VCU PD Column
Leaving your apartment? Here are six ways to have a green move-out plan.
Most off-campus student leases end in May, June and July. Starting the summer break is exciting for students, but for permanent Richmond residents, it isn’t always a pleasant time of year.
Unfortunately, VCU students are known for leaving furniture, trash, clothes and other household items in streets and alleyways when they leave apartments. Moving out can be rough, but dumping unwanted items in alleyways literally creates a mess for landlords, neighbors and permanent residents.
Richmond’s Code of Ordinances addresses “unlawful accumulation,” which prohibits one from piling up discarded items in the street or alley that are not in containers provided by the city. Your landlord could get fined for your mess, and the costs may be passed on to you.
Simply put, as an off-campus resident, it’s your responsibility to keep the streets of Richmond clean. Don’t be a good neighbor, be a great (and green) neighbor.
VCU officials are actively working with the City of Richmond to set up dumpsters in the Fan and to help clean alleys through Project Clean and Green Move.
Here are tips to help you move out and — most importantly — collect that security deposit. (Yes, a landlord may withhold a portion or all of that deposit if you’ve failed to move out properly.) For more move-out resources, visit off campus.housing.vcu.edu.
| Make a plan | Start thinking about what personal items, furniture, books, clothing and food will need to be taken, disposed of or donated. Keep a to-do list to track what you’ll need to take care of before leaving the apartment, including shutting off utilities. |
| Start early | Your focus is on finals, but if you’re cleaning for an hour or two to take a study break, use that time to get rid of what you know needs to go. Create bags of clothes and smaller items that can be reused and donated to Goodwill, Diversity Thrift or other local agencies. |
| Think about larger items | Will you need that couch, mattress, chair or dresser? If you’re not taking them, make arrangements to have them picked up by an organization that can reuse them, such as the Salvation Army or Vietnam Veterans of America. Habitat for Humanity also takes furniture donations. If furniture is too beat-up to be reused, call 311 to schedule a bulk pick up with the city. |
| Organize smaller household items | Not going to need that old lamp, those books or kitchen supplies? Put them in a box and prepare to donate them. Yes, someone else can will gladly use them! (And used bookstores may even give you money for books.) |
| Separate recyclables | Magazines, cans, bottles, plastic containers and cardboard boxes can be recycled. Start collecting those in bags and take them to recycling bins. |
| Dispose of trash properly | Rotting food and hot weather are not a good combination. Leaving trash bags in the alleyways can attract bugs and rodents. Dispose of trash in proper receptacles. |
