{"id":162,"date":"2017-04-19T16:02:14","date_gmt":"2017-04-19T23:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/?p=162"},"modified":"2017-04-19T17:09:02","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T00:09:02","slug":"moving-out-mindfully-and-sustainably","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/2017\/04\/19\/moving-out-mindfully-and-sustainably\/","title":{"rendered":"Moving Out – Mindfully and Sustainably"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moving out of residences is a wild time of the year, every year. The move out process\u00a0is often\u00a0rushed\u00a0and incredibly stressful as it is\u00a0preceded by endless studying for final exams.\u00a0Katie Tissington-Turner, this year\u2019s Sustainability in Residence Co-ordinator, shares a few\u00a0tips to make this process more enjoyable – and sustainable.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is truly amazing how many things you can fit into a dorm room or apartment, and, as you pack up your dorm room, you are likely to find a lot of great stuff that you don\u2019t need anymore. However, with the clock ticking, the temptation rises to toss some of these\u00a0useful items in the garbage. So…how does one\u00a0avoid this unpleasant situation?<\/p>\n

GET A HEAD START<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no better way to avoid stress and needless garbage than getting organized early.<\/strong>\u00a0However, this has been a persistent challenge for me every year as I end up spending my\u00a0last twenty-four hours in residence packing up and sorting out. It would have been much easier if I had taken the following steps to avoid the last-minute suffering:<\/p>\n

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  1. If you have\u00a0breaks between exams,\u00a0devote 15-30 minutes each day to organize your space. Make sure you look through your closet, fridge, and bookshelves.<\/li>\n
  2. Start\u00a0packing boxes as soon as possible. Don\u2019t wait –\u00a0they disappear fast. Leave\u00a0them sitting open in your room so that you pack a little each day.<\/li>\n
  3. Every time you finish an exam, pack up or recycle all of the materials for that course.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    SORT IT OUT<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Did you know that over 30% of landfill material at UBC could have been sorted properly? Don\u2019t add to waste\u00a0during move-out because of last-minute rush.\u00a0Most items can stay out of landfills<\/strong> and be used by people who need them.\u00a0<\/strong>After six years of living in residence, I take personal responsibility for ensuring that I don\u2019t put unnecessary items in the garbage. Sorting out while moving out is something I have done dozens of times during my years at UBC and so can you. Here are a few tips:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Your fridge<\/strong>: If you leave the fridge clean-up until the last day of move out, you may find some unpleasant surprises in there<\/em>. Take out your old food, compost it, and clean the containers for reuse or recycling. For those with mini fridges, it can be tough to say good-bye. However, take the time to send it to a good home. Consider selling it to a fellow student or finding an appropriate place to donate it.<\/li>\n
    2. Clothing<\/strong>: A major source of moving pains for some people because of the sheer amount of it. Donate your clothes to a worthy cause. There is often a place to do this in your residence area during final exam season. For example, in Place Vanier\u00a0you can\u00a0drop it off in\u00a0the\u00a0Commons Block boardroom, while in other residences you\u00a0can\u00a0often find donation bins in the building lobby. Make your move easier and someone else\u2019s life better by dropping your clothes off.<\/li>\n
    3. Household items<\/strong>: Moving far away? If so, you may not want to bring items like dishes, kettles, and irons with you. Consider donating these items\u00a0to people who need them more than you do. You can usually find a spot to drop them off in your residence area during the final exam period. Ask your RA or Residence Life Manager!<\/li>\n
    4. Miscellaneous<\/strong>: If your item is in excellent condition and doesn\u2019t fit into a category for donation in your residence area, consider dropping it off to a thrift store or the UBC Free Store<\/a>! Whatever you do, please\u00a0do not put your useful items into the garbage!<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      MAKE IT FUN<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Moving out doesn\u2019t have to be stressful – you really can have fun in\u00a0the process! I don\u2019t enjoy the many hours of packing up in solitude\u00a0so I like to take breaks to destress with exercise, baked cookies, or social moments with friends. Here’s few other ideas:<\/p>\n

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      1. Write letters to friends that you won\u2019t be seeing over the summer and reminisce about how good your year together was at UBC!<\/li>\n
      2. Host a clothing swap and grab some new threads before heading out.<\/li>\n
      3. Reward yourself for a job-well-done packing by getting a hot chocolate, seeing a movie, or attending a program being hosted in your residence area.<\/li>\n
      4. Take a before and after photo of your room so that you can see your progress and hard work!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        LIVING OFF CAMPUS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

        You can still move out sustainably! Many of the tips discussed above will still apply. In fact, I briefly lived out of residence and moving out was\u00a0a real pain\u00a0because I had gathered a lot of items due to\u00a0the extra space in my apartment. You can avoid this situation\u00a0with a bit of planning:<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Start early<\/strong>: Don\u2019t leave all of your recycling to the last day of your contract! Your recycling bins will almost certainly be too full and you won\u2019t be able to sort out your “stuff”\u00a0in a sustainable way. Start a week or two early so that there are a few city collection cycles\u00a0in between.<\/li>\n
        2. Donate<\/strong>: Kitchen supplies? Housewares? Furniture? Call ahead\u00a0and find out whether you can bring select\u00a0items to thrift stores and other donation companies. Better yet, ask if they can pick up items at your place free of charge!<\/li>\n
        3. Find a friend<\/strong>: Friends can save you a major headache when it comes to moving out. If it wasn\u2019t for my friends, I would have never gotten out on time! If you need to drop off items for donation, have your friend drive the donation materials away while you keep cleaning so that you\u2019re getting more done in less time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          If you need tips on how to move out in a more stress-free and sustainable way, reach out to your Residence Advisor or the Sustainability in Residence Program Coordinator at rez.sustainability@ubc.ca<\/a>, or consult the SHHS website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Moving out of residences is a wild time of the year, every year. The move out process\u00a0is often\u00a0rushed\u00a0and incredibly stressful…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37900,"featured_media":170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-162","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37900"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":178,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162\/revisions\/178"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/sustainubc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}