Move-Out Prep
For students living in the residence halls or in off-campus apartments, move-out will soon arrive. To help you and your student prepare, here are some important things to take into consideration:

Transport. How will your students get her belongings home? Will her car do the trick? Will she need to rent a van or truck?

Summer Storage. Since most residence halls don't have space to store student belongings, what are some other options? Does an off-campus landlord allow bigger items, like rugs, furniture and appliances, to be kept there over the summer? Is there a nearby storage space you could rent instead?

Extra Stuff. Recycling unwanted items takes some foresight so they don't just end up in the trash. Encourage your student to talk with a campus sustainability and/or recycling coordinator about options, as well as his residence hall staff. And then have him find out about donation and trash possibilities, too. Will the community services office be collecting donated clothes, food and personal products? Is there an appropriate place to recycle paper, cardboard and other items? And where do big trash items go?

Packing Products. Since packing often gets left to the last minute, students don't always think about having adequate packing materials. Trash bags, boxes, suitcases, duffel bags and plastic containers can all do the trick. Make sure your student is well-equipped before crunch time — those kinds of materials aren't generally available at the very last minute.

Final Goodbyes. Move-out time can be an emotional one for students, as they say goodbye to good friends, some of whom may be leaving for good. Be prepared for move-out day to not just be about the tasky things. Seeking out friends for final goodbyes, hugs, meeting parents/siblings and more will all be part of it.

Thinking ahead to move-out day can help you and your student be prepared and efficient when the time comes. So, talk through these things now in order to get your ducks in a row and keep that last-minute stress at bay.

Cleaning!
Once students start packing and moving things around, the giant dust bunnies are bound to make themselves known. Here are some cleaning tips to help make move-out go more smoothly:

• Encourage students to clean as they go so that they don't have a big mess to contend with when they're ready to check out.
  
• If your student has a rug held down with tape, have her ask the building staff what she should use to remove the sticky residue.
  
• Remind him that any furniture that was put in the closet or stored needs to be put back in place.
  
• Suggest that she get started on the tape residue on the walls, doors and windows that needs to be removed. This job always takes longer than you think and shouldn't be left until the final moment.
  
• Remind your student that leaving a room dirty is not only disrespectful to the kind cleaning staff, there is also a hefty charge associated with it.