So it's June again, and you're ready to head out of your college town for the summer, to the beach, back home, or to a temporary job. No place to put your stuff from the dorm? Don't throw it away! Too many students end up leaving their apartments furnished, and everything but the kitchen sink goes straight into a dumpster. This could be arguably a strain on the environment; at the least, it's a waste of good furniture and a drain on your (or parents') wallet. Be enterprising and find a way to save your home furnishings for next year.
Instructions
1. Find out about school-sponsored programs. Some universities may have pre-arranged storage space inside the dorm building or at the "physical plant" maintenance facility where you can pay to store furniture. The great thing about on-campus storage? No lugging the stuff all over town.
2. Join forces. Find other wanderers in your dorm in the same situation; you can all chip in for a self-storage space and a rental truck, stacking everything in there together and making the most efficient use of your fees.
3. Lend items to local homeowners. A creative problem-solving college goer (recipient of that all-purpose liberal arts education) can find locals who will keep furniture until September. It's a win-win; locals get temporary furniture, and you get storage. The trick is getting the stuff back in the fall.
4. Make arrangements with an auction company. If you might not be coming back, you'll want to find the best way to "liquidate" your furniture. Again, the dumpster is not the solution. But local auction houses may agree to pick up furniture in exchange for a cut of the sales. Then, they'll send you a check, and that's it.
5. Find "free spaces." Open semi-public spaces from carports to park buildings are also places where college students might engage in "guerilla storage," stashing gear for their return. There are several downsides to this, including the likelihood that someone else will want your stuff, and also, the limitations of trespassing laws. While it may not be technically illegal to store furniture in public spaces, the act of placing it there may be considered trespassing. Use this option only if you can assess your permission to do so.
Tags: store furniture, your stuff