The 6 Most Annoying Things about Move-Out Day

By Heidi

Move-out day is usually a good thing, right? You get to move out of the tiny room you’ve been living in for the past few months and move back to the real world: a place where you don’t have to live out of plastic storage containers. Though exciting, packing can be tedious and stressful. And hot. Why is it always hot? And it doesn’t help that there are tons of annoying things that always seem to happen when move-out day comes around.

1. Forgetting things
Even when you think you’ve double-checked every drawer, desk, and closet, you always manage to forget some tiny (but completely essential) item. Whether it be a cell phone charger, iPod cord, toothbrush, or any other little gadget that you usually take for granted, there’s always that one little thing left behind. And you always realize it 3 seconds after you hand in your keys and drive off into the sunset.

I’m starting to think it’s a conspiracy by the cell phone companies. I mean, I can honestly say that the only time I ever buy anything at Radio Shack is when I need to buy a replacement charger. So THAT must be how they manage to stay in business…

2. Hangers
Those things don’t fit ANYWHERE. And why are there suddenly so many?!

3. That one person who just takes up space
Having friends and family over to help pack is usually a very helpful idea, but why is it that there’s always that one friend or family member who doesn’t do anything but stand there idly and nit-pick every detail? Whether she’s complaining about the dust creatures bunnies under the bed, critiquing your DVD collection, or repeatedly stating the obvious (“Oh my god, this room is SO small! How did you manage to live here all year?”), you just want to take one of those hangers and shove it up her ass tell her to find somewhere to pack it.

4. The give-away pile
I’m not much a “green” person. Sure, I’ll throw my plastic bottle into the appropriate recycle bin at the cafeteria, but I don’t normally put that much effort into reusing old items- unless it’s move-out day. Then I’m all about the saving.

It all starts when I decide to create a “give away pile”: things I’ll donate or give to other people that need them, like clothes, books, and other little gadgets. But as I start to pack, I can’t seem to part with ANYTHING. Whether it’s an old notebook that I want to keep “just in case I need the notes in the future,” clothing that doesn’t even fit me anymore (“I’m totally going to get back into those jeans once I’m away from the cafeteria dessert buffet!”), the 149 free t-shirts I acquired since September (“No! Not that one! That’s from <Insert random activity here>!”) or that “MLA Research Guide” textbook your English professor required you buy, the give-away pile always has a way of turning your move-out day into an episode of “Hoarders.”

5. Elevator hijackers
Oh really, Sweaty Dad? You’re just gonna stand there and hold the elevator until your daughter packs those boxes and pushes them over here? Yeah, don’t mind me; I’m just standing here holding three giant garbage bags full of crap with nowhere to go. No, it’s totally fine. That crack was just the sound of my arm breaking in 3 places. Take your time.

6. Your car shrunk somehow?
Remember back on move-in day when you somehow managed to pack your entire life into your car with ease? Yeah, well even though you would think you would have the same amount of stuff to bring home (or even less than you started with), your car becomes a real-life Tetris board and you keep getting the funky-shaped blocks that don’t fit anywhere.

You know what the worst part of moving out is, though? Knowing that we’ll just have to do it again in 3 months. Then again 9 months after that. And again. And again. Shudder.

What do you hate most about move-out day?