Clothes packed? Laptop at the ready? Flip Cup skills honed? As freshers’ week beckons, thousands of students are preparing for life away from home. But what do you actually need to bring with you, besides an eager mind and a broad tolerance of Jägermeister?

We’re here to help. Because student debt is big enough without spending on stuff you don’t need, we quizzed veterans (well, second- and third-year students) on what is and isn’t worth packing. We’ve also rounded up some of our best budget buys – from mattress toppers to toastie makers – rigorously tested by the Filter experts. These won’t break the bank and should last far beyond your first essay deadline.

Student accommodation can be pretty basic, so one student suggested bringing a good mattress topper. In writer Jane Hoskyn’s review of them, Silentnight’s Airmax 1000 topper, £32 for a single, was the comfiest budget option, plus “it’s very light, rolls up small and will survive a washing machine”.

Kitchen diplomacy: check who’s bringing what before everyone turns up with the same appliances. Photograph: sturti/Getty

Lighting in halls is often limited to dental-surgery-style ceiling strips, so several students suggested bringing a lamp or two, such as this cheerful desk light, £30, from John Lewis (Ikea also has plenty of affordable lamps). Also popular last year in Mabel Banfield-Nwachi’s guide to making a university room feel like home were these twinkly folklore charm fairy lights and this Habitat diffuser, a good alternative to scented candles (banned as a fire risk in most halls) for masking the aroma of burned cheese toasties.

Speaking of toasties, Joanne Gould’s guide to the best toastie makers recommends George at Asda for a budget-friendly option (just £11 at the time of writing). “It heated up in just two minutes and was able to accommodate the very deeply filled sandwich I used to test all the machines,” wrote Joanne. (She even gave the thumbs up to an ingenious microwave toastie maker.)

But as one wise student cautioned, if you’re going into shared accommodation, try to contact your housemates ahead of time if you can to avoid ending up with six kettles and no toaster. If you do need a kettle, the Kenwood Ripple from John Lewis was the best budget buy in our test of the best kettles, and unlike many others will boil a single 200ml cup to save energy.

Make the most of your space

Pack it in: edit ruthlessly before move-in day; your future self (and whoever’s carrying your boxes) will thank you. Photograph: AleksandarNakic/Getty

Make sure your digs stay organised as well as comfy. Our students recommended over-the-door hooks to counter measly wardrobe and floor space, underbed bags – Dunelm’s £14 striped storage bag manages to be affordable, useful and good-looking – and baskets or folding crates, such as this one from Søstrene Grene. Also, because there are inevitably never enough plugs, don’t forget to bring an extension cable – this colourful Ikea one looks a bit like a sculpture. Just be careful not to overload it.

A decent water bottle is another must for life on campus. In her exhaustive test of 53 bottles for the Filter, Zoë Phillimore found the stainless steel Ion8 water bottle to be great value for money if you can’t stretch to an ever-popular Yeti or Owala – or if you are prone to losing them.

As for what not to bring? Try to edit your packing list – not least for the sake of the poor person dropping you off. “I rocked up to uni with so many tins of beans, like some apocalyptic prepper, despite the fact that I was living in a normal city with normal supermarkets, and I hate beans,” one student told us.

Another student regrets lugging her smoothie maker: “I used it twice, then it gathered dust until I took it home.” And though it can be tempting to prettify your room with throw cushions, one wise-after-the-event student told us that she “bought four and they ended up on the floor every day”. Better to save your money for the essentials, such as books, food or a costume for the Quidditch pub crawl. Happy freshers’ week!