Woven elastic bandage
• Butterfly closure bandage
• Spray plaster
• Bandage scissors

Home First Aid Kit List: Bleeding

• Dressing pad or dressing
• Gauze dressing
• Bandage
• Medical grade tape
• Small scissors

Home First Aid Kit List: Burns & Scalds

• Cooling gel
• Cling film
• Medical grade tape
• Cotton sheet
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen

Home First Aid Kit List: Sprains & Strains

• Triangular bandage
• Crepe rolled bandage
• Safety pins

Home First Aid Kit List: Eye Injuries

• Penlight
• Sterile eye wash
• Paracetamol or ibuprofen

Home First Aid Kit List: Stings and Bites

• Tweezers
• Soap
• Antiseptic
• Hydrocortisone cream or calamine lotion
• Antihistamine
• Aspirin

Home First Aid Kit List: Colds and Flu

• Nasal spray
• Benzydamine spray or mouth rinse
• Aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen

Home First Aid Kit List: Gastric Issues

• Loperamide or diphenoxylate
• Oral rehydration solution

If you’re just about to start your university life, you probably decided to move into a dorm room. Living in dorms is undoubtedly an unforgettable experience, with a focus on social interaction and being independent for the first time. To get the most out of this experience, you're going to need a killer college dorm essentials checklist. So, why not check out our comprehensive shopping list for students?

Whilst studying at the University of Łódź in Poland, I spent 5 years living in dorm rooms. During this time I learned many tricks and hacks about how to get the most out of dorm life, especially what to bring to your dorm room to make the best out of the minimal space you’ll have.

This is particularly important when it comes to banned items such as personal ovens, air conditioning units, and even candles. You might have wanted to take these either for convenience or to make your room feel a little more like home, but suddenly find you’re not allowed to.

So, let’s go through this big checklist of what to bring and what to prepare you for your big university adventure.

College Dorm Essentials Checklist

Let’s be honest. Settling into a new place may not be an easy thing to do, especially when it’s a new room in a dorm. To make sure you’ll be able to get a proper rest and a good night’s sleep, and be able to fit everything you need or want to bring with you into your new room, you’ll need to organize your bedroom well.

Bedroom Essentials

Bedding is usually provided by the dorm, but it depends on the place. Regardless, you may want to bring your own bed sheets, pillow, duvet, pillowcases and duvet cover. These can help you feel more at home, or at least more a little comfortable than what the dorm might provide you with.

If you’re someone who feels cold easily, you might want to bring an extra blanket. It may be handy when you decide to take a 30-minute nap between your study sessions or if you’re really cold at night. It may also serve as a bedspread, helping to keep your bedding nice and clean.

 What if you can’t sleep in a dorm room because it’s too noisy or too bright?

Use a sleeping mask and earplugs. Foam earplugs are soft and cheap, but wax ones are easy to mold to your ears making them more comfortable to use. Silicone ones also mold to your ears but have the added benefit of being reusable. Both a sleeping mask and earplugs may help you to fall asleep when your roommate(s) decides to stay up late and have the lights still on or create a bit of noise.

But what if you have problems with waking up?

You probably use the alarm clock on your smartphone but it may still be useful to have a physical alarm clock on your nightstand. This can be the classic mechanical clock with bells attached or a digital alarm clock with a built-in radio. But don’t overdo it! You don’t want to become unpopular with your roommate(s) because your alarms create too much noise early in the morning!

Bedroom Essentials

• Bed sheets
• Pillow
• Duvet
• Pillowcases
• Duvet cover
• Mattress pad
• Blanket
• Sleeping mask
• Earplugs
• Alarm clock

Storage Essentials

Your dorm bedroom is not just the place where you sleep. It’s also the room where you keep your belongings. That’s why it’s so important to know some ways to create a well-organized dorm room and make clever use of the limited space.

The question is: how do you do it?

Use plenty of storage boxes, stackable crates, and stackable drawers to maximize space in your dorm room. Get a variety of sizes of these because you can never tell what can and what can’t fit into those little nooks and crannies until you get there.

You can store more items under your bed if you have bed risers. In which case, you may also need a step stool to get into bed.

To organize your dorm room space even better, it’s also good to have: 

• Clothes hangers - these are necessary if you don’t want your clothes to be all crumpled
• Closet organizer set - this will provide lots of space for clothes, shoes, and accessories in your wardrobe
• Over-the-door hooks - to hang your bathrobe or jacket

If you wear jewelry, there’s a couple of  ways to store them in a smart way:

• Hang necklaces and bracelets on a cork board using thumb tacks, or adhesive hooks on your wall
• Put your rings in an ice cube tray or a pill box
• Store rings, necklaces, and bracelets in a cupcake tray
• Put your jewelry in zip lock plastic bags and hide them away

Think twice about taking any expensive watches or jewelry. They may easily be stolen and there may be no chance of getting them back. show that in 2016 there were more than 6,000 burglaries reported on university campuses across the US, which is around 4,000 more compared to 2011.

If you share your room but you’re lucky to have enough space between your two areas, you may bring a room divider to provide a little bit of extra privacy.

Storage Essentials

• Storage boxes
• Stackable crates
• Stackable drawers
• Bed risers
• Step stool
• Clothes hangers
• Closet organizer set
• Over-the-door hooks
• Cork board
• Adhesive hooks
• Ice cube tray
• Pill box
• Cupcake tray
• Zip lock plastic baggies
• Room divider

Clothing Essentials

You may think that everything in your wardrobe will be useful for your time at university and you should take them all.

But don’t!

Dorm rooms are usually cramped and have little space for storage, which is a key factor that you should consider when packing.

You might want to consider only packing for 1 season at a time, rather than all 4. Then, if you’re able to visit family, you can swap 1 season’s clothes for another. You can also do this if family members come to visit you.

This is particularly important regarding winter clothes as they take up more space because they’re thicker, warmer, and sturdier. But do plan to have these sooner rather than later. You don’t want to get caught out by sudden changes in the weather!

Otherwise, pack only about a week or two’s worth of seasonal clothes, plus only a couple of sets of “going-out” wear. This will save a lot of space compared to bringing your entire wardrobe with you.

Whatever the season, there are some items of clothing that are good to have at all times:

• Swimsuit
• Workout clothes
• Trainers

Not only having these to hand will encourage you to hit the gym and keep healthy (maybe), but they are also quite versatile pieces of clothing that you can wear whether you’re pumping iron or not. A swimsuit can be a substitute for underwear in an emergency. And no-one’s really going to bat an eyelid if you turn up to lectures in sweatpants, a sweater, and sneakers. Chances are, they’ll be dressed similarly too.

Don’t forget about a bag or backpack.

You’ll be carrying around lots of notes, books, and maybe even a laptop and some food every day. Bring one that is not only spacious but also comfortable. You don’t want to do your back any damage by using one that’s too heavy and uncomfortable.

Clothing Essentials

• Week or two’s worth of seasonal clothes
• Swimsuit
• Workout clothes
• Trainers
• Bag or backpack

Bathroom Essentials

Living in dorms means you most likely won’t have your own private bathroom area. So, bringing a proper set of toiletries is crucial. But it’s also important to think about how you organize them.

You need flip-flops, a bath towel, a hand towel, a bathrobe, and a shower tote to carry all your toiletries.

If you are lucky enough to have your own bathroom in your dorm room, it’s good to have a shower caddy to put all your shower products in one place, and also save precious space.

Regardless, the following are the bathroom essentials that you’re going to want to be sure you’ve packed:

• Shampoo
• Conditioner or hair mask
• Body wash
• Soap
• Shaving cream/foam and razor
• Deodorant/antiperspirant
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Mouthwash
• Dental floss

Cotton buds or pads are also useful, especially when removing makeup with makeup cleanser. But you may use cleansing wipes instead.

Don’t forget a mirror, especially if you’re going to be spending time shaving or doing your makeup.

What else you should take?

• Nail clippers or nail scissors and tweezers - easy to forget but extremely necessary for grooming
• Hair dryer, and optionally a curling iron and/or hair straighteners
• Hair brush or comb
• Eye drops and glasses case or contact lens case - if you wear glasses or contact lenses
• Toilet paper and facial tissues
• Medication - starting with first aid basics such as plasters, and ending on any medication you take regularly

Bathroom Essentials

• Flip-flops
• Bath towel
• Hand towel
• Bathrobe
• Shower tote
• Shower caddy
• Shampoo
• Conditioner or hair mask
• Body wash
• Soap
• Shaving cream/foam and razor
• Deodorant/antiperspirant
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Mouthwash
• Dental floss
• Cotton buds or pads
• Makeup cleanser or cleansing wipes
• Mirror
• Nail clippers/scissors
• Tweezers
• Hair dryer
• Curling iron
• Hair straighteners
• Hair brush or comb
• Eye drops
• Glasses case
• Contact lens case
• Toilet paper
• Facial tissues
• Medication

Cleaning and Laundry Essentials

Even if you decide to lead a wild party life as a student, or do the complete opposite and study all night and day, you’re probably going to have little time for cleaning.

But it’s a necessity.

Your dorm may have a regular cleaning service. But even then you can’t rely on them to do everything. You’ll still need to do some basic cleaning in between cleaning visits, and at some universities, cleaning staff will refuse to clean your dorm room or common areas if they are too dirty and untidy.

For the kitchen you’ll need:

• Dish soap
• Cleaning wand/sponge
• Tea towel
• Mini drying rack

You’ll also want extra garbage bags and perhaps an extra waste paper basket for your room.

Laundry can be overwhelming, especially if this is your first time doing your own! But having the following essentials will mean you’re more prepared for it:

• Laundry detergent

• Fabric softener
• Stain remover
• Washing capsules
• Laundry hamper/laundry bag

You shouldn’t need to bring an iron and an ironing board as it’s possible that your dorm room will supply these. However, these are unlikely going to going to be top of the range. So, it’s up to you whether what’s supplied will suffice or if you really want to have your clothes crisply ironed. If the latter is the case, you might want to consider a mini steam iron and a tabletop ironing board as these will save a lot of space in your room compared to their full-sized counterparts.

Lastly, if you’re unable to use or there are no dryers in the laundry room, get a clothes horse to dry your clothes on. This will save you hanging your wet clothes over every conceivable piece of furniture in your room!

Cleaning and Laundry Essentials

• Dish soap
• Cleaning wand/sponge
• Tea towel
• Mini dryer rack
• Garbage bags
• Waste paper basket
• Laundry detergent
• Fabric softener
• Stain remover
• Laundry hamper/bag
• Mini steam iron
• Tabletop ironing board
• Clothes horse

Kitchen Essentials

Not every dorm has separate kitchens for each room. Some of them have one communal kitchen for everyone in your dorm apartment or on your floor. Even then, some universities will not provide anything other than some small appliances such as a refrigerator and a microwave. You might not be able to add your own extra appliances either.

So, how can you deal with this?

First of all, focus on what you’re actually allowed to have. Firstly, you’re going to want a plate and a bowl to eat from, as well as some cutlery. You only need to bring one set just for you to save on space. Also bring some plastic or glass containers to help store and stack your food in the fridge to save space. You might also want to bring a fridge thermometer too, to check that your refrigerator is operating at a safe temperature (4c/40f).

Remember that any food containers, plates and bowls you use should be suitable for using in a microwave.

If you are allowed to bring other small appliances to your kitchen, use this opportunity to take a mini oven and a toaster. Safety is absolutely vital so remember to always check whether you unplugged your cooking devices after you’ve used them.

If you’re bringing an electric kettle, think about a stainless steel one for less stains, and one with a 360 degree power based for easier use. With a kettle you’ll be able to make some coffee, oatmeal, or instant noodles.

It’s good to have water filter too. Why? Some tap water might not be suitable for drinking and buying bottled water can be cumbersome and expensive. But remember you will have to buy extra filters if you are using one.

Don’t bring lots of cups, mugs and glasses. Like your plates and cutlery, one of each is enough.

If you have access to a communal stove or you are allowed to bring your own portable one, make sure you have a regular frying pan and two small pans. These alone will be enough for cooking, so don’t bring anything else as there’ll be too little space to store them in. But what you'll also need are utensils: remember to take plastic or wooden ones, which won’t damage the surface of your frying pan.

What about preparing your food?

Along with a chopping board, you only need these three essential knives:

• Chef’s knife
• Paring knife
• Bread knife

To be extra safe, make sure you have safety covers for them. Also, you may want to take a knife sharpener as some cheap knife sets can become dull quite quickly.

Other kitchen items you may find useful are:

• Strainer - for straining pasta, which you will eat very often
• Can opener - a large portion of your food will probably be canned, so it’s best to have one
• Bottle opener - having one that’s portable and handy can also make you popular at parties
• Pizza cutter - you’ll probably eat a lot of pizza during your time at university
• Bag clips - for sealing all those bags of food
• Ziploc bags - perfect for storing sandwiches, fruit, or nuts
• Oven mitt - if you have access to an oven, this will help protect your hands when taking hot food out of it

Kitchen Essentials

• Plate
• Bowl
• Cutlery
• Plastic or glass food containers
• Fridge thermometer
• Mini oven
• Toaster
• Electric kettle
• Water filter and extra filters
• Cup
• Mug
• Glass
• Frying pan
• 2 small pans
• Utensils
• Chopping board
• Chef’s knife
• Paring knife
• Bread knife
• Knife sharpener
• Strainer
• Can opener
• Bottle opener
• Pizza cutter
• Bag clips
• Ziploc bags
• Oven mitt

Food Essentials

What do university students eat? That’s probably one of the most frequent questions that you or your parents will ask.

The answer is: it’s highly dependable. There’s no need to drastically change your eating habits when studying at university. 

You may have a meal plan, or even plan to eat out more often than not. But the most cost effective way to feed yourself is to cook in your dorm. 

Your personal tastes means the food you will be buying can be very different from other students. However, we suggest having the following staples on your college grocery shopping list:

• Condiments - sugar, salt, and pepper
• Herbs and spices - to add extra flavor to your meals
• Cooking oil - any oil that you prefer: olive oil is best for salads whilst vegetable oil is better for frying
• Pasta - spaghetti, penne, farfalle, pappardelle; white/whole wheat/vegan. There’s plenty to choose from but choose the ones you actually eat the most often. Also, think about getting whole wheat pasta as it’s .
• Grains - rice, whole oats, quinoa, bulgur, couscous or any other that you like. These are easy to cook, will keep you full for many hours, and are very nutritious.
• Legumes - either dry or canned and ready to put to your dish
• Dried fruit, nuts and seeds - easy to store, and are always ready for a quick, healthy snack

• Canned food - it’s always good to have canned veg, tuna, or soup to make your cooking easier and quicker
• Ready meals - these may not be the healthiest kind of food but it will definitely keep you from being hungry if you’re in a rush

But here’s the most important part:

Snacks.

They don’t require any equipment and you can make or buy them easily. What every university student should have on hand are healthy snacks.

Fresh fruit, oatmeal, hummus with carrots and celery, granola bars, yogurt, smoothies, rice cakes with avocado and trail mix are excellent examples of healthy and quick to make snacks. These are great on daily basis as they contain many nutritious values, vitamins and minerals.

Other choices are snack classics:

• Popcorn, chips, and pretzels for movie nights
• Crackers with cheese or string cheese for cheese lovers
• Chocolate and all sorts of candy for those with a sweet tooth

Food Essentials

• Spices
• Herbs
• Cooking oil
• Pasta
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dried fruit, nuts, and seeds
• Canned food
• Ready meals
• Snacks

Study Essentials

One of the most important spaces in your dorm room is your study area. How you decide what’s on and around your desk may influence your learning process so it’s best to organize it well.

So, what do you need on your dorm shopping list to help you get the most out of studying?

Sometimes you may stay up late and study all night and it’s important not to strain your eyes, or at least as little as possible. Therefore proper lighting is vital. Either get a standard desk lamp, a clip desk lamp, or an LED lamp. Do some research on what lamp is best for you, taking into account things such as: adjustable brightness and colour temperature, distribution of light, and impact on the environment. It might be a good idea to check whether you need additional light bulbs and extension cords, too.

Another item which might improve your comfort while studying in a dorm room is a desk chair. Although a chair is usually provided, you can bring your own, more comfortable one. But be aware that if you do, you might need to find somewhere to put the spare chair!

Use folders and binders to help arrange your study materials. This will keep all your notes in one place. A stapler, staples and staple remover will help you even more with doing that. Also, if you have stackable drawers or magazine files you can store notebooks, note paper, and textbooks neatly too.

What you may find useful when studying are:

• Pens and pencils - bring lots of them unless you use a laptop or tablet for taking notes
• Pencil sharpener - to have your pencils always sharp and ready
• Highlighters - for marking important pieces of information in your notes

• Correction fluid - to remove errors
• Tape and scissors - useful when you decide to decorate your room or fix a broken notebook
• Paper clips and binder clips - to bring notes together

• Sticky notes - for leaving notes and bookmarking pages in textbooks
• Calculator - if your studies include math
• Hole punch - to be able to put notes into binders
• Small boxes or containers - to put all your pencils, pens, highlighters, paper clips etc

Other items for your study area might be a calendar and a fan. A calendar on or near your desk enables you to keep track of all you deadlines, exam dates, and important events. As it’s on your desk you’ll always see it, meaning those crucial dates won’t slip your mind. Air conditioning units are typically banned in dorms, so take a fan instead. It’s better than nothing!

Study Essentials

• Desk lamp, clip lamp, or LED lamp
• Light bulbs
• Extension cord
• Desk chair
• Folders
• Binders
• Stapler
• Staples
• Staple remover
• Magazine files
• Notebooks
• Note paper
• Textbooks
• Pens
• Pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Highlighters
• Correction fluid
• Tape
• Scissors
• Paper clips
• Binder clips
• Sticky notes
• Calculator
• Hole punch
• Small boxes or containers
• Tackle box
• Calendar
• Fan

Technology Essentials

Tech essentials for university may be limited to three devices:

• Smartphone
• Laptop
• USB flash drive

You probably don’t need to be told to take your smartphone. Of course, you can use it to call and text your family and your new friends, as well as checking Facebook, uploading your party pics to Instagram, and watching cat videos between lectures. But there are plenty of other things you can use your smartphone to:

• Create messaging groups to help you and your classmates study together
• Check your university email for important information
• Use a shopping list app to help you tackle your reading list

Your university or student union might even have their own app!

There are plenty of other ways you can use your smartphone to make studying more convenient, so don’t limit yourself to the more common uses: be creative!

As for what type of computer you should bring: a laptop is the best.

Why?

Desktop computers are useful for students whose studies require more powerful devices, such as those studying graphic design or music technology. But it’s not portable. If you decide to use a desktop computer, you’ll need to take all the peripherals, such as a monitor, a keyboard, a mouse, headphones or speakers and all cables that go with these.

Tablets are portable, being small in size and light, but they’re usually far less powerful than a desktop computer or a laptop.

A laptop is a great compromise on both power and portability. That’s why a small, light laptop is probably the best option for your learning and creating projects, or for simply surfing the internet and using social media. 

If you prefer laptop or tablet, don’t forget about the charger.

As for a USB drive, having one is very handy. Whilst you’ll mostly be saving your files to the university’s cloud or network, backing up and using a USB drive makes them more portable and accessible.

However, I strongly suggest you don’t keep all your work only on a USB: use it as a backup or to simply transport your files from place to place. If you lose or damage your USB drive, you don’t want to lose all of your notes and work!

You don’t necessarily need to bring a printer. There will be lots of printing spots at your university. But, if you’d rather have your own printer, remember about ink and paper. This will certainly be useful if something does go wrong with the university printers.

What about entertainment?

Being a student is difficult and studying is tiring and that’s why study breaks are important. If you have enough space in your dorm, you might consider taking a TV, DVD player, stereo or video games console. They’re also good options for inviting people to your dorm room to socialize.

Technology Essentials

• Smartphone
• Desktop computer, laptop, or tablet
• USB flash drive
• Lap desk
• Monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones, speakers, cables
• Charger
• Printer
• Ink
• Paper
• TV
• DVD player
• Stereo
• Video games console

Document Essentials

Starting university means a lot of changes, including learning to be independent. Part of being independent is being able to look after you important documents and making sure they’re kept safe.

So what are these documents you need to have?

You’ll most likely keep your ID and student ID in your wallet, along with your debit/prepaid card and social security card. But if you’re going on holiday, take only what you need. Do you really need to take your student ID with you down Las Ramblas in Barcelona? Because if it gets stolen along with your wallet, you’re going to have to pay to replace it when you could have just left it secure in your dorm room.

If you have a car and you take it to university, you’ll also need driving license and car registration, and motor insurance documents.

Depending on what country you’re studying in, you may also need to being your medical insurance card to be able to go to the doctor that is closest to your dorm.

Keep your bank account information, financial aid forms and renters’ insurance in one folder, so you don’t lose them or throw them away accidentally.

Document Essentials

• ID
• Student ID
• Debit/prepaid card
• Social security card
• Driving license
• Car registration
• Motor insurance documents
• Medical insurance card
• Bank account information
• Financial aid forms
• Renters’ insurance

Other College Dorm Essentials

These are other items you should have on your college checklist that may well come in handy.

Think about having a flashlight and a powerbank just in case electricity cuts out without warning. Duct tape, safety pins, and a sewing kit can help you repair or patch up various broken objects so you can use them for longer. A first aid kit will be great for dealing with any minor injuries. It may be also a good idea to have some spare batteries and light bulbs in your room just in case you suddenly need to replace either.

A weekend bag/suitcase, umbrella and sunglasses - these you can’t forget if you want to travel or just come back home for the weekend.

Speaking of weekends, take a board game or two. It’s good for socializing and having fun without technology or alcohol.

Other College Dorm Essentials

• Flashlight
• Powerbank
• Duct tape
• Safety pins
• Sewing kit
• First aid kit
• Batteries
• Light bulbs
• Weekend bag/suitcase
• Umbrella
• Sunglasses
• Board games

All Packed and Ready to Move

The dorm shopping list we’ve given you might seem pretty long, but don’t think you have to bring everything on them.

They’re there to give you an idea of how to prepare yourself for one of the biggest changes and challenges you’re going to face. Therefore, edit them to fit your needs, budget, and travel situation.

But the main thing to remember is your dorm room is going to be small, so:

• Don’t take too many things
• Use storage boxes, drawers, shelves and carts to store all your items

It’s also a good idea not to take all of the items on the list right away and see what you might be able to share with your new roommate(s).

After all, sharing is caring.

College Dorm Essentials Checklist

Bedroom Essentials

• Bed sheets
• Pillow
• Duvet
• Pillowcases
• Duvet cover
• Mattress pad
• Blanket
• Sleeping mask
• Earplugs
• Alarm clock

Storage Essentials

• Storage boxes
• Stackable crates
• Stackable drawers
• Bed risers
• Step stool
• Clothes hangers
• Closet organizer set
• Over-the-door hooks
• Cork board
• Adhesive hooks
• Ice cube tray
• Pill box
• Cupcake tray
• Zip lock plastic baggies
• Room divider

Clothing Essentials

• Week or two’s worth of seasonal clothes
• Swimsuit
• Workout clothes
• Trainers
• Bag or backpack

Bathroom Essentials

• Flip-flops
• Bath towel
• Hand towel
• Bathrobe
• Shower tote
• Shower caddy
• Shampoo
• Conditioner or hair mask
• Body wash
• Soap
• Shaving cream/foam and razor
• Deodorant/antiperspirant
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrush
• Mouthwash
• Dental floss
• Cotton buds or pads
• Makeup cleanser or cleansing wipes
• Mirror
• Nail clippers/scissors
• Tweezers
• Hair dryer
• Curling iron
• Hair straighteners
• Hair brush or comb
• Eye drops
• Glasses case
• Contact lens case
• Toilet paper
• Facial tissues
• Medication

Cleaning and Laundry Essentials

• Dish soap
• Cleaning wand/sponge
• Tea towel
• Mini dryer rack
• Garbage bags
• Waste paper basket
• Laundry detergent
• Fabric softener
• Stain remover
• Laundry hamper/bag
• Mini steam iron
• Tabletop ironing board
• Clothes horse

Kitchen Essentials

• Plate
• Bowl
• Cutlery
• Plastic or glass food containers
• Fridge thermometer
• Mini oven
• Toaster
• Electric kettle
• Water filter and extra filters
• Cup
• Mug
• Glass
• Frying pan
• 2 small pans
• Utensils
• Chopping board
• Chef’s knife
• Paring knife
• Bread knife
• Knife sharpener
• Strainer
• Can opener
• Bottle opener
• Pizza cutter
• Bag clips
• Ziploc bags
• Oven mitt

Food Essentials

• Spices
• Herbs
• Cooking oil
• Pasta
• Grains
• Legumes
• Dried fruit, nuts, and seeds
• Canned food
• Ready meals
• Snacks

Study Essentials

• Desk lamp, clip lamp, or LED lamp
• Light bulbs
• Extension cord
• Desk chair
• Folders
• Binders
• Stapler
• Staples
• Staple remover
• Magazine files
• Notebooks
• Note paper
• Textbooks
• Pens
• Pencils
• Pencil sharpener
• Highlighters
• Correction fluid
• Tape
• Scissors
• Paper clips
• Binder clips
• Sticky notes
• Calculator
• Hole punch
• Small boxes or containers
• Tackle box
• Calendar
• Fan

Technology Essentials

• Smartphone
• Desktop computer, laptop, or tablet
• USB flash drive
• Lap desk
• Monitor, keyboard, mouse, headphones, speakers, cables
• Charger
• Printer
• Ink
• Paper
• TV
• DVD player
• Stereo
• Video games console

Document Essentials

• ID
• Student ID
• Debit/prepaid card
• Social security card
• Driving license
• Car registration
• Motor insurance documents
• Medical insurance card
• Bank account information
• Financial aid forms
• Renters’ insurance

Other College Dorm Essentials

• Flashlight
• Powerbank
• Duct tape
• Safety pins
• Sewing kit
• First aid kit
• Batteries
• Light bulbs
• Weekend bag/suitcase
• Umbrella
• Sunglasses
• Board games

You’ve decide to give up smoking. Seriously, massive kudos to you. It’s the first step to...well, not smoking anymore! We want to be the ones that fight in your corner. So we're here to give you some quit smoking tips, but specifically about what to do with your hands and mouth.

As well as being a popular New Year’s Resolution, you might be thinking about doing this because it’s coming up to October.

In the United Kingdom, October is known as “Stoptober”: a month dedicated to encouraging smokers to quit. The UK’s health service claim that if you’re able to make it through the first 28 days of quitting, you’re 5x more likely to quit for good. The Stoptober website also offers advice, as well as signposting to resources such as apps and support groups, to aid potential cig-free citizens.

But you probably know that it’s not going to be easy, even for a mere month.

The hardest thing for the majority of smokers is overcoming the addiction to nicotine. That’s no small feat! According to Vaping Daily, you start feeling the effects of nicotine withdrawal after just 4 hours of having your last cigarette, with the first three days being the hardest to overcome.

Symptoms include:

• Restlessness
• Trouble sleeping
• Irritability
• Headaches
• Heightened anxiety
• Increased stress levels

Eak! Hang in there. You can do this!

But another thing that many people find hard is trying to replace the feeling of having something in their mouth and hands.

So, we’d like to offer you some short shopping lists and some lighthearted but potentially effective quit smoking tips. These will help you keep your hands and mouth busy during this trying, but hopefully triumphant, month for you.

However, we do strongly advise that you do speak to a doctor before quitting smoking, and also check out the information, advice, support, and eve more quit smoking tips over at the official Stoptober website

Quit Smoking Tips: Engage Your Mouth

Snacking

This is a good way to engage your mouth. But you need to be careful as you don’t want to snack on unhealthy food, trading smoking for weight gain. But here are some snacks and foods that help you quit smoking.

Pretzel sticks - the best thing about these is that they can also help satisfy the feeling your hands miss as they’re a similar shape to a cigarette. Be careful though, as these are often very salty, and increased sodium intake can lead to high blood pressure issues such as hypertension.

Carrot or celery sticks - these are certainly healthier than pretzel sticks. Again, these kill two birds with one stone as their shape can also simulate that of a cigarette. But for many eating raw vegetables can be unpleasant. If the thought of eating raw carrots or celery is off-putting, consider using a dip such as hummus or salsa to improve their taste.

Dried fruit and nuts - these are snack staples for people on diets as they’re high in energy and often full of good fat and oil. So why wouldn’t it work for someone who’s trying to quit smoking? Again, just make sure you’re not gobbling down anything too salty to ensure your blood pressure stays low.

Snacking Shopping List

• Pretzel sticks
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Hummus
• Salsa
• Dried fruit and nuts

Chewing

Another way to keep the mouth engaged without actually filling your stomach is to chew on something.

Chewing Gum - you can use nicotine gum to help stave off those cravings. But if you really want to push hard against that nicotine addiction, you can try normal chewing gum. Make sure it’s sugar-free though, as you don’t want to end up with bad teeth.

Aside from keeping your gob busy, chewing gum has some surprising benefits. There are studies that claim it can help:

• improve your
• keep your teeth healthy
•  by reducing your appetite

However, there are some long-term side effects of chewing, such as and , and chewing too much sugar-free gum in a short space of time can have laxative effects. But in moderation, chewing can be a great way to keep your mouth engaged.

Toothpicks - some people have found that chewing on a toothpick can really help suppress the urge to stick a cigarette in your mouth. You’ll also have the added bonus of looking like a cowboy or a bad ass action hero. What’s more, you can even flavor them if you’d rather not taste wood all day. You can do this using your favorite tipple, such as whiskey.

If you don’t drink alcohol, or your boss has an issue with alcohol-soaked paraphernalia in the workplace, you can try  such as cinnamon, orange peel, or mint.

Chewing Shopping List

• Nicotine gum
• Sugar-free chewing gum
• Toothpicks
• Whiskey
• Essential oils

Quit Smoking Tips: Engage Your Hands

Having something in your hands can really help you ease the sensation of not holding a cigarette anymore.

Plastic Straw - plastic straws are a great way to engage your hands. As well as being a similar shape to a cigarette you can even cut one down to be the length of a cigarette, too. What’s great is that it can engage your mouth too. You can simulate inhaling on a cigarette by putting the straw in your mouth and sucking air through it.

However, this comes with the drawback of being a bit conspicuous, especially if the straws you are using are brightly colored. What’s more, with the big conversation around banning plastic straws for environmental reasons happening at the moment, these might not be the best option depending on your environmental point of view.

Pen or Pencil - these are objects that are really easy to get hold of and are similar shape to a cigarette. What’s more, they’re quite inconspicuous and make you look like you’re super busy at work.

Stress Ball - they’re soft, squeezy, and specifically designed to help release some tension during stressful periods in your day. Chances are you’ve gotten for free from somewhere: a convention, a promotion, or stolen from your boss's desk. However, you can also buy them in various shapes and sizes, from brains to Donald Trump. These will certainly help with those increased stress levels caused by your nicotine withdrawal.

Fidget Spinner - are these still a thing? If you can still buy one, they can be an inexpensive way to keep your hands busy. You might even be able to get a hold of one for free from a younger relative who’s now preoccupied with the next fad to irritate teachers and parents alike.

On a serious note, you can also learn some  which can help keep your mind occupied from thinking about smoking.

Yo-Yo - if fidget spinners are hard to come by, or you really want to complete a rad 1980s look, get a yo-yo. Like with fidget-spinners, you can keep your mind busy by learning tricks to impressive all your mates down at the roller-disco.

Fidget Cube - if you want something a bit more adult and a bit less retro than a fidget spinner or a yo-yo, you can buy a specifically designed fidget cube. These usually have a variety of different apparatus to keep your hands busy, from switches and buttons to things that swivel, which can satisfy a whole range of fidgety twitches.

E-Cigarettes/Vaping - these can engage both your mouth and your hands at the same time as you’re essentially doing something very similar to smoking. As many of the liquids and flavors have nicotine in them, they can also help you gradually reduce your nicotine intake to help manage withdrawal symptoms, much like nicotine patches and gum can. However, these are not officially approved by as a way to quit smoking.

The verdict is still quite hazy on whether these are as healthy an alternative to smoking as they claim. Yes, you’re not filing your lungs with tar like with a lit cigarette, but some liquids have been reported to contain harmful ingredients . A lot more research does need to be done on the benefits/drawbacks of e-cigarettes and vapes, so it’s up to you whether you think this is a good option or not.

Furthermore, in some countries and states these are banned in public spaces and workplaces on the basis that it can expose people around you to harmful chemicals and aerosols. So this might not be the most convenient solution.

Cigarette - this comes with the big warning that you will have to fight the urge to light up. But some people do find having an actual cigarette between their fingers helps keep those withdrawal feelings in your hands at bay. This is because a cigarette is the closest thing to an actual cigarette when it comes to wanting have a cigarette in your hand. It’s risky, but if you can resist the temptation it can be a familiar comfort that can keep you on the straight and narrow.

Engage Your Hands Shopping List

• Plastic straw
• Pen
• Pencil
• Stress ball
• Fidget spinner
• Yo-Yo
• Fidget Toy
• E-cigarette
• Cigarette

Go Get ‘Em, Tiger

Now you’re armed with plenty of quit smoking tips to help keep your hands and mouth busy whilst you’re quitting smoking. We’re cheering you on from afar and are really hoping you can stub out the habit once and for all.

Snacking Shopping List

• Pretzel sticks
• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Hummus
• Salsa
• Dried fruit and nuts

Chewing Shopping List

• Nicotine gum
• Sugar-free chewing gum
• Toothpicks
• Whiskey
• Essential oils

Engage Your Hands Shopping List

• Plastic straw
• Pen
• Pencil
• Stress ball
• Fidget spinner
• Yo-Yo
• Fidget Toy
• E-cigarette/Vape
• Cigarette

Summer's nearly over. Which means the time for having one more great BBQ is running out! In the USA and Canada, Labor Day (which falls on 3 September) is seen as the holiday that unofficially marks the end of summer. What better way to celebrate than with a BBQ? For that, you're going to be a goo BBQ shopping list.

 Whether it’s a Labor Day shindig or just trying to make the most out of that last bit of sunshine, BBQs will be had all over the world during the next couple of weeks.

Of course, you want your BBQ to be the best. But without getting the basics right, you’re not going to reach the heights of BBQ legend that you’d like to. Get these BBQ basics wrong and your BBQ will be: basic!

But BBQs are about far more than the food you’re going to cook. It’s about how you cook it, what you use, and how you deal with everything else. So check out this basic BBQ shopping list and tips to get things to heat up the end of your summer properly. If you're super keen to fire up your bbq, then you can skip straight to our . 

Preparation

We`re not going to give you recipes and suggestions here.

There are simply far too many ideas already out there on the internet. You know what you and your guests want better than we do, so buy whatever you want.

But when buying sausages and burgers, make sure those on your BBQ food list they have a high meat content. Anything above 80% is what you’re aiming for. Less than 80% means that these burgers or sausages are filled with things like grain and water. This means the food won’t be as tasty as it’s not as meaty.

Furthermore, don’t try and cook too many different varieties of food. Different food needs different cooking times and heat. Going for the full gamut of meat and veg will only make it difficult to time and cook properly. Pick a couple of items and take time to do them well. Your guests will much prefer quality over variety.

Whatever you cook, you`re going to need some BBQ sauce: it's a BBQ shopping list essential!

But be careful about when you add it. Don’t add it to the food too early or the sauce will burn and coat your food with untasty charred bits. It will also make it more difficult to cook the inside of the food increasing the risk of giving you and your guests food poisoning!

Don’t forget things like cling film to keep dips and sauces fresh and fly-free, and aluminium foil to keep food warm. Handily, aluminium foil can be used to clean the grill grate afterwards, too. When scrunched up it’s coarse enough to remove burnt bits, but it’s not so hard that it will remove the grill’s coating.

If you’re planning on cooking a lot of food, be sure to bring some extra empty plastic containers for you or your guests to take home any leftovers.

If you’re BBQing in a park and not in your garden, bring a cool box and some ice blocks. Not only will is keep your drinks nicely chilled, you can use it to keep any uncooked food fresh for the trip back home meaning you won’t need to throw it away and waste it.

Preparation

• BBQ sauce
• Cling film
• Aluminium foil
• Empty plastic containers
• Cool box
• Ice blocks

Cutlery and Crockery

Of course, your guests are going to need something to eat with and on. Crucial items are:

• Plates
• Knives
• Forks

And if you’re serving dessert:

• Bowls and spoons for desserts
• Side plates and extra forks for cake

You may also need extra spoons and extra knives on your BBQ shopping list for dips and spreads.

Plastic cutlery and crockery are the staples of BBQs, but these days there’s a lot of concern about plastic's effect on the environment. As durable and convenient as plastic cutlery is, it’s a major part of our plastic problem.

The Pratt Institute found that plastic cutlery formed more than 20% of California’s plastic waste, and countries like the United Kingdom are even considering banning plastic cutlery and plates outright as it makes up .

So maybe it’s time to consider more environmentally friendly options.

Bringing your home’s metal cutlery, glasses, and ceramic plates means you can take them back to wash up later. You can really cut down on your waste this way. But you need to be prepared for things to get broken or lost. You’ll also need to transport these to and from your home. Whilst trash friendly, this can be inconvenient as transporting these can be cumbersome and heavy. If you do want to use your glassware, be sure that there aren’t any children attending, or any clumsy friends either!

So, are paper cups and plates the best option?

Well, they are biodegradable. But they can be flimsy, making them more trouble than they're worth. Guest want their food and drink in their mouths, not in their laps!

One other option is: edible plates! 

These aren’t easy to get hold of at the moment, but if you can you’ll be hailed an eco-warrior by your guests. You can even get edible cutlery too if you want to go for the full range of tableware you can eat.

Speaking of cutlery, you should look out for wooden cutlery or even cutlery made from plant starch. You can also get plant starch crockery. These are sturdier than paper and also biodegradable.

If you must use plastic, check your recycling facilities to see what type of plastic they can recycle. Then, try and buy plastic crockery and cutlery that you can add to your recyclable waste afterwards.

For example: if your facilities can’t process P4 or P5 plastic, avoid buying crockery and cutlery made from these types. 

Don’t forget the napkins!

Paper work well, but consider cloth ones that you can wash at home and re-use next year. Regardless, you should still have some paper towels handy to help clean greasy hands. These are designed to absorb grease as well as liquid making them generally better for cleaning up mucky faces than facial tissues. You might also want to consider some wet wipes for the same purpose.

Also get some hand sanitizer so your guests can keep hands germ-free, especially if access to running water is difficult.

Cutlery and Crockery

• Plates
• Knives
• Forks
• Bowls
• Spoons
• Side plates
• Extra knives
• Extra forks
• Extra spoons
• Napkins
• Paper towels
• Wet wipes
• Hand sanitizer

Tools

All that food: delicious.

But buying it was only half the battle. Now you have to cook it.

Making sure you have enough charcoal is a no brainer, unless you’re cooking on gas. Lumpwood charcoal is generally considered better to grill with than charcoal briquettes as they add a smokier and more natural flavor to the food. Self-lighting briquettes might sound convenient but you you risk adding chemical flavors and fumes to your food from the chemicals used to make them easier to light.

But if you’re not buying self-lighting charcoal, how are you going to light the BBQ? It’s not easy and some reckon it’s truly an artform! So what should you use to light your BBQ?

Matches are the first things that come to mind but these can be unreliable and you risk burning yourself. Cigarette lighters are even trickier and more dangerous! But these can be used as a last resort.

Instead: use a gas lighter.

These have nice long tips meaning you won’t burn yourself when lighting the BBQ. You can also use them to light things in hard to reach places. As they use liquid gas, there’s less chance of the flame going out in breezy weather.

One thing you should absolutely avoid putting on your BBQ shopping list is BBQ lighter fluid. This tends to create high flames for a few seconds but usually fails to light the coals first time around meaning you’ll have to add more and more. What’s worse is that too much lighter fluid can also leave a chemical taste to your food. Lighting blocks are more reliable, but you still risk them leaving that nasty taste.

Yuck!

The best way to light your BBQ is to invest in a charcoal starter chimney. To use one:

• Put newspaper at the bottom of the chimney
• Put the charcoal on top of the newspaper
• Light the newspaper
• Wait for about 15-20 minutes

The vertical design means heat is naturally and quickly drawn upwards lighting your coals fast and evenly.

If you want to add some extra BBQ flavor, then add smoking wood to your coals. These will add a smokey kick to your food. If you soak them at least an hour before using them (overnight is best) the moisture creates more smoke, which means more flavor.

Now that you’ve got your BBQ going and your food cooking, what now? To get the best out of your BBQ, use the lid. This locks in the heat and turns your BBQ into an oven, meaning the food will cook more thoroughly and evenly.

But don’t fiddle with the lid if you’re using one! Every time you open the lid, you lose that heat, meaning everything will take longer to cook. Therefore, you might want to invest in a food timer:

• Put the food on the BBQ
• Set the timer (according to cooking instructions)
• Put the lid on
• Wait

If you don’t want to buy a physical food timer, you can always use your smartphone’s inbuilt timer, or even download a timer app.

Next, you need to know if the food is fully cooked. What do you do to ensure things are cooked properly? Give it a little prod, right? Wrong.

Different types of food all feel different when they’re done. Unless you’re a professional, poking and prodding is a very ineffective way to tell if food is cooked. Stabbing it to see if it’s still pink in the middle makes all those tasty juices run out.

Instead, use a food thermometer. Just pierce it through into the centre of the food, and if it’s the optimum temperature for that food: viola! It’s cooked.

Other tools you’ll need include:

• Tongs to turn and pick up the food from the BBQ, and also help arrange the charcoal
• A bread knife if you need to cut burger buns and hot dog rolls
• Kebab skewers too, if you’re making kebabs

If you’re using wood kebab skewers, remember to soak these overnight to stop them catching fire or burning. If you’re using metal kebab skewers, coat them with a little vegetable or sunflower cooking oil to stop the food sticking to them.

If you’re grilling sausages or hot dogs, you might even want to consider a sausage holder which makes it easier to cook sausages on both sides without fear of them falling off the grill and into the coals!

Tools

• Lumpwood charcoal
• Matches
• Gas lighter
• Charcoal starter chimney
• Newspaper
• Smoking wood
• Food timer
• Food thermometer
• Tongs
• Bread knife
• Kebab skewers
• Cooking oil
• Sausage holder

Clean-Up

You’re BBQ was a resounding success. But now comes aftermath: clean-up.

One thing you’ll certainly need on your BBQ shopping list are trash bags. But be sure to buy thick ones. Cheap thin ones break easily, meaning you’ll only make more mess when cleaning up. Thicker bags are not only stronger but there’s less chance of a kebab skewers sticking through and hurting you.

Ouch!

You might want to also get some gardening gloves. This isn’t because you’ll be planting any flowers, but because these will protect your hands from any sharp surprises during clean up.

If you are planning on taking things home to recycle, don’t forget recycling bags so you can sort your recycling there and then rather than leaving it until later.

If you are having a BBQ in the park and the bins are all full, try not to leave full bags on the floor next to the bins. Please, take the home with you or find some empty bins elsewhere. Whilst park officials will eventually clear away the trash, until that time animals, such as bears, foxes, and raccoons, can easily access the trash bags on the floor. They’ll break open the bags to get at any leftover food creating a real mess. Whilst other items in your trash can make them sick or cause injury. It is more work, and carrying trash around is unpleasant. But your park officials will be very grateful as you’ll keep wildlife safe and your park looking lovely.

Then, there’s the grill that needs cleaning. Or does it?

Some say you  if you’re grilling regularly, as the grease and charred bits of food on the grill is said to prevent it from rusting. Therefore, you might want to consider cleaning the grill just before your next BBQ after warming it up.

Regardless, you should get a good BBQ cleaning brush. This will ensure all the bits of food and grease will be removed before your next BBQ adventure, meaning it’ll be hygienic and bits-of-old-food free.

Clean-Up

• Trash bags
• Gardening gloves
• Recycling bag
• BBQ cleaning brush

Basic BBQ Tips

Well, that’s a lot of advice, and some great lists for you there. 

But why not have some more tips to up your BBQ game?

Wait until the Coals are Covered with Grey Ash

The coals are lit and are nice and hot. You want to start cooking now, and your guests are hungry! However, you need to wait until the coals are covered in a grey ash before the BBQ is at its best to cook with. 

Grey coals are the best because they maintain a steady temperature, meaning no sudden heat-spikes leading to uneven cooking.

This will usually take about 15 minutes. which will feel like a long time when standing at the BBQ waiting for them to turn grey. So how about setting that food timer we talked about earlier, mingle with your guests, and check back on the coals when you hear it go off.

Vary The Temperature of Your Grill

It’s tempting to spread all the charcoal evenly around the entire grill. This means it’s nice and hot everywhere. But you can cook smarter by doing things differently.

Split your BBQ in half and put more coals on one side, and fewer, or none, on the other. You can even put less or no coals down the centre. 

This gives you more control over your cooking:

• One side can be for cooking things that need a high temperature
• The other side for food that needs lower heat

You can even:

• Sear the food on the hot part of the grill
• Cook it gently on the cooler part

Don’t Cook Meat Straight from the Fridge

We’ve all done it. Take the meat straight out of the fridge and put it straight onto the BBQ. But you should actually take the meat out about 30 minutes before cooking.

Why?

Because cold meat takes longer to cook. Also, cooking cold meat on a BBQ means the inside is more likely to be uncooked. If you let it warm up to room temperature before cooking, this is less likely to happen.

Don’t Eat The Meat Straight Away

Good things come to those who wait, and that includes BBQ food. Once you’ve cooked the meat let it sit for a few minutes. This ensures the juices are sealed within it as they’ll cool and thicken.

Cut or bite into too quick, and:

• Those tasty juices will drain everywhere
• You might burn your mouth as the juices are hot

Basic BBQ Tips

• Wait until the coals are grey
• Vary the temperature of your grill
• Don’t cook meat straight from the fridge
• Don’t eat the meat straight away

Be the Boss of Your BBQ

Now that you know the BBQ basics you’re ready to be a BBQ boss! You’re going to see summer off in the best possible way with the best possible BBQ, especially when armed with our free printable BBQ shopping list.

Oktoberfest is just around the corner, and beer is most definitely on the menu. And boy, there is a lot of beer out there! So let us provide you with a beer list of some of the world's best beers.

In March 2017, found that there are now over 19,000 breweries operating worldwide, with over 4,500 of them located in USA. In fact, the USA has more nearly 4x more breweries than Germany: the home of Oktoberfest!

Out of this global number, 94% of breweries are craft breweries: small, independent breweries creating their own unique beers in small batches.

If you think that’s a lot of breweries, then just imagine how many different types of individual beers they make! The very thought of it makes us thirsty:

We need a beer!

But what are the best beers to drink? Thankfully, the can help punters of pilsners and enthusiasts of IPAs taste their way through some of the world’s best brews.

The list of winners is also surprisingly diverse, with champion beers coming from countries as far reaching as Cambodia, Japan, and Taiwan. The winners' lists are not without they’re surprises too. Brazil, a country not instantly associated with beer, won more awards than traditional beer brewing countries such as Germany and Belgium.

So, are you thirsty for some of the world’s best beers? Check out this aware winning beer list below for a sudsy and superlative start to your Oktoberfest.

World’s Best Dark Beer List

1. Novo Brazil “Cookie Muncher” (World’s Best Dark Beer, World’s Best Strong Dark Beer)

2. Edinburgh Beer Factory “Bunk! Edinburgh Brown” (World’s Best American Brown Ale) 

3. Schwarzbräu “Aged Bock 2012” (World’s Best Dark Barley Wine)

4. Collesi “Rossa” (World’s Best Belgian Style Dubbel)

5. Samuel Adams “Thirteenth Hour Stout” (World’s Best Belgian Style Strong)

6. White Sails “Snake Island CDA” (World’s Best Black IPA)

7. Jopen “Bokbier” (World’s Best Brown Ale)

8. Pig Pounder Brewery “Boar Brown” (World’s Best English Brown Ale)

9. Long Man Brewery “Old Man” (World’s Best Mild Dark Beer)

10. Liefmans “Goudenband” (World’s Best Oud Bruin)

World’s Best Flavored Beer List

11. Surtur “8,2” (World’s Best Flavored Beer, World’s Best Wood Aged Beer) 

12. Dama Bier “Fellas” (World’s Best Chocolate & Coffee Flavored Beer)

13. Lohn Bier “Catharina Sour Uva” (World’s Best Fruit & Vegetable Flavored Beer)

14. Taiwan Head Brewers “Start of Autumn Tea Ale” (World’s Best Herb & Spice Flavored Beer)

15. Joseph Holt “Maple Gold” (World’s Best Honey & Maple Flavored Beer)

16. Ruosniemen Panimo “Musta Lomittaja” (World’s Best Smoke Flavored Beer

17. Gouden Carolus “Cuvée van de Keizer Whisky Infused” (World’s Best Spirit Flavored Beer)

World’s Best Lager List

18. Bauhöfer “Ulmer Pilsener” (World’s Best Lager, World’s Best German-Style Pale Lager) 

19. Free “Damm” (World’s Best No Alcohol Lager)

20. Schützengarten “St. Galler Klosterbräu” (World’s Best Amber/Vienna Lager)

21. Cisk “Pilsner” (World’s Best Czech Style Pale)

22. Hausen Bier “Dunkel” (World’s Best Dark Lager)

23. Tazawako “Pilsner” (World’s Best Dortmunder)

24. Fujizakura Heights Beer “Munchen Lager” (World’s Best Helles/Munchen)

25. Mica “SIN” (World’s Best Low Carb/Low Alcohol Lager)

26. Pyynikin “Mosaic Lager” (World’s Best Seasonal Lager)

27. Votus “003” (World’s Best Strong Lager)

28. Bauhöfer “Ulmer Maibock” (World’s Best Bock)

World’s Best Pale Beer List

29. Cameron’s “Where the Buffalo Roam Barleywine” (World’s Best Pale Beer, World’s Best Pale Barley Wine)

30. Les Trois Mousquetaires “Sticke Alt” (World’s Best Altbier Pale Ale)

31. Cevada Pura “Irish Red ALE” (World’s Best Amber Pale Ale)

32. Sunset Brew “Sunset Saison” (World’s Best Belgian Style Pale Ale)

33. Leffe “Blonde” (World’s Best Belgian Style Blonde)

34. Leffe “Rituel” (World’s Best Belgian Style Strong)

35. Wäls “Trippel” (World’s Best Belgian Style Tripel)

36. Paljas “Saison” (World’s Best Biére De Garde/Saison)

37. Oh! La! Ho “Captain Crow Extra Pale Ale” (World’s Best Bitter 4%-5%)

38. Stewart Brewing “Radical Road” (World’s Best Bitter Over 5%)

39. Corsaire “Kirk” (World’s Best Bitter Up To 4%)

40. Colorado “Murica” (World’s Best Cream Ale)

41. Hell de Janeiro “Hoppy Lager” (World’s Best Golden Ale)

42. Cromarty Brewing Co “Man Overboard” (World’s Best Imperial/Double IPA)

43. CLT IPA “India Pale Ale” (World’s Best IPA)

44. Mt. Begbie “High Country Kölsch” (World’s Best Kölsch)

45. Big Drop “Citrus Pale Ale (World’s Best Low-Strength Pale Ale)

46. Whitefrontier Brewery “Freeride World Tour” (World’s Best Pale Ale)

47. Riviere d’Ain “Thou” (World’s Best Seasonal Pale Ale) 

48. McGargles “Little Bangin’ Session IPA” (World’s Best Session IPA)

World’s Best Sour Beer List

49. Rügener Insel-Brauerei “Seepferd” (World’s Best Sour Beer, World’s Best Sour Ale) 

50. Les Trois Mousquetaires “Ceci n'est pas une Gueuze” (World’s Best Gueuze)

51. Samuel Adams “American Kriek” (World’s Best Kriek)

52. Le Trou du diable “L'Hérisson-Brassin spécial” (World’s Best Lambic)

53. Gueuzerie Tilquin “Quetsche Tilquin à l'ancienne” (World’s Best Flavored Lambic)

World’s Best Speciality Beer List

54. Hook Norton “Red Rye” (World’s Best Speciality Beer, World’s Best Rye Beer) 

55. Oud Beersel “Bzart Lambiek (World’s Best Brut/Champagne Beer)

56. Reddot “Sauvignon Ale” (World’s Best Experimental Beer)

57. Brunehaut “Tripel” (World’s Best Gluten-Free Beer)

58. Bossuwé Brewing Co. “Betty B.” (World’s Best Rice Beer)

59. Maryensztadt Brewery “Wunderbar13” (World’s Best Steam Beer)

World’s Best Stout/Porter List

60. Hideji-beer brewery “Kurikuro” (Worlds Best Stour/Porter, World’s Best Flavored Stout/Porter) 

61. Harvey’s “Imperial Extra Double Stout” (World’s Best Imperial Stout)

62. Le Bilboquet “La Corriveau” (World’s Best Porter)

63. Stonehead “Dark Side” (World’s Best Stout)

64. Guinness “West Indies Porter” (World’s Best Strong Porter)

65. Morena “Celtica Stout” (World’s Best Sweet/Milk/Oatmeal Stout)

World’s Best Wheat Beer List

66. Hirsch “Hefe Weisse” (World’s Best Wheat Beer, World’s Best Bavarian Hefeweiss) 

67. Alpirsbacher “Weizen Hefe Hell” (World’s Best Alcohol Free Wheat Beer)

68. Ketterer “Ur-Weisse hell” (World’s Best Bavarian Kristal)

69. Búzios “Brigitte” (World’s Best Belgian Style Witbier)

70. Leavenworth Biers “Boulder Bend Dunkelweizen” (World’s Best Dark Wheat Beer)

71. Unibroue “Don de Dieu” (World’s Best Strong Wheat Beer)