It’s that time of year again; exams are almost over, university is finishing for another year and students up and down the country are starting to leave their accommodation. And let’s face it, packing up your belongings and having to move out is never much fun. So, to help make your move a little easier, we’ve pulled together some helpful tips for packing and moving out. The below tips can also be used for when you’re looking to pack to move into your new Host home.

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1. Categorise

Don’t just dump all of your belongings into bags and boxes; give yourself enough time to sort through your items properly. After all, there’ll be nothing worse than unpacking everything at home or at your new place, and finding things you don’t need and things you wish you hadn’t have packed. So, as you pack, sort your items into 3 categories; keep, bin or giveaway. You may find you’re not sure which category to place some items in, and that’s okay. Come back to them in a few days time and try again. You can keep doing this to ensure all your items are correctly categorised; it will get easier to know what you want to take with you, and things you would like to sell or give to charity.

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2. Boxes

Leading up to moving out, keep any boxes you receive from deliveries and ask friends to do the same. If you don’t have any, then don’t panic, boxes are relatively cheap to purchase. But remember to think about how you’re going to transfer them home. You don’t want to buy loads of really big boxes thinking it will be easier for them to be moved if you can’t get more than 2 in the boot of the car. And don’t forget to wrap your valuables correctly; use clothing, newspaper or bubble wrap can be a great way to keep these items safe. An alternative to boxes is to transfer all of your clothes in vacuum pack bags. They’re low cost and you can buy from your local pound shop.

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3. Selling

After categorising your belongings, take a look at your ‘giveaway’ pile and see if there are any items you can sell. Anything that you sell and don’t take with you not only makes packing easier, but if you can earn some extra pennies it’s an added bonus. There are lots of online pages such as Gumtree and Facebook Marketplace where you can sell items such as text books, or you can advertise items for sale on noticeboards. Clothing can be sold on Vinted, or you could donate them to your local charity shop. And why not get a few pounds back for those old mobile phones or electrical items you have by sending them off and recycling them.

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4. Parking

Before dragging everything out of your room and juggling with boxes in the street, check what parking is available at or near to your accommodation. Some accommodation will have on-site parking available to use for a short period of time as you move out. If not, speak with your reception team and they’ll be able to point you in the direction of the nearest short-stay parking. It’s going to be a tough day anyway, so the closer you can park to pack everything up, the easier it will be.

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5. Checking out

You’ll no doubt feel a mixed bag of emotions as you say goodbye and leave your accommodation. It has been your home for a good part of the past year after all. We hope it’s been a place you’ve had lots of happy and fun memories, and have made friends to last a lifetime. And as you lock the door to your empty room, remember the good times and look to the future. Don’t forget to hand your keys back to a member of staff at reception and say goodbye to them too on your way out.

All the team at Host hope you’ve enjoyed your stay at our accommodation. We all wish you the best of luck for the future. If you’re living with us in September for the first time, we can’t wait to meet you. For those returning for another year, we look forward to welcoming you back.

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If you’re still looking for student accommodation for 2022-23, we still have rooms available across the UK and Ireland. Take a look at our locations or contact us directly for more information.