THEY'RE off! Well they will be, any day now. And it will take a small pantechnicon to get them there. Students need a lot of stuff. Back in the Olden Days, I set off for university with two cases of clothes, a bag of books and a portable typewriter. But in the next few weeks, motorways all over the country will be thick with family cars loaded up to the roof, their little wheels buckling under the strain.

One of the reasons is that students live much more luxurious lives than we did a generation ago. But they also have to take more stuff with them.

Very few halls of residence offer three meals a day any more. In most cases, students are left to fend for themselves - and with not much to do it with. The university might give them a bed and a kitchen, but they rarely give them sheets and don't always give them a duvet - or one that's warm enough, a pillow - or one that's fat enough, and little essentials such as a kettle, mugs, plates, knives and forks.

It's tricky to take that lot on a train.

There are three approaches to kitting out a student flat. Some fond parents buy their children everything new and of the best quality. This is wonderful if you have a careful son or daughter, but for most of us, the chance of ever seeing much of this stuff again is remote.

Senior Son came home at the end of his university career with only about half his possessions - and some of those actually belonged to his flatmate. So just as well that I gave him all the old stuff from home and bought brand new stuff to replace it.

The third option is to buy cheap and cheerful. The great advantage of this is if you can't transport your student, they can just get everything there. And if things never come home again, well it's no great loss.

And cheap doesn't mean tat. There is a lot of very good design and decent quality in the bargain basement. Hard to tell if they were supermarket or top household departments.

Of course, it's not just students who want cheap and cheerful. All these items are ideal for anyone setting up home on a shoestring. And some of the best - and most stylish - bargains were in the most surprising places.

BEDDING

Plenty of cheap and cheerful duvet sets, easy care so you can just take it straight from the tumble dryer and put it back on the bed. The cheapest we found were the bright and bold sets at £4.48 in Asda, also some at £4.99 in Wilkinsons. But we liked the cotton jersey bed sets - made out of T-shirt fabric, so nice and warm and cosy - set of denim style pillow case, single fitted sheet and duvet cover (£9.99 Morrisons, £14.99 Wilkinsons); double £17.99 (Wilkinsons), king size £16.99 (Morrisons). Non iron single sheets £4.50 (Matalan).

Single duvet 10.5 tog £7 (Tesco). Single duvets 10.5 tog £9,99, double £12.99 (Wilkinsons). Single 13.5 tog duvet £7.99 (Morrisons). Single 10.5 tog duvet and pillow £8 (Matalan). Single 12 tog duvet £15 (Marks & Spencer). Double 13.5 tog duvet £8.74 (Asda).

England bean bag £4.99 Wilkinsons.

COOKING and EATING

Sabichi kettle £5.49 (Wilkinsons). Basics jug kettle £5.59 (Sainsbury's). Crown cordless kettle £5.67 (Morrisons). Cordless kettle £5.67 (Tesco). Durabrand cordless kettle £5.68 (Asda). Basics electric kettle £9 (Marks & Spencer).

Sabichi mini oven - looks like a microwave but is basically a grill and can also be used for baking - £9.99 (Wilkinsons). Mini oven £15 (Poundstretcher). Microwave £24.41 (Asda), £24.47 (Tesco).

Omelette plan £2.49 (Morrisons). Toaster £5.59 (Sainsbury's). Sandwich maker £5.65 (Tesco).

Frying pan £1 (Poundworld). Two frying pans £5 (Matalan). Non-stick wok £3.99 (Boyes). Milk pan £2 (Matalan). Set of five cook's knives £4 (Matalan).

Twenty four piece cutlery set £2.99 (Morrisons). Four stylish coffee mugs £2.99 (Morrisons). Brightly coloured china in red, yellow, green or blue - bowls and plates £1.50, mugs £2 (Asda). Yellow or blue mugs £1 (Marks & Spencer).

Not forgetting...

Tin opener £1 (Poundworld).

LAUNDRY and BATHING

Durabrand steam iron £4.94 (Asda and Tesco). Crown steam iron £4.95 (Morrisons). Steam iron £6 (Poundstretcher). Basics steam iron £9 (Marks & Spencer).

Ironing board £12 (Matalan). Bath towels £3.75 (Matalan).

CLEANING

Cylinder vacuum cleaner £17.95 (Tesco).

* Many thanks to the lady in the Darlington council overall I met in Morrisons who immediately became my research assistant.

Of course your student children do know how to clean a loo, make a bed, use a washing machine, shop for bargains, cook a meal and clean up after themselves don't they? Otherwise, however little money you've spent on this lot, it could all be wasted.

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