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Tips and Tricks to Move-Out

By: Noah Redmond

You just made it through a year of college, but before you head off for summer break you need to do one last thing: move out of your residence hall! Everyone from first-year students to graduating seniors must do it, so it’s best you be prepared and start early. Here are some of my personal tips aMove in daynd tricks to better manage move out, and hopefully get your summer started early.

Don’t forget, all students who are not graduating must be moved out of their hall by May 9th.

  • Start packing now. No, you do not have to pack all your stuff up right now, but you should pack up some of the stuff you aren’t using. I know it snowed a few weeks ago, but do you really need that 7-layer puff jacket? Along with that, if you live close to home or can make a trip home before the final move-out day, definitely take advantage of that because it will just make your life easier in the next week or so.
  • Command Strips. Yes, they can save you from paying fines for putting nails or holes in your walls, but those things can create some damage too. They say removing a command strip is easy, but it’s surprisingly hard – especially in the newer residence halls. So, what I recommend is leaving your command strips on the wall and have your hall staff handle taking them down. Of course, if you are able to get them without tearing the paint, then by all means take them down!
  • Next is cleaning. Nobody likes to clean, but it’s a must before you leave for the summer. Your RA won’t let you leave without cleaning your room first, so make sure you start now (especially if you have a messy roommate). If you get a vacuum from your front desk now and do a quick clean, then there will be less for you to have to do later.
  • I mentioned roommates, so that brings me to communication. You should already have figured out when you and your roommates are leaving for home. If he or she is leaving on the 6th and you are leaving on the 8th make sure and let each other know. I say that because you aren’t going to want to clean your room by yourself (well maybe you do but you shouldn’t want your roommate to have to clean it by themselves either). Divide the exit tasks so everyone is happy and have done their fair share.
  • Not only communicate with your roommate(s) but communicate with your RA. You may or may not know, but your RA checks your room before you leave. You aren’t able to check out until they do, so make this process go smoother by giving them a heads up about when you are planning to leave. This saves you and them some time and also so you aren’t waiting in your residence hall lobby for what feels like forever.
  • Move-out day. It can be as tricky and hectic as move in day, but it doesn’t have to be. Plan ahead and move your car closer to your hall the day before so you aren’t having to struggle to find parking on the day that you are moving all of your stuff. Also, those dollies in your residence hall lobby – the things that are in hotels – yeah, there’s only usually 5 or 6 so if you aren’t trying to wait for one then hustle down the morning of and snag it before the rest of the crowd.
  • My final tip isn’t necessarily housing related but it’s very important, it is in regard to your Dining Dollars. If you’re someone who has a ton of dining dollars left, make sure you go and make a POD run. Load up on whatever you may need. Have it be chips, sandwiches, or tooth paste, spend your dinning dollars because if you don’t then they will literally disappear. If you did not know, after every academic year your dinning dollars reset to $0 so make sure they don’t go to waste.

The biggest thing about move out is to start early! If you wait until the last minute, then you are going to be scrambling to pack up all your stuff and cleaning your room. No one wants to be on campus for longer than they have to be before summer break, so don’t be that person who delays moving out of their residence hall. Start early, communicate, get a dolly in the morning, and of course get rid of your dining dollars.

Anyway, good luck and have the best summer ever.

– Noah Redmond