Packing Tips for International Students

If you’re an international student studying in the UK, effective packing is key to shipping your belongings overseas. At the end of the academic year, you’ll need to organise your things for transporting home or leaving in storage. Whatever your plans, get ready to head home with our handy packing tips.

Storage Boxes or Suitcases?

First things first, you’ll need to decide what to use for packing your belongings. Whatever you choose, make sure it’s sturdy enough to withstand any bumps along the way. It’s worth paying extra for something that will last.

Suitcases should be strong enough to protect your luggage, so a fabric one might not be the best option. Consider taking protective measures like luggage wrapping, where film is used to keep your contents safe.

Andrews Shipping can take the stress out of moving back to your home country after university. We safely ship items to countries all over the world and can supply storage boxes measuring 40x40x60cms. If you’re planning to use your own, simply let us know the measurements when you make your booking.

What to Pack

If your time studying in the UK is coming to an end, you’ll probably want to take all of your belongings home with you. 

With large container capacities available, you can take everything from furniture to your laptop. However, it’s worth considering whether you need to take back everything you’ve accumulated during your time at university. For example, if you aren’t continuing your studies, you could sell your books or donate them.

Fragile items like glasses could break during transit, which can make unpacking risky business. Crockery is also easily broken, so consider leaving things like this behind. These items may be easy to replace when you’re back home unless they have sentimental value. If you do decide to pack them, make sure you don’t place them next to heavy items.

Packing Suggestions 

You’ll need to pack items well to avoid damage and maximise the available space. For your peace of mind, we offer insurance in the rare event of any mishaps.

Pack your delicate or valuable items using bubble wrap and cardboard. You could even use towels to give fragile items some extra padding. Any sharp kitchen utensils must be packed in a solid container for safety.

Finishing Touches

Don’t overpack your boxes or suitcases. Doing so could cause them to break from the weight and pressure of your items. Although you should pack to full capacity, your suitcase shouldn’t be bursting at the seams!

Avoid packing lots of heavy items in the same box – try spreading them out instead. This will prevent the box from collapsing during transit.

If there are empty spaces in your boxes, use bubble wrap or padding to fill in the gaps. Your box shouldn’t make any noise when shaken – so do the shake test!

Once you’ve packed everything, make sure to use strong tape to seal cardboard boxes. Also, securely attach any labels that are required for shipping. We require you to label boxes with your name, address and phone number so our agents can contact you to arrange collection.

At the time of booking, we will require your student ID number and passport number. Payment must be made in full before collection.

We offer pick-ups from universities. Our service is door to depot for most destinations, other than Cyprus, which is door to door. If you’re not from Cyprus and require delivery to your door, we can provide a quote based on your home address. We recommend organising shipping in advance, due to varying scheduled collections for each location.

Storage for Returning Students

If you’re returning to the UK, you may decide to store your items instead. Our storage service means your belongings will be kept safe until after the summer break.

We offer an expert international shipping service for students, call us on 0208 805 5588 to find out more.