For many students, going to university is also their first experience of living away from home. While it can be exciting to have your own place, it's also easy to get a little homesick after moving into halls.

One of the best ways to combat this is to make your space comfortable and welcoming. Putting some personal touches on your new flat will make it feel much more like home!

1. Stick to the rules

Every accommodation will have different rules about decorating, so make sure you check these carefully before you start putting things up on your walls! If you're allowed to, a few posters or pictures can brighten up your room in a matter of minutes.

2. Get cosy

A few pillows and a comfy throw rug will make your bedroom feel like somewhere you can really relax. Soft furnishings like this can be picked up super cheap from shops like Ikea, Dunelm, or even Primark.

3. Picture perfect

It's nice to have a few little reminders of home around you. Get a few of your favourite photos of friends and family printed out - you can pop these in cheap frames or even make a photo collage!

4. Light it up

It's a bit of a student bedroom cliche, but a few fairy lights go a long way! They don't cost a lot and can make a room feel much more welcoming.

5. Green fingers

Having some greenery around can really brighten up a room. Succulents are especially cheap to buy and easy to tend to, and will live very happily on your windowsill.

6. Memory lane

A corkboard is a great investment, and some halls even provide these for you. Pin up any mementoes of your time at uni - photos, concert and cinema tickets, event flyers - as a reminder of the fun you've been having!

7. Pillow talk

Try and get into the routine of making your bed every morning - it only takes a few seconds, but you might be surprised by how much of a difference it makes.

8. A load of rubbish

Make sure you have both a laundry basket and a wastepaper bin in your room - and use them!

9. Keep it clean

Don't let cleaning jobs get on top of you. Try and do one small job a day - tidying your desk, doing your laundry, hoovering your floor, etc. - instead of having to do them all at once.

10. Many hands make light work

Keeping shared spaces clean can be tricky, so it's important to set some standards early on. Get together with your new flatmates and come up with a chore rota so everyone knows what to clean and when.

11. Retail therapy

If you need homeware for your halls, try and take a trip with all your housemates so you can decide on exactly what you need and split the cost fairly.

12. No more kitchen nightmares

Try and make sure that everyone is allocated their own fridge space. If you're going to share things like milk and sugar, make sure everyone agrees to it in advance and knows when it's their turn to stock up!

Making your halls a home

Your new home shouldn't just be somewhere that you eat and sleep - it should be somewhere that you feel safe, comfortable and happy too! Making sure you can settle into your space is great for your wellbeing, and putting your mark on a new place can be a lot of fun too.