Moving out of your dorm is stressful, there is no hiding that. Aside from the fact that you now have to sort through everything you have accumulated over the course of the semester, the timing is always horrible. Face it, the last thing that you want to do after finishing another round of final exams is pack up your dorm and move back to the parent’s house, but alas it is time for exactly that. Preparing for your move the way that you prepared for your final exams can help the moving process go a lot quicker.

Tips for Packing up Your Dorm Room

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that because you are just packing up one room it won’t take you that long to get everything out. Give yourself plenty of time by starting to pack things early. You should start packing up your room at least one week before your move out date. Ideally, when the big moving day has arrived you will want everything to be ready to go, that way you can focus on moving boxes down the many flights of steps and into the back of your truck. If your finals prevent you from being able to pack your things in advance, then you may be better off enlisting the help of professionals to get you through your move.

Check Every Corner

You may be surprised at how well you have nestled things out of sight. After all, you have been living in that small space for at least an entire semester. Don’t make the mistake of assuming you have packed everything and not looking in tucked away areas like under the bed and in the top of the closet. Future students will be happy to discover any books that you forgot to pack, but that won’t help you when you are hoping to sell them back for cash.

Use this checklist when you are getting ready to move out of your dorm:

• Get boxes at least one week ahead of time. You will need enough boxes to fit your books, clothing, DVDs, computer accessories and any other miscellaneous items you have in your dorm—so overestimate how many you will need instead of cutting it short.
• Take everything off of the walls. If you pushed any holes in the walls take this time to fill them in properly or paint the walls back to the standard color.
• Collect your belongings. Your friend may be right next door now, but after school ends they may be hard to find. Get back all of your lingering books and other belongings now so that you can pack them. Moving out is a perfectly acceptable excuse to get your old CDs out of your friends car.
• Pack what you don’t need first. If you are studying for finals, then chances are you do not need all of your DVDs and favorite novels out. Take a break and pack your clothes from last season along with anything else you don’t need right now.
• Do your laundry. You will not be happy unpacking hot boxes of dirty clothing.

By taking the time to be organized, you can have a stress free move. Once it is all done you can take a deep breath and be happy that you have finished another successful semester!