With the end of school and exams only a month away, students are buckling down for the busiest time of their academic year. Between studying for exams, attending various award ceremonies and participating in end of the year events, it’s important that students don’t forget to make time to clean out their dorm rooms and apartments in an effort to prepare for move out.

Spring cleaning is a big event, and preparing your clothing and other items that are crammed into your room requires time and thought to arrange and pack. For this reason, survivingcollegelife.com suggests breaking the task into several weekend projects.

“I always say that it has to get messy before it gets clean,” said freshman Alex Nevill. “I’ve worked for several weekends to get things in order and gradually take things home.”

Most people and websites recommend a quick once-over before beginning the real cleaning process. Remove any trash from your room, remove the sheets from your bed and make sure everything is picked up off of the floor. Wipe down all hard surfaces—your desk, refrigerator, shelves, etc.—and sweep or mop your floor. These basic tasks will drastically improve the appearance and cleanliness of your room.

“Sometimes just doing little cleaning tasks, like cleaning off my desk, helps reduce my stress level,” said Nevill. “Less clutter equals less stress.”

After the first step of basic cleaning, move on to organizing. Straighten up your desk and bookshelf and restore order to your closet. Place any stray items in a basket to ensure that they make it back to their owners or get filed in the appropriate places.

If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, spring cleaning is also the time to consider packing up your winter clothing as well as unnecessary items. Large, clear plastic bins will allow enough space to pack up these items while still giving you the ability to see what you’ve already put in the bins if you should need to rescue something before the end of the year.

“I take advantage of the times that I go home because I can bring back the things that I don’t need or use at school,” said freshman Hillary Lassiter.

Spring cleaning and early packing can help deter some end of the school year stress, so make sure to get a head start. For cleaning supply lists and suggestions of how to pack, check out ehow.com’s article entitled “How to Clean Out Your Dorm,” which features step-by-step instructions so that you don’t miss anything.