After weeks of preparing, packing and moving all of your personal items to a new home, you finally get to the fun stuff. Unpacking and setting up a home solidifies the move and gives you the chance to make a fresh start by setting up exactly the way you dreamed of.
If possible, try and get to your new home the day before or morning of your move and give it a good clean before you start moving your stuff in. Even if the previous owners or the landlord has left it in pristine condition, you’ll still feel better having given it the once over yourself. If you have to wait until you move in, make sure you have your cleaning supplies in a clearly marked box so that you can pull that out first and get to work.
You labeled the boxes for a reason, so there is no reason why the kitchen plates should be in your bedroom. If you are having help with moving in to your new home, make sure that you are available to direct the flow of traffic to the right rooms.
Quick Tip: If you are moving a refrigerator in, you should know that it will need about two hours to settle before you should plug it in. Check you manufacturer instructions before you move. You should be moving as few refrigerated foods as possible, but if you do have any make sure you keep them on ice until the refrigerator is fully up and running.
At first it may seem overwhelming, but if you organize your steps unpacking will be a breeze. Start with the bedrooms, especially if you have kids. This will ensure that no matter how far you get that first day, everyone will still have a place to sleep.
Once you have clean sheets on the beds, arrange the rest of the furniture in the kid’s rooms and then if they are old enough, give them the job of unpacking their things. This keeps them from being bored and out of your hair while you work on your room and the rest of the house.
While some may say the TV and video game console should be next, you should be prioritizing how you unpack more logically. Get your bathrooms in order next since you know that they are going to be needed. This way you have everything in place if you want to take a hot shower after a long day of moving.
You will probably spend a good deal of time in the kitchen unpacking all of the appliances, plates, silverware and any food that you brought along. Install your cabinet liners and begin filling those first with the pantry items and then dishware before moving onto the items that go on top of the countertops. This gives you more space to work in as you unpack the multiple boxes.
Once the bedrooms, bath and kitchen are complete, you can move onto the living areas and office spaces. You will feel less pressure since the priority areas have been taken care of, and will be able to take your time to arrange your new home exactly the way you want it.
