It feels as if you’ve been waiting all year for summer break to come.
However, this last week of school you’ve got to get through before the freedom of summer arrives is the busiest of the entire year.
From balancing your grueling finals, to churning out the last papers of the semester, to getting little-to-no sleep, you’re likely feeling like you’ve hit the wall in terms of exhaustion and stress.
And then you add moving out of the dorms to the list, and the question of “how can I get this all done?” comes into your head.
We are here to help you alleviate that stress and make your move-out super simple and easy so that you can focus your attention on your plans for the summer.
Here’s where you can find summer storage in Los Angeles:
- California Institute of Technology Summer Storage
- Pomona College Summer Storage
- University of Southern California Summer Storage
- Harvey Mudd College Summer Storage
- Claremont McKenna College Summer Storage
- University of California - Los Angeles Summer Storage
- Scripps College Summer Storage
- Pitzer College Summer Storage
- Loyola Marymount University Summer Storage
- Occidental College Summer Storage
- Pepperdine University Summer Storage
- University of California - Irvine Summer Storage
- West Coast University - Los Angeles Summer Storage
- Otis College of Art & Design Summer Storage
- California State University - Los Angeles Summer Storage
- Santa Monica College Summer Storage
Keep reading for your guide to moving out of your L.A. college dorm to make your school-year end on a good note.
Moving out of your L.A. college dorm
- GET YOUR DATES ORGANIZED
What day must you be out of the dorm?
Knowing the deadline for move-out is a crucial piece of information you’re going to need.
Check with your school to see their specific deadlines and rules.
- PACK YOUR STUFF
The dreading packing.
There really is no way around this part of the move-out process, but there are ways that you can make it easier on yourself.
One of those things you can do is create three separate piles:
- One for all the things you want to put into storage
- One for all the things you want to take home with you for the summer
- One for all the things that you don’t want anymore.
Packing up what needs to be put in storage requires some sturdy boxes, some tape, and a marker for labeling, plus careful attention to some packing tips, as provided by USC’s housing.
Here are some of the top tips USC shares for packing and moving:
- Separate heavy items into multiple boxes (ex: textbooks), and put the heavier items closer to the middle of the box. By doing this, you prevent the box from breaking.
- Roll carpets and rugs tightly and secure with tape. You can also cover them in plastic to keep dust out.
- Unplug your room’s refrigerator two days before moving out so that it has time to completely defrost, and be cleaned.
- Pack electronics and fragile items in their original packaging with extra protection such as bubble wrap or blankets.
Depending on how much you’ve got in the pile to go home with you, you may also find it easiest to pack into boxes.
And, for the final pile of things you don’t want, schools in L.A. have some great options.
University of Southern California has teamed up with Goodwill Southern California to set up donation bins across campus for dorm students to toss their unwanted items.
They’ve seen great success with this program in the past: spring of 2017 saw students donate over 30,000 pounds of materials.
In addition, Pitzer has a program called ReRoom that takes your unwanted dorm room items (such as lamps, microwaves, books, etc.) and stores them until the fall. Once students return in the fall, the items you donated to ReRoom will be up for sale to students.
All proceeds from ReRoom will go to support student sustainability projects.
Keep these programs alive, and aim even higher for 2018 by donating the things you no longer need.
- SUMMER STORAGE
You know that pile of stuff up above that you don’t want to give away, and you don’t want to take home with you for the summer?
We’ve got the easiest, most stress-free way for you to handle those boxes: Closetbox.
Once you’ve packed up your items to store for the summer, give us a call.
We’ll come to your dorm, grab up all the boxes you don’t need during the summer, and drive them to a secure storage unit where they will wait patiently for you.
Our 24/7 security systems make it so that you can rest easy knowing that your things are safe with Closetbox.
And, once fall rolls around and you’re ready to move back into the dorms, call us and we will bring your stored items back to you.
You and your parents can thank us later.
- SHIPPING HOME
Most college campuses here in L.A. offer shipping services that can help you get your boxes back home for the summer.
UCLA offers a variety of shipping options that will get your items home safely, and back to campus again the fall.
Your parents will be thrilled that they aren’t burdened with the task of transporting all your summer items between campus and home.
- CLEANING
Though this is the least glamorous part of moving out of your dorm (which is saying a lot), it is required.
In fact, some schools such as Cal State L.A. takes their dorm room cleaning so seriously that they have a document that outlines the hefty fees you’ll have to pay if you leave your dorm room messy.
Cal State L.A. gets down to the nitty gritty of charging you $20 to clean out your microwave.
So do yourself a favor, and take a few moments to wipe that microwave out.
Here are other things you do not want to miss when cleaning your L.A. dorm room:
- Sweep AND mop. Yes, sweeping is not enough. Think of all the dirt you’ve tracked in over the year, and how few times you’ve taken a Swiffer or a mop to it. The time to do it is now.
- Throw away all garbage. Few things will make your RAs more upset than walking in a dorm room to complete a check-out and getting a whiff of something rotting in the garbage.
- De-stain your walls. Whether you’ve spilled coffee on your wall from late-night studying, or splattered some food while cooking, make sure you wipe down the walls and get rid of any stains.
- Return the room to its original state. This does not only mean in terms of cleanliness, but also in terms of where your dorm furniture goes. Chances are you did some rearranging while there, so move everything back to the way it was when you found it.
- A FINAL REVIEW
Before you turn in your key and say “sayonara” to the academic year, make sure you go through a checklist to ensure you’ve crossed everything off your list.
Cal State L.A. has a great checklist to follow that will help you feel much more organized, and help you stay on track to getting out of the dorms with as little stress as possible.
And there you have it — your guide to college summer moving and storage in L.A.
Not too bad, is it?
Keep this handy during your move out this summer, and for move-outs to come.
