Moving Home for the Summer? Here’s your Essential Checklist

By on May 28th, 2016

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Once the dreaded exams are over and the celebrations have taken place, the next big challenge will be packing up all of your stuff to move home for the summer!

Although you may have a bit of time to enjoy yourself before then, it’s a good idea to start preparing so you’re not running around doing things last minute. Here’s our essential checklist for moving home for the summer, to make sure you don’t forget those often overlooked tasks.

1. Start collecting boxes
Having enough boxes to hand when you need them will make packing so much easier. Ask around at your local supermarket or grocer’s for any cardboard boxes they do not want. Most will be happy to give them to you free of charge.

It’s also a good idea to label boxes as you pack them to ensure your housemate doesn’t accidentally take home your Blu-ray collection.

2. Throw out anything you don’t want
There’s really no point taking home a bunch of junk that’s just going to clutter your space. Do the hard work now and throw out anything you’ve accumulated throughout the year that you’ve no longer any use for. If you can, use charity bags to donate all your unwanted clothes, shoes or books. Oxfam are usually happy to take any books, records or DVDs.

3. Pass on your old textbooks
Textbooks can be expensive for Freshers, so help them and other students by selling yours at a reasonable rate. Use a site like Unilist, or, if you’re feeling really generous, you can donate them to an education scheme like books2africa.com.

4. Arrange your mail to be forwarded to your parents’ address
This is essential to avoid missing out on anything important over the summer. After all, you wouldn’t want some random student to get their hands on your Marie Claire subscription, would you?

5. Clean your digs
Sadly when moving out, there is going to be some cleaning involved. It’s also the only way to guarantee you’ll get all of your deposit back.

You should ideally do this with your house or flatmates on a day that’s convenient for all of you. As well as the usual hoovering, sweeping and scrubbing, remember the often-missed places like the oven and on top of the fridge.

6. Make a note of everybody’s number
Be sure to grab the phone numbers of everyone you want to stay in touch with this summer (or connect on social media), to ensure you don’t feel completely out of the loop. You may want to organise a meetup or simply keep up to date with what they’re all up to.

7. Return all library books
Nothing is worse than moving back home, only to realise you’ve still got a bunch of library books for which the late charges are creeping up every day. Avoid this dilemma by scouring your room for forgotten books and ensuring they’re all returned on time. The last thing you need is another expense on top of what may be an already-depleted bank balance.

8. If you’re graduating, apply for an alumni card
Many unis offer graduates an alumni card so they still have access to all of the library resources after they leave. This is likely to come in handy for job applications, future personal projects, or any post-grad course you might undertake.

Alumni cards can usually be applied for using the student intranet – talk to a member of your library staff for details.

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