Tag: move-in

Author: Pooja Parmar ‘22

One of the most exciting and stressful days of college is quickly approaching— Move-In. After being off-campus for 1.5 semesters, many of us are looking forward to moving in and reviving our Princeton experience. Even though campus life will not be the same, I know we are looking forward to seeing new faces and taking random walks throughout campus once again. Going into Move-In day with the right mindset could help you start the semester off with the right foot. This is our first opportunity of the semester to help Princeton achieve its zero-waste goal. 

The emergency Move-Out in March 2020 exposed how wasteful dorm life can be. While the Office of Sustainability and Building Services staff tried to collect and organize as much of the leftover furniture and materials as possible, due to the rush of Move-Out, much of it was thrown away. To put this into perspective, during the 2019 Move-Out, over 50 tons (equivalent to the weight of about 7.5 elephants¹) of dorm materials were left behind on campus by students.

The Office of Sustainability’s Greening Move-Out program collected, sorted and cleaned about 13.10 tons of items for reuse through the Move-In Resale (pictured below) and donation to local organizations. The rest (about 70%) was sent to landfill due to the poor condition of the item or damage that could have been caused from any stage between drop-off to when it was picked up for donation as well as lack of storage space. Many items are also not able to be donated or recycled such as pillows and comforters. Therefore, without the organization and Greening Move-Out effort, you can imagine the amount of waste that was produced from the emergency Move-Out and the need to reduce the amount of items brought to campus in the first place.

Images from 2019 Move-In Resale 

We can do better by making sure to keep sustainability in mind during Move-In. Here are some tips when preparing for Spring 2021 Move-In: 

1. Remember to only bring items that you will need. Be deliberate about whether or not you need the same number of items as you did last year when you expected to be on campus for a full year.
2. Pack reusable items such as reusable mugs, water bottles, silverware, or food storage containers as well as supplies to clean them such as reusable cloths and dish soap. This will help reduce your reliance on single-use disposable items especially during quarantine.
3. Think ahead about storage. If you don’t think you will be able to store the item for reuse or donation at the end of the semester, reconsider the purchase or just don’t bring that item to campus. Remember, you’re only packing for ONE semester!
4. Make sure to coordinate with your roommates to prevent duplicates of an item. Coordinating who brings what will also lessen the storage burdens on any one roommate at the end of the semester, making it easier to reuse the item. 
5. Shop local and buy secondhand. If you absolutely need a certain item for your room, shop local secondhand sources like the Free and For Sale Facebook group, TigerTrade, and Resource Recovery. There are also several secondhand stores in or near Princeton such as the Habitat for Humanity Restore, Skillman Furniture Store, Elephant in the Room Design, and One of a Kind Consignment. Please note: The Office of Sustainability is unable to offer a Move-In Resale this semester.

Sustainability is all about building small and manageable habits that you can incorporate into your lifestyle. Treat Move-In as an opportunity to build some new habits into your life and to explore minimalist living and secondhand shopping. 

More information about the Spring 2021 Move-In is available on the Undergraduate Housing website.

Sources: 

¹https://www.bluebulbprojects.com/measureofthings/results.php?amt=25.23&comp=weight&unit=tns&searchTerm=

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