How to Move Houses Elegantly?

Honestly, when I sat on the bed and scanned my room, I had no clue how I had collected so many belongings and how I should pack them in a few suitcases and move them to my summer housing. For every student, house moving is the final hurdle before a carefree summer break. However, if you do not organize it strategically, you will be overwhelmed before you even start packing. But don’t worry! In this blog, I list five helpful tips on moving your house elegantly. This blog is both for those who will leave campus in summer and for those who will stay on campus.

STEP 1: Plan Early

I know it is demanding to ask you to spare some time during finals week on planning house moving when you have so many final projects to do and final exams to take. However, it does prevent you from staying up late to pack things up on the night before you leave campus. Here are some reasons why you should plan early:

• We tend to underestimate the workload of house moving until we really start packing. We forget the decorations on the wall, the bedrolls and pillows, the thick winter coats hanging in the wardrobe, and everything else that we’ve become familiar with being in their spots. They aren’t pre-existing in the room but need to be packed and stored. One joke is I almost threw my bedrolls because I forget it is something I brought here myself instead of being given by the school. Besides, there are a lot of procedures to do which I will list below before checking out. It is therefore wise to start packing bit by bit everyday.
• Storage space is limited. There are only six dormitory buildings with storage space and Watson and Myers hall will not be closed to students during Section II housing period. As a result, demand for storage space is huge given that most students will leave campus and store their belongings during summer break. However, you are able to move items bit by bit to the storage space starting Reading Days. This can prevent the expected congestion at the end of final exam days when most students move their belongings into storage.
• For students who are approved for Summer Housing, it might appear like they don’t have the pressure of moving out early. But every summer student is assigned a time to move out as well. This time cannot be exceeded because the dormitory building will be used for Reunion. However, every summer student is required to apply ahead of time to get limited summer housing. 

STEP 2: Be a Minimalist

Being a minimalist means keeping only necessary items. What counts as a necessity differs to people, but you do not have to keep everything with you. Most students have some unwanted items to throw out: used reading materials, expired foods, clothes that you only wore once. Throwing unnecessary items can reduce carrying time and box weight. The items can be brought to several storage pods which are around campus and accessible to every dorm building. 

What if I don’t know whether an item is necessary, should I throw it away? For me, hesitating on each item makes me anxious, so I chose to bring them to the storage pods. If you do regret it, you still have the chance to retrieve them or similar and cheaper items later at Lighten Up (If you don’t know what Lighten Up is, check my last article).

STEP 3: Organize Packing

• All containers stored in storage must have a valid storage sticker. Storage stickers are valid for a full academic year. It’s helpful to store items in plastic bins so that the stickers can be reused. Storage stickers and cardboard boxes can be bought at the bookstore. Another tip is that the cardboard boxes have to be assembled to be used. Therefore, when you buy cardboard boxes and storage stickers, don’t forget to buy packaging tape (you can also buy tape at the bookstore).

• Label each item properly. Labeling items appropriately allows you to sort items efficiently. One note, especially for summer students, is that the items in kitchen and common spaces should also be labelled and claimed. Otherwise, the custodial staff will automatically identify your belongings as unwanted items and toss them away. 
• Residential Life also provides some useful tips. One is putting similar items into the same box as this will also help labeling. I personally believe that sorting should be balanced with the principle of utilizing the least amount of space. For example, I put my longest thick winter coat in the suitcase and it took too much space for another coat. However, in the margin between the coat and suitcase, I fill them with 70 packs of tissue paper. Talking about storing thick coats, bedrolls, and other items that take up much space, I personally use a vacuum bag. When you put items into a vacuum bag and vacuum the air, the space occupied will greatly decrease. Collapsible storage bags are also a better alternative to storage boxes.

• Reslife also lists some items that are not allowed in the storage space, including vehicles, furniture, liquids, etc. Where should I store these items then? This is the time when you can resort to your friends who stay on campus during summer. This is a win-win opportunity as they can help you store your belongings and, if you put trust in them, you can permit them to use your belongings. And that is how I obtained five plants, one floor lamp, a set of cooking kits, an air conditioning, and a cart with three shelves of snacks. 

STEP 4: Travel Light

You can move your belongings via a cart. Carts can usually be found in the lobbies or basements of the dorm buildings. While carts can greatly reduce the effort to transport items, you shouldn’t pack heavier than the weight you can carry because you’ll ultimately unload from the cart and put your items into storage yourself. In addition, you should not load too many packages on a single cart as well, otherwise the cart might lose control. The roads at Carleton are not flat. This tip is especially important to summer students because they have to go through a long and steep slope and moving a heavy cart down the slope looks like a plunge from a roller coaster. If you fail to control the cart, the cart might bump into others. Therefore, for safety concerns, don’t overload your packages and your cart.

STEP 5: Checking Out

If you have completed the four steps above, congratulations, you are only one step away from enjoying Summer break! Before checking out, you should look at the checklist provided by Reslife to make sure you don’t forget anything. Here are some things to do before checking out:

• Check again if you have left anything in your room, kitchen, and common spaces
• Empty, defrost, and clean the micro-fridge. View Cleaning Instructions.
• Return all furniture back to its original position
• Put your dorm key into the yellow envelope provided by Reslife and return it to the assigned express key box 
• Take a last picture of the empty room, close the door, and enjoy your summer break!

Daniel Yao (he/him/his) is a sophomore international student from Shanghai, China. He is primarily attracted to Carleton because his favorite animal is a penguin, which is also the official mascot of Carleton. He plans to major in Philosophy and Cognitive Science and he loves the trimester plan of Carleton which allows him to explore the intersection between learning science, human mind, and artificial intelligence. On campus, you can usually find Daniel working as a Chinese tutor in the Language Center (LDC), studying with friends in Sayles, or taking a walk in the Arb. When he is not in class, he likes to enjoy coffee and scones in Goodbye Blue Monday or cycle down Division St. Next fall term, Daniel will work as the student assistant  for AI at Carleton.