19/07/2019 – I had exactly 30 days before I departed to Sweden. I remember having a strange mix of anxiety and excitement or as the Swedes call it – Resfeber. The panic mode was ON and I was on a shopping spree. I was talking to seniors who were in Stockholm. I was reading all the previous student blogs. And I was buying everything to start a new phase of life in Sweden. Long story short, after finally packing my three huge trolleys to weight exactly around 23kgs each (Air India offer 2+1 trolley bags for Students), I had to leave more than half of the stuff I shopped back at home because of the weight limitations.
Packing is a daunting task and it might feel that you would need a lot of things when in fact there are only little things you might need as a Student. It also depends on the availability, cost of the item in Sweden. In this blog, I would tell you about the things you could avoid and save on your luggage space.
Winter Clothes: The following context is for students coming from equatorial countries such as India. It is recommended to buy your winter accessories here in Sweden itself for two reasons: 1) There are wide options available for extreme winter wear accessories in Sweden which might not be available in your home country if you are coming from an equatorial country like me, 2) The prices of winter clothing are comparable to the prices anywhere else. Plus you will be saving a lot of space in your luggage since the winter clothes weigh a lot.
Food: Stockholm is a multicultural city and there are shops where you can get almost all varieties of food/groceries that available in your home country. Especially KTH has an Indian store right outside its campus. The store has all kinds of masala powders, greens, vegetables, Indian brand ingredients. Although the prices are on the higher side.
Cooking Utensils: This was one of the major weight contributors in my luggage bag. You can avoid carrying these (except for pressure cookers) for two reasons:
1) If you are staying in a place like Lappis, Kungshamra or accommodation with a common kitchen, there is a high probability that you can find lots of cooking utensils left by previous tenants. (Not in Malvinas or Teknikringan)
2) Sweden is known for IKEA. There is a lot of options for utensils here which are quite affordable.
Mattress, quilts and blankets: For most of the KTH accommodation like Lappis and Teknikringen, KTH would provide you with basic bedding like the mattress, pillows and quilts. Also, IKEA offers bedding accessories at affordable prices.
Text Books: I am glad that I just carried a few of my novels with me and not any of my engineering textbooks. KTH library is well equipped to have almost all the necessary books that you would need to refer too. The library also has ebooks that you can access anytime using your KTH account. It is recommended to not carry your textbooks to save space in your luggage.
So here you go, this was a list of non-essential things that you can avoid carrying and save a lot of weight and money. In my next blog, I will write about the things you definitely shouldn’t miss carrying on your trolley. Hopefully, these tips would have helped you. Comment below if you have any questions and we would be happy to answer it.
