Preparing to move out is always stressful. You need to remember every nook and cranny that your belongings are. You need to remember who you lent your clothes out to. You have to gather all your important documents. Worst of all, you need to make all your things fit into your car.

1. Declutter early

Move out day may be a few weeks away, but decluttering early will make the process much simpler. Start by organizing your clothes by what you want to take home for the summer and what you want to put into storage for the next school year. Also, try and gather all your nonperishable food in one area, so you do not waste any or leave any behind. Organize all your papers by whether they are important or useless. A great idea would be to create a packing list and decide which days you want to pack what. If you make a packing schedule, you will be less likely to wait until the last moment and stress out.

2. Create a move-out day bag

Make sure you gather your daily essentials and set them aside because god forbid you accidentally pack your toothbrush and toothpaste or all your underwear. Before you start shoving your belongings in luggage or boxes, put aside clothes for that day and the next, your self-care essentials, and any other important items you will need for unpacking later. Also, you should set aside some snacks because moving out can become quite stressful and cause you just to want to crash. It will be so much easier if you have all your essentials (and snacks!) packed in a special bag because you will not have to open up boxes with a ton of stuff in them.

3.Utilize your luggage/bags

Instead of wasting money on moving boxes or plastic containers, attempt to use all your luggage and bags first. You are not only saving money and saving space, but you are also helping save the environment by utilizing reusable containers and bags. If you have multiple suitcases or bags, try organizing your clothes in each one. For instance, your Fall and Winter clothing can go in one that will go into storage while your Spring/Summer clothes can go in the suitcase with you.

4. Label your boxes and create a list

When packing you end up shoving everything you can in each box, but down the line, you cannot find everything you are looking for since it is all over the place. So, the first thing you should do after filling a box is to label it with a number or bright colored tape. Once you mark the box, write down the number and the contents that are inside. Bonus points if you use an Excel spreadsheet.