Well, move out season is upon us. This may be the first time for some of you while others are trying to perfect their packing methods. As a junior at Elizabethtown College, I’d like to think I have a good system for packing up and moving out. 

My guide might look a little different than what you are able (or willing) to do when moving out. I have a car on campus and am able to take trips home the few weekends before finals to take any unnecessary items home. If you don’t have a car, it might be helpful to ask your parents, or whoever is helping you move out, if this is a possibility. 

So, first and foremost, I like to have at least five bins to pack everything into. Large to medium sized bins are best for fitting the most in, but that also means they’ll be heavier than smaller bins. 

I like to start by packing two bins, filling them with the things I can live without for a week or two. This would be extra bedsheets, warm weather clothes (if Mother Nature is cooperating), medicines, extra textbooks and really anything else you have that you know you won’t use. If you haven’t touched it in about a month, it’s probably safe to pack. 

If I’m not taking a trip home, I start to stack bins in a corner of my room or under my bed since I have it lofted all the way. If I am going home, everything gets shoved into my car.

This is where the lots of bins thing comes into play. I don’t like to unpack everything until I am home for good. So, having lots of bins to leave at home and not have to unpack is essential to my process. 

Once you get to the final week of class is when crunch time begins. This is when I’ll set aside a duffel bag or suitcase of clothes and essentials for the week. Everything else in my dorm gets packed into bins at this point. If I know I might need something, it’ll go at the top of the bin. Usually I won’t need to dig through for anything because I’ve already packed it aside. Keeping it at the top is just my back up plan.

Now all that stuff gets packed into your car or someone else’s car. I’ve always been able to carry everything to my car by myself (which is incredibly exhausting at times), but if you have a friend or roommate to help that’s always a plus. Sometimes my roommate would move out the same day so her dad would help with some of the heavy lifting. Other years, it was totally on me.

So, I would plan accordingly. If you know you might not be able to handle it on your own, phone a friend. Asking for help is always better than throwing out your back right after the semester is done.

Finally, you can hop in your car and drive off for the summer vacation, internship or hometown job of your dreams. I hope my experience of leaving campus these past few years has given you the tools to have a successful move out day. Have a great summer, Jays!