by Sonia Shao, Residence Advisor

Have you ever noticed that you always have A LOT more stuff when you move out than when you moved in? And then you wonder to yourself how you managed to accumulate so much more stuff in 8 months?

Well, it’s almost time for us to move out, so let’s figure out a plan to PACK SMART!

For students who live close by enough to get to by car (and can make multiple car trips):

1)      Make 2 trips (if your car won’t fit everything in one trip):

On the first trip, pack everything in the car that you won’t necessarily need. For example:

-books from first semester

-books from this semester (for the exams that you’ve already finished)

-thick winter clothing that you wore in December

-some of your shoes (let’s face it, you’re not going to wear all 20 pairs of your shoes in the last week of school)

-decorations/posters in your room (you can live without these for a week)

-half of your clothes (again, let’s face it, you’re not going to wear all 20 of your outfits in the last week of school)

-things from your kitchen/those canned goods you know you will not eat in the next week

The key here is to only leave the bare essentials that you need for the last couple of days that you will be living in Gage.

2)      Second Trip: everything else that is left

-compost away any food that has been sitting in your fridge, and pack up everything that you can use again. Remember to check all your cupboards and drawers (and don’t forget the bathroom!) once, twice, and three times. Once you leave your key at the front desk, you will not be able to access your room again!

For students who have to take a plane to get home:

1)      If you know that you have more stuff than you moved here with, you know that you will have to throw some stuff away/donate it. Here is an easy way to do that:

-make two piles of things to pack. One called “MUST BRING” and one called “Maybe I should bring”. Think carefully about which things you are putting in which pile!

-after you are done making the 2 piles, put your items in your “MUST BRING” pile into your suitcase first! Then after that, you can start putting things from your “Maybe I should bring” pile in

-if you don’t do this, you’re going to end up filling up your whole suitcase before you get all the important stuff in there. Resulting in repacking, and more repacking.

2)      If you have things that you definitely do not need to take home, but would like to use again next year, try asking a friend or an old roommate who lives around here if they would be willing to store your stuff in their home for the summer. Bribe them with an offer to bring them back some sort of delicious food from your home country.

Key Point for Everyone: PLAN AHEAD. PACK SMART.

Follow