Moving Out

Move-Out Dates

Move-Out Checklist

Review the Tidy Your Space, Donate Unwanted Items, Mail, Bicycles, Shipping & Storage, and Return Your Keys sections of this page to ensure you move out of your space on time and avoid move-out fees.

If you are a first-year student, see the comprehensive guide for first-year move-out on the Yard Operations website. Harvard Yard will only be open during specific hours for cars and moving vans, so it’s expected you plan ahead.

1. Tidy Your Space

• Remove all trash and recycling from your room. Do not leave any trash or recycling in your room, bathrooms, hallways, stairwells, or outside the building.
• Sweep/vacuum your floor
• Clean your bathroom
• If you rented a MicroFridge from Harvard Student Agencies (HSA), empty, clean, unplug, and leave its door open. HSA will pick it up from your room.
• Close and lock your windows
• Turn down your heat/thermostat
• Report any maintenance issues in your suite, room, or common spaces
• Do not trash vape pens or old phones

2. Donate Unwanted Items

What can I donate?

Examples of commonly donated items include:

• Books, Office Supplies, & Electronics
• Clothing and shoes (tied together)
• Household Goods & Furniture (e.g. lamps, fans, chairs, rugs, bedding)

How should I package donations?

• Place items in donation bins. Place larger items next to containers, so no need to place them in containers if they don’t fit.
• Breakable items such as dishes or mugs should be wrapped in paper to preserve them.

Donation locations in the Yard:

• Any non-Harvard furniture you wish to donate to Habitat for Humanity should be taken to the trash/recycling room.
• Large items should be taken to collection boxes next to Boylston & Thayer / Canaday.

Donation locations in the Houses: The Recycling and Surplus Center drops donation bins at all the trash rooms as move-out approaches.

3. Mail

• Set up mail forwarding
• Clear out your current mailbox
• Pick up all packages
• Update your “ship to” address when purchasing future items. Avoid using your current College address.

4. Bicycles

We do not allow bicycles to be stored on campus over the summer. All bicycles locked to racks will be tagged by facilities on May 31. If an owner does not claim their bicycle by June 15, it will be donated.

5. Shipping & Storage

Take all of your belongings with you! Storage is not available on campus.

If you choose, you can make storage/shipping arrangements with outside vendors. Harvard does not promote specific companies, but we have listed a few companies below which you can use independently:

• The UPS Store
  955 Massachusetts Ave.
  (Near HUPD Station)
  Telephone 617-868-5055
  website: www.theupsstorelocal.com/0681
  email: store0681@theupsstore.com
  
  
• The UPS Store
  1770 Massachusetts Avenue (between Harvard and Porter Square )
  Telephone 617-661-7171
  website: www.theupsstorelocal.com/0681
  
  
• United Parcel Service (UPS)
  (800) 742-5877
  www.ups.com
  Watertown, MA
  
  
• United States Postal Service
  125 Mt. Auburn Street
  Cambridge, MA 02138
  www.usps.com
  (800) ASK-USPS
  
  
• Collegeboxes
  Collegeboxes offers shipping and storage. Sign-up and details are online at www.collegeboxes.com. Click on “Harvard University.”
  
  
• Olympia Moving & Storage
  
  

6. Return Your Keys

Return your room key to: 

• Building Manager if you live in a House.
• Harvard Yard Operations if you live in a Dorm. 

If you are checking out after hours and the return location is closed (typically outside the hours of Monday-Friday 8:00am – 4:30pm):

1. Put your key in a key envelope
2. Write your name on it
3. Seal it
4. Drop it off in the return location’s mail slot

You will be charged $50 fee if:

• You do not return your key on time.
• Your return cannot be verified because, for example, your name is not on the envelope, etc.