Moving Out: Cleaning up your dorm room

Campus Collegiate: Home and Living

Finals are over, the stress has left your body and you are ready to go home and not move from the  couch for approximately 3 months. That is until you look around and realize that your room is still filled with all the miscellaneous junk you collected this year and you don't know where to begin packing. No worries because, as always, I'm here with some tips to help you get all moved out and on with your summer. I got inspiration from quite a few sites but the one that I liked the best was from Youngadults.about.com. My tips are below and they are very close to home because I am currently working on packing up myself since I move out next Thursday.

1. Actually throw things away.

This is the hardest tip for me personally because I save anything and everything I can. I have a whole desk drawer of cards, notes, tickets, programs, pamphlets and so much more. The hardest part of moving out for me is cleaning out this drawer. I know deep inside that it is necessary because f I did manage to bring it all home I would have nowhere to put it. Throwing away the things in your room that you know you'll never use again is the easiest way to rid yourself of clutter and make it so you have a lot less to pack up.

2. Sell your books.

I recommend keeping books from your major that you think you'll be able to use later. You should take all of your other books to the bookstore at your college and try to get at least a few dollars. The other tip for selling books that some people do not know about is shipping them to Amazon. All you have to do is acquire a box to put the books in (which is usually very easy to get from someone in your dorm at this time of year) and print a shipping code and tape it to the box. The code makes it is absolutely free to ship your books to them and a lot of time they give you more money than you could otherwise get. Selling your books is a win-win because you'll get some money and you don't have so many heavy items weighing down your boxes.

3. Pack in items you already own.

Most of us don't realize how many storage units we already own in our room. If you don't, however, it is definitely time to invest. 

These bins are from Wal-Mart. You get two of them for $10.94 and they are well worth the investment. 

If you already have storage bins like I do, simply clean them out and get rid of the unnecessary items in them and add clothes and other items that you need to pack to them. This is the easiest way to kill two birds with one stone.

4. Fold those clothes up.

For me packing up my clothes is the biggest headache. As a girl, I do not care that my dorm room closet is laughably tiny and I still bring my whole wardrobe with me. This is great for fashion purposes, but not so much for moving out. I found a really great YouTube clip that shows how to fold various types of clothing so they are small and space saving. I highly encourage you to fold like this when packing up at the end of the year. It does take a little bit longer while folding, but it makes it so much easier than carrying bags upon bags of clothes down the stairs for hours. 

That's all I have for you. I know that packing and moving out is extremely stressful and I hope these four little tips make your life even a tad bit easier during this time of year. Just remember, this is the last step you have to take before you take your first step onto that sandy beach you've been dreaming of.

If you are a polar bear (I'm looking at you boys) please help the ladies take down their heavier items.

Jenna Danzig

Campus Collegiate