Moving Out to College

May is here, and the end of spring semester has arrived. Students are beginning to take their finals, and parents are beginning to clear their cars for the mountains of clothes their children are bringing back. Moving out of dorms can be a hassle. Students have accumulated more items since the beginning of the school year and have thrown out even less. Before you try to play a game of Tetris with all the stuff being brought back in your trunk, take a look at this guide to see how you can make this move a little bit easier.

Spring cleaning

May is finals season for students, so realistically packing wouldn’t start until after those are finished… which could be the day of moving out. In order to get some packed early, encourage the students to pack clothes, shoes, and miscellaneous items that they know they will not need. Leave just enough items out that they will be comfortable by the time moving day comes around. It is also a good time to throw items away. While they are packing, have them divide everything into piles. One pile should be for items going back home and another for things to be discarded.

If it is possible, bring home winter clothes earlier in the semester. They will not need them come spring.

Packing

When they are ready to pack all of their items, ensure that you have storage units to hold all items. Their shoes probably won’t go in the same unit as their dress clothes. For shoes and sneakers, trash bags may break, so try to find more sturdy units like containers. For dress wear, try to find suitcases to reduce the amount of folding required to place them. For casual clothes, if you are lacking a duffle bag or suitcase, large trash bags will work just as well. Small fragile items such as jewelry can be placed into jewelry boxes or small Ziploc bags if no boxes are available. Label all the bags and boxes you pack.

Home vs. storage

If you’re headed straight home with your belongings, then there is not much concern about securing everything. If you’re headed to storage, however, you may want to ensure that all your items have been properly put away. If storage is your move, do an ample amount of research about the facilities in your area. Some may have reviews worth reading.

Miscellaneous items

Unless a class is being retaken, students will no longer need their textbooks. To reduce the load of your move, sell items such as textbooks and notebooks to those who will have need of such things. Throwing them away could be a waste. Large items such as furniture may need to be moved before the actual moving day to save space for other items.