How to move out of your res hall: tips and tricks

By AMANDA MOTLEY

Whether or not we want to face the facts, the end of the semester is coming quickly. This time will be filled with long trips to the library, study breaks, friends, countless campus events and the inevitable hassle of moving out of your residence hall, apartment or house.

As a senior, I have packed up my room and belongings so many times that I perfected a method for making the move out process as efficient as possible. If you follow some of my tips and tricks, I think that you will find you can move your things hassle free.

Rule number one: Don’t wait until the last moment to pack up your room. In fact, three weeks before to your moving date is probably the best time to get started. This way you can pack things at your own leisure. Waiting until the last moment will only cause you stress and make moving your things from one place to another more difficult.

Rule number two: Trash bags and plastic bins should be labeled as essentials. You can gather the clothes you have in your closet and tie the hangers with a rubber band. After you tie them up, place a trash bag over the clothes so they can be transported easily. All of the rest of your clothes can be folded into plastic bins and organized by season. Knick-knacks and other random items can be put into bins and labeled.

Tip: The plastic bins with four drawers need to be emptied out completely before moving. If you keep over 10 pounds of stuff in there it could cause the plastic to break and moving it could make the entire unit break. This happened my sophomore year when I lived in a residence hall, and it ended in broken nail polish bottles and my belongings scattered over the Ball Hall steps.

Rule number three: Label everything. As I mentioned above, this makes it easier to put stuff in separate plastic bins. Once the bins are filled with a weight that you can pick up, label it. This will help you make sure that you can find everything you need quickly when packing.

Rule number four: Try and eat all your food three days before you are moving out. Food is really annoying to move. If it is perishable, you have to worry about it spoiling, and if it’s not perishable, you have to worry about packing it. Just save the hassle and take to your meal plan so you can use up all of those leftover swipes. Plus, unplugging your dorm room fridge will allow it time to thaw so water doesn’t get all over your moving van or car.

Rule number five: If you haven’t touched something since move in day, it is safe to say you never will. That old shirt you don’t wear, or that lamp you haven’t switched on can all be donated. A lot of residence halls have donation bins toward the end of the semester, and Goodwill is just down the street. Donate those items you haven’t touched to make your load a little lighter.

Rule number six: Keep a small suitcase of clothes to wear during the last week of school. That way when you get home you can unpack your stuff at your leisure while still having all the essentials with you. Make sure to pack all of your toiletries in a bag as well so they can be found as soon as you need them.