Moving out is one of the most taxing events one can endure. Combining the overwhelming emotional angle, it's a physically exhausting task that requires more patience, teamwork, and organizational skills than most job application requirements.
Depending on your roommates and overall life outlook, however, moving can be an exciting deviation from the norm. But regardless of how you feel, moving season waits for nobody and the many thoughts and feelings you'll have during it are inevitable. Here's a list of just a few...
1. You must face the Unpaid Roommate Debt
Throughout your time living together, you and your roommates have spent a ton of money. Drinks, food, concert tickets etc. On more than one occasion, you might have found yourself in need of someone to cover you for the time being.
With moving out drawing closer and closer, the time to pay up is fast approaching. Repay that debt or perhaps move out early and hope nobody remembers your bill.
2. You design a "Move-Out" Playlist
Before you can begin packing up, a bit of motivation is required in one killer playlist. With some hardcore jams blasting through the room, those heavy boxes that need lifting don't stand a chance. What's the alternate option? Moving in silence? Absolutely not.
3. You throw one last party
Whenever an era comes to an end, we humans tend to reflect on that era. What better way to send off your time here than with one last epic party? While it is a bittersweet experience with its purpose of finality looming over the night, the last party is still a fun guarantee for final speeches, shocking revelations, and emotional memories to be made.
You've had a blast here. End it all with some style.
4. You realize you have too many clothes to pack
With the preparation of parties, payments and playlists out of the way, packing can finally begin. The bad news, however, is that the incredible amount of clothes you've been hoarding are now becoming a mega challenge.
While there are much more important things that need packing and tending to, finding room for your wardrobe quickly escalates into one disaster of a problem.
5. You rediscover old memories
The hardest part of moving out is being forced to move on from the memories made at your place. When packing up books, photos, notes and gifts, don't be surprised if you spend some time getting lost in the memories you've just unearthed.
They never left your mind or heart. they just mean so much more under this new context. You're leaving so it's time to keep those memories close by.
6. Your friends are constantly walking in and out
Whether you live in a dorm, apartment complex, house or mansion, move-out season seems to always keep front doors unlocked. With boxes being carried in and out of the house, locking the front door just seems redundant.
Your friends take advantage of this circumstance by barging in frequently to help with moving or to savor those precious last moments of living there. It doesn't bother you, however. Getting any more time with these wonderful people is now a luxury that must be relished.
7. Your parents come to the rescue
Your parents have always been there for you, but it's during move out day when their dedication to you becomes obvious. Your parents go above and beyond to make the move even the slightest bit easier on you and might even make it fun.
You're fully capable of making the move on your own, but having them there is a welcomed reminder that they've got your back, no matter how many boxes of clothes you have.
8. You remember how much fun Bubble Wrap is
When moving some of the house's more fragile artifacts, bubble wrap might come in handy to secure their safety. While bubble wrap does serve as an important tool, it also serves as a detriment to staying focused.
Like being lost in those aforementioned memories, popping bubble wrap will trigger even the most macho of men into becoming childish if only for a moment. It's impossible not to pop at least one bubble.
9. Your empty place is uncomfortable to look at
With every last box packed up, the place you've called home is now an empty shell of the paradise it once was. To realize this place has housed so many memories, seeing it barren is an image too haunting to go unnoticed. If it hasn't hit you that you're moving on, the image of a deserted living room sure will.
10. You'll Never Forget Living There
When all is said and done, taking one last tour of the soon-to-be uninhabited house is difficult. In the weeks leading up to moving out, you realize the house has become less of a place to live and more of a reflection of who you are.
Your friends have left their mark with their own inside jokes, significant others have added a dose of affection, and you have your own personal memories for nearly every square inch.
When turning in the keys and leaving it all behind, these memories all come rushing back in an incomparable, bittersweet act. That place was responsible for hearty laughs, fierce heartbreaks, and epic stories you'll take with you forever.
It's hard to let go, but the future is beckoning and your destiny is waiting to be conquered. Pack up those memories, take a deep breath, and hit the open road. You're older and wiser than when you moved in. Take those memories with you and remember to make some new ones wherever your path may lead you.