The move is done. You have just moved into your new home. All your items have arrived safely. All of this is great! However, the move isn’t done yet. What remains is one of the more tiring parts of the move. Fatigued from the relocation, you now have to unpack your belongings. This, however, doesn’t have to be so terrible. Just follow our unpacking tips and hacks, and you will turn to unpack into an easy, organized affair!
Pack smart to unpack smart
With anything movie-related, it is a good idea to stay organized. This counts double when packing and unpacking. It might be counter-intuitive to include packing advice in a list of unpacking tips and hacks, however, organized packing will have a great impact on your unpacking. If you pack without a plan, you will later be forced to unpack like that as well. This will mean a lot of time spent unpacking items that you won’t need immediately. Doing this while tired from the move will only add to your moving stress.
Far smarter is to form a moving checklist and label your moving boxes. These two will let you decide at a glance what to unpack first. A moving checklist can help you pack items that you will need to unpack together. On the other hand, having your boxes labeled with their contents and unpacking priority will let you get the items you will need first out as soon as the relocation is done.
Unpacking tips and hacks for a family relocation
If you are moving with your family, there are a few unpacking tips and hacks to help you out. First of all, your unpacking will depend on your children’s age. While it is always smart to have certain items, like pacifiers or a favorite toy, with you when you prepare young children for a relocation, having their items out quickly will make your new place feel like home to them more quickly.
Having older children or teenagers on your move will mean you will have more time to unpack their items. However, a move can still have a big psychological impact on your children, even if they aren’t little. To make it easier on them you may turn unpacking into a family event. Make it fun for them by doing it as a family and letting them have a say in where which items will go, especially in their room. You may also order their favorite food or, if you have an adolescent child, give them a small amount of money for helping you out, to motivate them. This will all be beneficial for their outlook on your relocation.
The unpacking order
One of the more important unpacking tips and hacks is to have a clear unpacking order. This applies to all kinds of relocations, from the ones with children to solo relocations. This is also something industry professionals like packing services NYC pay special attention to. Knowing clearly what to unpack first and what to leave for last will make the difference between an exhausting move and a well-executed one. So, let’s talk a bit about the unpacking order.
Basic necessities
Obviously, the first thing you will need to unpack is basic necessities. These will include several different groups of items. Beds and linens should come first as they are both exhausting and time-consuming, however, they are vital to those good nights rest you will need. Next up will be personal hygiene items that you will be using that same day. Right after that, you will need to unpack a few changes of clothes, both for work and to use at home. Finally, you should unpack your computer and any items you will need for work as well as chargers. These will make sure your productivity doesn’t suffer and you won’t be late for work, rummaging through moving boxes at the last moment. If you have packed up medicine and first aid, unpack these as well as you never know when you might need them quickly.
Kitchen
While you could make do with takeaways and deliveries for a while, it is still a wise idea to unpack the kitchen as soon as you can. That is why we put it right under the basic necessities on our list of unpacking tips and hacks. There is just a big psychological difference between eating out of plastic plates and cups and having your kitchen up and running. This goes double for moving with a family. That’s why it is smart to have your kitchen ready as soon as you can
Bathroom
After taking care of the basic necessities, you will be ready for any emergency. However, you will still need to unpack the rest in order for your life to get back on track. One of the more important aspects of this is keeping everything clean. Even if you already unpacked your basic hygiene items, you should not wait too long before unpacking cleaning items and anything you need to do the laundry. That is why unpacking the bathroom should be one of your top priorities.
Bedroom
Unpacking the rest of the bedroom including your wardrobe isn’t the very top priority. However, this should be done as soon after the relocation as possible. After all, you will want to have the room you use for resting completely as soon as possible. Not to mention the need to change your clothes daily. While you can pick them up from the moving boxes as you go, this will be time-consuming and it’s just better to have your wardrobe organized as soon as you can.
Living room
Something that relocation specialists like Upper West Side movers might tell you is that people have a tendency to unpack their living room items early. While having your couch and TV ready is certainly beneficial to restoring your normal life, you can postpone it for a few days until you unpack everything else that is more pressing. With that in mind, our list of unpacking tips and tricks places the living room lower on the list. Still, make sure you unpack it within the first week, to restore your rest and recreation routines.
Things you can unpack later
A list of unpacking tips and hacks wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of items you can leave to unpack later. Depending on the season of your move these will include seasonal items like clothing for a different season and decorations for holidays later on. Quite simply, they include items that you won’t be needing in the near future. Because every move is specific, the choice of these depends entirely on the conditions of your move.
Applying unpacking tips and tricks to your move
As we mentioned above, every relocation is specific. However, you can still apply these unpacking tips and hacks to most relocations. Just take a rational approach and decide what you will need first. Also, make sure to keep things organized. Follow these steps and you will complete your move easily.
