By Amanda Valentovic

Staff Writer

If you live on campus, the only thing that might be more stressful than finals week is what happens after your tests are over – moving out. Studies have shown that moving is one of the most stressful experiences in anyone’s life, so even though you’re only cleaning out a dorm room and not a whole house or apartment, it can still be overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help make your packing job a little easier.

Donate what you can

If you have old clothes in your closet that have been sitting there unworn all year or items that you just don’t really need anymore, an alternative to throwing them out is donating them.

“I donate any clothes that I haven’t worn all year or don’t fit me anymore in the bin outside of the student center,” said Elyssa Hirsch, sophomore public relations major.

Donating is a great way to help people who need it, while also taking the load off of your shoulders.

Use boxes

“It is easier to pack a car with regularly shaped objects – boxes or large Rubbermaid bins – as opposed to black plastic trash bags, grocery bags and loose items,” said Jackie Burrell in an article on youngadults.about.com.

If all of your belongings are packed into organized boxes, you will have a much easier time loading it into your car for the drive and you won’t have to be creative about packing the trunk. It will also make unpacking much easier when you get home. If you have bags and loose items everywhere, you raise your chances of losing something.

Clean out school supplies

The year is over, so there is really no reason to keep all of those worksheets, old papers and notes. Before you go home – but after the final – go through your folders and notebooks and get rid of anything class-related that you don’t need anymore. Recycle the papers and notebooks that can’t be used again. It will save so much space when you are packing everything up, especially since none of the school supplies are really needed again until next semester.

Make sure nothing breaks

Don’t just throw breakable items like mirrors, mugs and electronics into a box.

“Place your fragile items in the center of your boxes with soft items such as clothes and blankets surrounding them. Make sure that the fragile items are snug in place and cannot shift around,” said an article on dormroommovers.com.

The last thing you want to have to do is replace something because it was broken during moving after you used it all year. The deeper in a box they are, the less likely they are to get damaged.

Double check

When your room is finally empty, don’t leave right away. Double check to make sure you didn’t forget to pack anything. Look inside the closet, dresser drawers, in the desk and under your bed. Once you hand your keys in you can’t get anything you left behind back. If you want to make sure that you have everything, sweep through your room one more time. I can’t hurt to triple check either.

Hopefully your moving out experience will be as stress-free as possible. Just take a breath, remember that finals are over and summer is finally here. And you’ll be home soon enough.