Stress plays an unfortunate role in the lives of every student. Stressors vary from school, parents, friends, sports, time management, among many more. My latest stress has approached in a very different, unexpected form, that many of you may have had experience with, or will, at some point in your lives. My latest stress comes in the form of a moving box.

It was a week ago we spent our first night in our new, and rather empty, house. Most of our belongings, other than furniture, were packed away in boxes, many of which were put in our basement for lack of placement. We all moved in hoping the boxes would magically disappear and it would soon feel like home… we could not have been more wrong. The boxes still reside in our filled basement. Stacked many boxes tall, one fall would create a domino effect and send various trifles scattered across the cement floor. Luckily for us, this has not yet occurred.

For any of you who currently hold the same dislike for moving boxes, I hope to offer you tips, to aide your journey in causing their disappearance.

Step One: Pack Early.

For all you procrastinators, may the force be with you. Packing early eliminates the last minute rush of trying to pack all of your belongings hurriedly, which would cause a very disorganized unpacking, that you will eventually have to do unless you plan on living our of boxes. And, I do not recommend living out of boxes. I tried for only two days and failed miserably. Like I said, I hate boxes.

Step Two: Let It Go

Rooms can be filled with seemingly unimportant objects that in reality, hold meaningful memories. These objects, however attached to them you are, must too be packed. You will see them again. A box is not a memory shredder, just a temporary placement. I had a particularly hard time packing my trivial objects that found their long-time dwellings on my mirror and walls. And although I felt my room was empty while they were temporarily packed away, I am now living to tell about it, and I’m sure you will also.

Step Three: Stop Being Difficult

You may be under stress, but remember you are not alone. You are not the only one moving, and I’m sure you will be reminded of this if you have an emotional meltdown every time something else must be packed. You can live a week without television, I can assure you the world will keep spinning. Try to be considerate, even if only for the short time period of the move. You will be in your new house soon enough and you can go back to being cranky if you insist on maintaining your title as a moody teenager.

Step Four: Sugar High

When it comes time for the actual moving and unpacking stages, be prepared. Energy drinks are now your best friends. You will get tired, but you cannot leave things half done for long. Keep your sugar levels and spirits high and remember to breathe every now and then.

This concludes my hopefully helpful hints on box extermination due to the fact that I, myself am currently still on Step Four. Unpacking still looms over my To-Do-List, but having many years of practice in procrastinating, I find time to put it off further. Good luck in the destruction of the infamous moving boxes, and remember that despite your wishful thinking, they will not magically disappear.