Avant de bourrer tes valises avec littéralement tout ce que tu possèdes , prends une minute pour lire ceci. Ton futur toi (et ton espace de rangement beaucoup trop petit) t'en remerciera. Ce qu'il vaut mieux ne pas apporter (ou acheter) Toute ta garde-robe Tu n'as pas besoin d'apporter chaque chandail, paire de jeans et tenue « au cas où ». Privilégie des vêtements polyvalents, des couches confortables et quelques tenues pour les sorties ou les occasions spéciales. Honnêtement, tu passeras probablement une bonne partie de l'année en pantalons de survêtement et en vêtements aux couleurs de l'Université d'Ottawa. Considère-les comme l'uniforme étudiant non officiel. Une pile de cartables La plupart des documents de cours sont désormais en ligne. Si tu finis par avoir besoin d'un ou deux cartables, passe d'abord à la Gratuiterie . Tout y est gratuit et on y trouve généralement des centaines de fournitures scolaires. Garde ton argent pour quelque ch...

Before you cram literally everything you own into your suitcases, take a minute to read this. Your future self (and your very limited storage space) will thank you. What NOT   to bring or buy Your entire wardrobe You do not need every hoodie, pair of jeans, and "just in case" outfit. Stick to versatile basics, comfy layers, and a few outfits for nights out or special events. Realistically, you'll probably spend most of the year rotating between sweatpants and uOttawa merch anyway. Consider it the unofficial student uniform. A stack of binders Most course materials live online these days. If you end up needing a binder or two, check out the Free Store first. It's completely free and usually stocked with hundreds of school supplies. Save your money for something important, like coffee. Kitchen appliances Hold off on buying that toaster, blender, or air fryer before move-in. If you're sharing a space, coordinate with your roommates first so you don't end up with...

Vous emménagez en résidence ou dans votre premier appartement hors campus?  Avant d’emballer littéralement toutes vos affaires, lisez ceci. Votre futur vous (et votre espace de rangement limité) vous remerciera. Ce qu’il ne faut PAS apporter Trop de vêtements Toute votre garde-robe n’a pas besoin de faire le voyage. Misez sur des basiques polyvalents, quelques couches confortables et deux ou trois belles tenues. De toute façon, vous passerez sans doute vos journées en vêtements uOttawa ; c’est presque l’uniforme étudiant. Cartables Presque tout est en ligne aujourd’hui. En avez-vous vraiment besoin? Et si oui, la Gratuiterie (notre friperie gratuite sur le campus) en a des centaines. Gardez votre argent pour le café. Appareils de cuisine N’achetez rien à l’avance! Coordonnez-vous avec votre colocataire pour éviter de vous retrouver avec deux grille-pains. En plus, si vous êtes en résidence, vous mangerez probablement plus souvent à la salle à manger que dans votre chambre. Livres A...

Moving into residence or your first off-campus apartment? Before you pack literally everything you own , read this. Your future self (and your cramped storage space) will thank you. What NOT to bring: Too many clothes Your entire closet doesn’t need to make the trip. Stick to mix-and-match staples, comfy layers, and a few nice outfits. You’ll probably live in uOttawa merch anyway; it’s basically the student uniform. Binders Pretty much everything is online these days. Do you really need them? If you do, the Free Store (our on-campus thrift store that’s FREE) has hundreds. Save your cash for coffee. Kitchen appliances Don’t pre-buy! Coordinate with your roommate so you don’t end up with two toasters. Plus, if you’re in res, you’ll probably be eating in the dining hall more than in your room. Books Hold off on buying textbooks until after your first class, many courses use online readings. Don’t spend $150 on a glorified paperweight. Same goes for novels and hobby books: check the uOttaw...

In my previous post, I explained what NOT to bring to residence and gave the advice to be as much of a minimalist as possible. Now, I will explain what you should think of when considering what to bring to residence. Going into residence, one thing to remember is, as much as possible, to buy used items. After all, things break or get lost in the transition of moving between residences. Or maybe your roommate might even leave with your oven mitts (that might be my own personal experiences talking there). Instead of wasting your money on buying a bunch of items that will be lost by the time you graduate, buy second hand items - it's much cheaper and better for the environment! I've seen a lot of great, affordable items on Facebook Marketplace, furniture, décor, kitchenware, rugs, you name it, you can probably find it there for at least half the price of what you would pay in store. Better yet, go through your house and look through items with your family to see what they no longe...

So, you’re moving into residence and wondering what you should bring. Well, this is your lucky day as I, someone who has lived in residence for two years, am going to tell you what NOT to bother bringing to campus. First tip to keep in mind when packing is that you need to limit how much you should bring of everything because you are working with a small space and limited storage. Here are the most important things not to bring: Too Many Clothes I know, it seems silly! You can never have too many clothes, but it just means that students need to be conscientious of what they bring. If you’re like me, you’ll probably end up shopping at the Rideau Centre more than once and leave with more clothes than you planned, trying to make it fit in the small closet. Clothes you shouldn’t bother bringing from home are ones for special occasions like fancy dresses (how often do resident students go to fancy events?) or clothes that don’t match. These will just take space in your closet that ...

  C'est une vieille histoire... vous arrivez sur le campus pour la première fois et vous ne savez pas quoi apporter avec vous. N'inquiétez pas, nous avons une liste pratique des choses que vous ne devriez pas apporter avec vous lorsque vous venez sur le campus. Cela vous permettra d'économiser de l'espace dans vos valises et vos sacs, rendant ainsi votre vie sur le campus un peu plus facile. Bien que cette liste ne soit pas exhaustive, nous avons répertorié certaines des choses les plus importantes. Et bien sûr, si vous n'êtes pas sûr d'un élément particulier, n'hésitez pas à nous contacter pour plus d'informations. Imprimante Il peut être très tentant de penser que transporter cette grosse imprimante depuis la maison est une bonne idée... croyez-moi, ce n'est pas le cas. Il est très rare que vous ayez besoin d'imprimer l'un de vos travaux, la plupart sont soumis par voie électronique. Et si vous avez besoin d'imprimer quelque chose, il y...

It's a tale as old as time... you're coming to campus for the first time and you aren't sure what to bring with you. Well fear not, we have a handy dandy list of the things that you might not want to bring with you when you come to campus. This will save you a bunch of space in your suitcases and bags, making your life on campus a little bit easier. Although this is not as exhaustive list, we have some of the big things listed here. And of course if you aren't sure about a particular item, feel free to reach out to us for more info. Printer It can be very tempting to think that lugging that big printer  from home is a good idea... trust me it isn't. It's very rare that you will actually need to print any of your assignments, most are submitted electronically. And if you do need to print something, there are hundreds of printers on campus that you can use almost 24/7. Board games / video games I am not saying don't play board games and video games, what I am...

INSTRUCTIONS TO VOLUNTEERS BEFORE THE DUMP AND RUN So listen closely, because I am only going to say this once. We have some rules to go before you get started and my job is to make sure that you are all safe and that we collect as much stuff as possible. First things first, thank you all for coming out and agreeing to help us for the 207 Dump and Run. You volunteers represent the last line of defense between us and the landfill. If we don't collect this stuff today, it will certainly be garbage tomorrow. We are systematically going to go around to each and every residence and collect all the donations, old food, and unwanted things. The majority of the stuff you collect will be left on the donation tables in the main lobby of every building. But we won't stop there. We will move into every common room, every shared kitchen, every washroom, and collect all the stuff left behind. If you run into other cleaning staff or Housing staff, do what they say. We have partnere...

As much as it pains me to say it, summer is finally coming to an end with the start of school right around the corner.  For many people including myself, this means moving time. For those of you not familiar with moving time, it can be defined as: That last minute scramble trying to figure what you have, what you don’t and how you’re going to fit it into a tiny SUV to transport it to your new home.  It’s a stressful and exciting time all at once but we at the Free Store have a few suggestions to make your experience a little less daunting. Understand your living arrangements. I know it may sound obvious but think carefully about where you’re living and with whom. If you’re living in a traditional residence such as Thompson, Stanton or Marchand you probably won’t need any kitchen supplies as you’ll be spending a lot of your time in the dining hall especially during the first few weeks. Even if you’re an avid baker and want to show off your culinary prowess you probabl...

It’s happened… I have fallen down the waste reduction rabbit hole. I am not necessarily proud of this but digging through my household trash has become a nightly routine, a mission to properly sort any and all misplaced recycling and compost! I’ve seen and smelled it all, yet I continue to do it because, in my heart of hearts I know that although I am just one person, my waste has a large environmental impact. The average Canadian produces 2.7 kg of waste every day! To me, that represents a whole lot of stuff that doesn’t necessarily have to end up in a landfill. This year, as part of Recylemania, a group of brave crusaders will set out on a clandestine operation to properly sort waste on campus! A year ago, had you told me that burrowing through bags of trash would be an eye opening experience; I would not have believed you. Having performed waste audits I can tell you that digging through garbage is FASCINATING! Not only have I learned how to properly dispose of my items (an...

It's the end of the summer and you know what that means? MOVING TIME!!!!!! Yes, the moment has come for that time-honoured tradition whereby thousands of students flock to the University of Ottawa and hunker down for 8 months of intense working, studying, and partying. And for about 3,000 students who will be living in residences, this will be their first trip to Ottawa. Now being the helpful people we are here at the Office of Campus Sustainability, we thought that we would share our top 5 tips for ensuring a green move-in here on campus. In fact, even if it isn't your first year, this list could really help you out. Don't bring your entire closet with you! I know it is tempting to make sure that you have hundreds of clothing / accessory options available to you when you arrive on campus, but take it from us, traveling light is the way to go. There are tonnes of free shirts available at virtually every major festival on campus and let's face it, after your f...