Are you planning a move soon? Moving to a new home involves a lot of work, and most people have a strict deadline to meet, which means that they must somehow pack and organize everything in their home in time for moving day.
While the excitement of the move can make getting there easy, many people don’t plan for what happens after the move. What do you do after you’re finally in your new home? It can be quite overwhelming when you’re surrounded by mountains of boxes. Where should you start?
Many people will start unpacking but at a certain point they get distracted and delay completing the task. In fact, according to recent studies, it takes the average American nearly half a year to finally unpack their last box after they move to a new home. The bright side is that having a plan can take some of the stress out of unpacking.
To start, if you happen to hire movers, make sure to check your moving inventory to ensure that everything has arrived safely to your new place. Then, if the movers haven’t already done this, move each box into it’s appropriate room. It’s essential to label each box with their contents and which room they belong in.
Depending on when you and your belongings arrive to the home, this will help determine how you unpack. If they arrive earlier in the day, you may want to start unpacking the kitchen. However, if your boxes arrive later, you may want to start unpacking the bathroom and your bedroom so you will have everything you need for a good night of sleep.
Begin with essential items, such as soap, shampoo, towels, toothbrushes and toothpaste, toilet paper, and other necessary toiletries. Starting here allows you to use the bathroom and shower before bed. Then you can focus on unpacking everything else in the morning.
After your bathroom and bedroom have been unpacked, focus on the kitchen. Hook up any large appliances first, and then focus on unpacking smaller appliances such as the microwave, coffee maker, blender and toaster. Last, unpack any dishes, cutlery, glassware and cooking tools.
After you handle these high-traffic rooms, you can move on to your living room. Arrange your furniture first, then set up your television, stereo, gaming system and other entertainment devices. If you have a home office, unpack that next, and leave the garage and basement areas for last.
Learn more about organized unpacking by checking out the accompanying infographic by Moving of America.