Psychology sophomore Dean Overmyer hasn’t yet started packing for his return home this summer. Still, Overmyer said he’s not concerned about it.

“It should be pretty straightforward,” he said. “I’m just going to put (my stuff) in the van and leave.”

MSU Residence Life Assistant Director Amy Franklin-Craft said she encourages students to start packing as early as Easter weekend.

“It goes smoother if you get a little packed up at a time, rather than all at once,” she said. “And (what) fit beautifully in the car on the way (to MSU) may not fit as well on the way back.”

However, Franklin-Craft is well aware students likely will leave their packing to the last minute. That’s why there are resources available to students as they pack, she said. Boxes will be available at dining facilities upon request as MSU carries out its Pack Up, Pitch In, Help Out initiative, along with recycling pickups in most residence halls, she said. The Pack Up, Pitch In, Help Out program is meant to encourage students to donate or recycle unwanted items as they move out.

“We encourage students to recycle what they have (and don’t need),” Franklin-Craft said. “We try to do things as greenly as possible.”

Eldon Evans, a supervisor for East Lansing Parking and Code Enforcement, or PACE, said in an email that students should dispose of their larger items, such as furniture, properly because illegal dumping is classified as misdemeanor. If students want to throw out their bulk items­­ — couches, chairs, mattresses and other furniture — they must purchase a bulk item sticker for each item from the East Lansing Department of Public Works, 1800 E. State Road, or the City Treasury, located in Room 103 of City Hall, 410 Abbot Road.

For students who don’t want to dispose of the leftover items, there are other options. Goodwill’s Lake Lansing Donation Center, 2200 Coolidge Road, will accept a variety of items from students, employee Andrew Wingeier said.

“As long as it’s in good condition, we’ll pretty much take anything,” he said. “But if stuff looks like it should be trash, then go ahead and trash it.”

There are resources for storage during the summer. The MSU Surplus Store, 468 Green Way, will buy items and resell them, or store the items until students return in the fall. Franklin-Craft said the store is offering free pickups of storage items for students who live in residence halls and also will drop the items off in the fall if requested. The offer ends May 2, and pickups will be $50 after that.

Then there are the students who, like Overmyer, simply are taking their things home with them.

Whatever students decide to do about their debris, Franklin-Craft would just like them to take it out of their rooms.

“(People leaving stuff behind) could, theoretically, be billed for the cleaning,” she said.