Packing Up and Moving Out at the End of the College Year

Suzanne Shaffer

The end of the semester and the school year is quickly approaching. It won’t be long before your college student returns home for the summer. But before you head to campus to help them move out, there are a few things you both need to do.

1. Take Care of Business

Make hotel and travel reservations if necessary. Many families will be helping their students vacate campus — waiting until the last minute to book travel and hotel rooms can increase costs significantly or leave you without a place to stay.

Your student should:

• Respond to any emails from the college regarding their student account balance, residence hall move-out procedures and returning library materials.
• Pay outstanding fees and get a receipt before leaving campus.
• If necessary, make an appointment for a residence hall check-out inspection. They should follow instructions provided at the beginning of the school year or ask their RA for clarification on check-out procedures.
• Return rented textbooks. If they bought books, they can sell the ones they no longer want or need back to the campus bookstore or online. The sooner the better — bookstores purchase a limited number of textbooks and pay less as their supply increases.

If your student will move out on their own or transition to off-campus housing over the summer, help them secure moving help or temporary storage if necessary (more on storage below). If they’re signing a lease, ask if you can read it and offer counsel if necessary.

2. Begin to Clean and Pack

Your student shouldn’t wait until the last day of school to start packing. Experts recommend starting by making three piles: keep, discard and donate. They should separate items that can be stored from those that need to come home for the summer.

Items your student no longer wants can be offered to fellow students (the campus may have a “free or for sale” website) or donated to a local charity. Throwing them away should be a last resort; that said, there will be lots of trash, and it's a good idea to start removing it early as bins and dumpsters will be overflowing on move-out day.

It’s also helpful to start cleaning early. Dorm rooms are often left dirty because students don’t leave enough time to clean or just don't bother. If the room is damaged or especially filthy, you might not get your dorm deposit back. My daughter lost many a dorm deposit because her roommates left their rooms in disarray.

3. Make Preparations for Moving Out

I’m sorry to break it to you, but moving out can be more work than moving in. Your student’s dorm room may look like a tornado tore through. The excitement of moving in is replaced with the dread of having to gather up all their stuff and decide what to do with it until next school year.

If you live far away and the prospect of carting their belongings home and then back again seems overwhelming, there are options you might consider: pod storage, store with friends or hiring a pickup and store service. The college website may have a list of local companies they recommend for these kinds of services.

Please note: The following businesses are examples of what may be available; CollegiateParent does not endorse or partner with any of them.

Pack and store, or ship

If your student's stuff won't fit in your car or you simply don’t relish this job, paying someone to handle the work could be appealing.

• Collegeboxes is a student storage and shipping provider. They offer boxes, packing supplies, pickup, storage, delivery and shipping (national and international). They will also store belongings for summer or winter break: boxes, bikes, TVs, refrigerators, rugs, luggage, trunks, beds, futons and anything else a student might have accumulated.
• Dorm Room Movers offers full-service moving, storage and shipping services for college students around the nation both on and off campus.

Pod storage

When my daughter was in college, we lived 2,400 miles away. We found a service that delivered a pod to her campus before move-out day, picked it up after it was filled, and then stored it until fall semester when it was delivered on the date we requested. To save money after the first year, she shared a pod with other students.

SMARTBOX, for one bundled price, will deliver a storage unit to campus that your student will simply load and lock. Smartbox will pick the unit up for summer storage and return it to your student in the fall for unloading.

Store with a friend or neighbor

One year, my daughter stored her belongings in a local friend’s basement. We rented a U-Haul, loaded the contents and delivered it to the friend's house. Your student may be able to find someone willing to offer unused space for storage.

Neighbor is a service that allows people with extra storage space to list the availability of their garage, warehouse or closet. An arrangement like this can be perfect for students who appreciate the flexibility and a price point typically well below that of a traditional storage unit.

If you need help with the heavy lifting and moving, Bellhops is a great service that may be available in your student’s college area.

Looking for a moving company? This Old House has published a list of the 10 Best Moving Companies.

4. When You Arrive on Move-Out Day...

Dress comfortably and come prepared to work. Inevitably there will be cleaning to do, trash to gather and dispose of, and last-minute packing when you arrive. Bring cleaning supplies with you along with large trash bags. You'll need them!

If help is available from campus services, use it. Many colleges offer student help on move-in and move-out days.

As school winds down, your student will be emotional, as well as busy with finals and other activities. Preparing for the end of the semester before it arrives will remove some of the stress and assure a smooth transition from school to summer.

Suzanne Shaffer

Read more by Suzanne Shaffer

Suzanne Shaffer counsels students and families about college preparation through her blog, Parenting for College. Her advice has been featured online, in print and on podcasts including the Huffington Post, U.S. News & World Report Education, the Wall Street Journal, Road2College, Appily, CollegiateParent, TeenLife, The College Bound Chronicles, and more.