The best way to pack up your dorm room
It’s harder than you’d think
There are lots of ways to store your stuff over the summer at Stanford.
Door to Door will drop off a crate that is larger than your actual dorm room. Campus Storage will deliver boxes for you to pack, and then pick them up at a later date. Maybe you know someone in the area who is willing to house your most valuable possessions in their garage next to their guinea pig.
But no matter how you choose to stow your mattress topper and your microwave, you will, at some point, have to pack them up.
Wear closed-toe shoes
Freezer-fridges are heavy, and have sharp corners. Attempting to carry one down the stairs in flip-flops is ill advised, and will result in the wounding of one, if not both big toes. No number of Clorox disinfecting wipes will stop the bleeding.
Don’t wait until the day of your departure to pack your things
You will end up donating all of your bedding to the homeless shelter in Redwood City because you hadn’t gotten to packing it by the time the storage company arrived to pick up your boxes. You will not be pleased.
Label your boxes
Be descriptive. Six boxes that all say clothes and miscellaneous will be difficult to distinguish in September.
Don’t place your boxes in the hallway
This is a fire hazard. If a reasonably sized human cannot pass between the wall and the mountain of cardboard you’ve constructed, a well-intentioned mother may just move all of your things outside.
Listen to music
Once your bleeding toes begin to scab, packing can be therapeutic. The right playlist really can make all the difference. Recommended: ‘N Sync’s “Bye Bye Bye.”
Don’t pack while your roommate is packing
Unless the two of you will be living together next year, this is not the way to go. You may accidentally pack their things. You may run into them. You may find yourself turning up the volume on your laptop, only to see them do the same. It will get very loud.
Be sure to say thanks
Anyone kind enough to endure your stifling third floor air conditioning-less room just to help you put your shoes in some cardboard deserves a trophy. If this is not feasible, a simple declaration of gratitude will suffice.
Happy packing.