The Michigan State Surplus Store and Recycling Center begs to differ. It stands between move-out waste and landfills with a program called Pack Up Pitch In. This collaboration with the MSU Sustainability Department, MSU Live On and the residence halls may be familiar to students by the large white bins found in lobbies of residence halls during move in and move out. 

These bins collect items students can’t or don’t want to take back home and they resell them at a discounted price. Last year the store collected an estimated 100,000 pounds on move-out day alone, according to Surplus Store Operations Coordinator Chris Hewitt.

"We get a lot of stuff. We try to make it available to the public and for students," Hewitt said. "That's in our slogan, 'Managing waste as a resource.' That's kind of how we see everything that gets left behind by students or by departments. That stuff still has value, and we just want to do our part to lessen the university's impact on local landfills and environment while also providing resources to the community at a discounted price."

These boxes collect clothing, large pieces of furniture, home goods, reusable goods, textiles, electronics and more. Hewitt finds that rugs, refrigerators, futons, storage containers and Squishmallows (stuffed animals) have been very popular sale items. 

During move-out weekend, after gathering donations, all items are processed through the MSU Recycling Center. The trucks are unloaded and items are wiped down and tested to make sure they still work. Items are then either resold, placed in the free area or tossed if they are beyond salvaging. 

The free area is located under the awning next to the entrance of the store. It is replenished each week for items that are slightly beat up but still useable. It is open any time the store’s gate is open, typically weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

"If stuff isn’t selling in a couple weeks, we’ll move it out there with the hopes that someone could repurpose it at no cost to them but also keeps it out of the landfill," Hewitt said. "That idea behind the free area was trying to give things a last chance at a second life before it gets thrown away."

The store is open for sale on Fridays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To aide with students' needs, the store offers extra sales days in August before move-in. Announcements about sales are typically made on the store’s Instagram. An estimated 40% of the store’s inventory is also available for purchase online. Items sold on the website can be picked up from the store anytime during the week or can be shipped.

When not looking to get rid of items, moving out can be a bit trickier. For out-of-state communications and journalism junior Sydney Gapinski, a storage unit was her method of choice for holding items over the summer. She noted the unit was convenient for not having to take everything back to her hometown but was not ideal for everyday use, as she oftentimes found herself wanting items that were stuck in storage. 

With a year of experience under her belt, Gapinski found that using large blue Aldi bags for clothes pack up was much easier than the bins she used her freshman year. She also found that handing off clothes to her parents as they visited her throughout the year helped to make the official move-out less difficult. 

Gapinski finds that communication is key for moving out when having roommates. She notes that issues can often come from shared items and who is responsible for what. To combat that, her and her current roommates have a list of what everyone brought to help them when they do move out. 

"Be mindful of what you are contributing and what other people are contributing, because you guys will not live together forever," Gapinski said. "Also, not moving out at the same time as your roommates, because that can get really stressful. Me and my roommate moved out like a day apart, which made it so much easier, because it's not like we're all trying to get out of the same time."

Journalism major with a focus in media design junior Julia Bugar’s first year move-out was comprised of duffle bags and loading items into cars, while the next year she used portable storage units to store her large items for a month in the summer. 

She discovered that keeping storage items, keeping organized, labeling boxes and packing away what she could before move-out week helped to make the process easier. 

"Moving out for me is always more stressful," Bugar said. "You don't really know when you can pack things up because you need to use them until you move out. But, especially leading up to moving out, I think packing away as much as possible and staying organized, makes it a lot easier, especially if you're taking something from one home to another to have a smooth transition."