Before you know it, finals will be over and you will be jamming all of your dirty laundry into your trunk, waiting in huge lines to sell back your textbooks, and locking the doors of your homes here at school and going back to mom and dad for a month to enjoy a brief life of laziness, festivities, food, and more food. All of the perks of going home seem really nice, but more often than less people forget about packing up and getting ready to leave. Not only could these helpful tips leave you less stressed about forgetting those important items before you leave, but have you all ready to go before finals even start.

1) Make a list of items you want to take home

Making a list is as simple as pulling up notes on your phone and writing things you won’t want to forget. A lot of the time, you might think of a small item you will want over break, like a pair of gloves, or a phone charger at a really random time during the day. Luckily for most people, their phones are attached to their hips at all times so punching in your list is simple and always with you.

2) Strategically Eat

Eating? Why is this going to help you prepare for break you may ask? Well, no one is going to want to come back to their place only to smell the uninviting aroma of rotten milk, or moldy bread enveloping your entire living space. Not only is the smell somewhat hard to remove afterwards, you actually have to get near the rotten food to get rid of it. It would be a gross task that no one is going to want to be welcomed back with. So, eating all of those perishables before you leave will save you money and allow a more pleasant return.

3) Pack Before Finals

During finals week, after finishing a tough exam, the last thing you want to worry about it tidying up your room and packing. Besides, you need any free time to study for your next test! If you have items you want to take home, but don’t necessarily need them for finals week, pack them up beforehand so they are out of sight and out of mind. This way, after your last final, you can cut your packing time greatly and get home that much quicker.

Being organized before all of your exams will let you have a clear mind and promote greater success during the final week of this semester. Having one less thing to think about gets you that much closer to enjoying what the holidays really mean to you.