Even though it may not seem so, unpacking is a lot easier than packing, but only if you know how to unpack after a move efficiently. You are not pressured by time and if you know where you have put stuff, you will be able to unload the boxes in their corresponding rooms. It will make setting up your new home easier and returning your life to normal much faster. Going room-by-room and in a previously planned order is highly recommended as you will need certain rooms before the others, so they should be set up first.
There are few steps in successful unpacking you should consider
Make the Unpacking Easier Before the Moving Day Happens
When you decide where you should move, the first thing to do after planning your moving budget, obtaining different packing supplies, booking moving services, and before packing is to photograph the apartment so that you can unload easier and set up the furniture you packed in your new home more quickly. You should also make a photo inventory of all the valuables in more details for insurance purposes, particularly the front and back of electronic devices after you donate unwanted items.
Next, devise a system for labeling each box with colors for each room and numbers for the contents to facilitate the process. If you have time, you can also write a summary of the contents on each box or create lists of items and glue them to their corresponding boxes. For example, pack clothes and write down if they are winter of summer pieces.
Make sure to pack a moving essentials box or bag that contains basic utensils and toiletries, towels, bed linen, pajamas, and slippers, cleaning supplies, cosmetics and medications, a phone charger, and a change of clothes. When you arrive at your final destination, start unloading those essentials first.
Tips on How to Unpack After a Move
The process of unpacking basically starts right after you move out of your old place and before you move into your future one. There are several preparatory steps that need to be taken to make this sometimes chaotic process as organized as possible to avoid common moving mistakes. Don’t postpone or prolong the unboxing part because not only you’ll live in chaos for weeks, but you also risk getting relocation depression. Take a look at some of the best moving day tips and learn how to efficiently set up your new home for the next chapter of your life, regardless of what are your initial reasons to move.
Prepare everything in your new home by going from room to room.
Clean Before the Moving Truck Comes
If you’ve remembered to pack the cleaning supplies into the moving essentials box, the best time to clean your new apartment is when it is empty. Start by vacuuming and dusting and then clean the carpets, windows, bathroom, and kitchen (start with the fridge and then proceed with the stove and washing machine). After the truck arrives, you can start moving in your belongings.
Don’t Forget to Prepare a Strategy
If you don’t know how to cope with stress when moving, make sure to have a plan for every situation. Depending on the time of the day you are arriving and the time available for setting up your new place, plan the room order. This is especially important if you and your partner are moving in together because you will have double the boxes in your new place.
That’s why if you are arriving around noon, start with the bathroom and kitchen, and then proceed with the bedroom. But, if you are arriving in the evening then do the bathroom and bedroom first. If you have a couple of days to unpack, you can relax, but if you have to start working the next day, then stick to the priority plan so that you can function normally.
Distribute Your Boxes Strategically
If you’ve labeled the boxes with different colors and numbers according to the rooms they belong to and the contents inside, proceed with distributing the boxes into their designated rooms. As the boxes are carried inside, check the inventory list before you start loading everything. Check if everything is there, as boxes can get misplaced or lost, in which case you have to inform your mover.
Distribute each box carefully in your new home on relocation day.
Start With the Things You’ll Use on the First Day
The essentials box has to be unpacked first because it contains things you’ll be using the first couple of days as you move onto other items.
Unpack the Kitchen First
Once all the utilities are connected, the house is cleaned, the essentials box is unpacked and the other boxes are distributed to their respective rooms you can take out your inventory list and photographs of the former apartment and start unpacking. Start taking out items for your kitchen. Plug the kitchen appliances you will be using first, such as the refrigerator, the stove, and the microwave, but make sure to wait at least 3 hours to plug in the fridge if it was transported. Then unpack small appliances in the order you will be using them, so presumably, the coffee maker, blender, and toaster will be the first.
Along with that, unpack the basic food supplies, such as coffee, tea, sugar, milk, etc. Leave the breakable items for the weekend when you can do everything slowly and carefully. Most of the kitchenware needs to be washed first before use, so prioritize unpacking the kitchen items and coordinate it with the priorities in other rooms.
Move Onto the Bathroom
Unpack essential toiletries first, as you’ll need toilet paper, soap, towels, toothpaste, and toothbrush, shampoo, and conditioner as soon as you move in. Shower curtains might be useful, too, for privacy and practical reasons. Next, unload medications and place them in the medicine cabinet.
Deal With Your Bedroom
The bed is the first item to be unpacked and reassembled. Then, the mattress, pillows, and blankets. If you packed your bedroom properly, your bedroom essentials box should contain everything you need for the first few nights and days, such as bed linen, pajamas, and slippers. Set up your closet and start arranging your clothes.
Arrange the Furniture in the Living Room
You won’t have much time to spend in the living room in the first couple of days upon moving in, so go with essentials, such as a sofa, a lamp, a table, and then other furniture that you prepared before the move, followed by the electronic devices such as a TV, a computer, etc. You will find photographs of the wiring at the back of the electronic devices very handy at this stage.
Arrange the furniture in your new home.
Finish with the Garage and Outdoors
If you’re relocating to the suburbs to a large house with a backyard, outdoor and storage areas such as a garage, basement, and attic should be the last to be set up, since the items we keep there are certainly not the ones we use daily. If you used proper methods to pack tools for moving, you should be able to locate the basic ones in the essentials box. They may be needed during the furniture assembling. Before unpacking, think of the most practical way to arrange the items from the storage.
Once you’re all done, flatten the boxes as you empty them and store them at a previously designated place to reduce the mess in the house. You can re-use some of them and recycle the rest. Get additional help from your friends and involve all family members.
Need Help? Get Packing and Unpacking Services
If all of this seems too much for you to handle on your own, and you don’t want to waste time learning how to pack glassware for moving, books, or how to box up computers, consider getting expert assistance. Take some time to find a job before moving to another state, pick the best time of the year to move, and leave the rest to professionals. If you’re moving to another state alone and want to make the moving adventure go smoothly and you don’t need to figure the cheapest way to move out of state to reduce the costs of moving, do yourself a favor and hire professional movers.
If you’re thinking about transporting your car across the country, be sure to ask how car shipping works and book cost-effective auto transport services. Your chosen movers will not only provide you with high-quality relocation services, but a good company will even do the packing and unpacking for you since they know many packing tips and tricks. For example, you can find free boxes and other packing materials for moving. It would save you a lot of nerves and time, even if you’re moving into a smaller home, which you can dedicate to adjusting, checking the safety of your future neighborhood, and meeting your neighbors.
