Even though it’s been less than a year, moving all of your possessions out of your tiny dorm room is a daunting task. Everything fit inside your family’s minivan on the way to school, but somehow you’ve acquired an absurd amount of stuff throughout the year and now you’re dreading playing car-trunk tetris.

No need to fear, though — here are a few tips to help your move-out go as smoothly as possible.

Spread Out The Work

This may seem obvious, but you should start packing up your room several days before you actually move out. Studying for final exams is much less stressful when you’re not worried about having to take down your entire room afterwords. Alternate between studying and packing up non-essentials — while you’re packing, turn on some music, and use the time as a study break.

Take Down Decorations

Even though they typically take up a small space, having decorations all over your room makes your room seem more cluttered than it is. Taking down your decorations may make your room a bit gloomier, but it makes the task of moving out seem much less daunting. Put all of your decorations in one box so you can reuse them next year.

Take Advantage Of Trash To Treasure

Take a moment to look at your stuff and consider if you actually need some of it. If it looks like you’re going to take home a bunch of objects that will just sit in your basement or garbage can, donate some of it. Trash to Treasure accepts bedding (quilts, sheets, blankets, pillows), clothing, carpets, toys, athletic equipment (skis, baseballs, tennis rackets), computers, printers, fans, light fixtures, appliances (coffee makers, irons), electronics (TVs, CD players), furniture, food (canned goods and other nonperishable items), and cleaning supplies. If you live in a dorm, there should be drop-off instructions posted in your hall; usually, you can just drop off your stuff in the basement.

Clean Out Your Desk

Make sure to take out everything from your desk that you won’t need during finals week. Once your desk is de-cluttered, you can use the extra space to study. Put everything from your desk in one box so that unpacking is quick and easy next year.

Pack Your Clothes

Now you can use your desk to help sort and fold your clothes. If you’re packing a few days before you actually move out, make sure to pick out some outfits for the rest of the week before you tuck away everything in suit cases. Pack similar items together and keep them folded as neatly as possible to avoid wrinkles. To save space, pack hangers in a separate container.

Pack Up Your Bedding Last

One of the last things you should do the morning of move-out is pack up your bedding. Hopefully, most everything else should already be boxed up by then. If you plan on washing your bedding when you get home, you could probably just stick the bedding in your car any way it fits.

Tidy Up

Before you leave for the summer, you should vacuum, dust, and do any other necessary cleaning. Make sure the microwave is clean and that all the food is out of the refrigerator. If your room is a dusty and crumby mess when you leave, there’s a very good chance you could be charged a cleaning fee. If you’re the last roommate to move out, you’ll get the blame if your room is charged a fee. Instead, take a few minutes and clean up to avoid the situation.

Did we miss anything? Let us know your best move-out tips in the comments.