Unpacking Your Belongings in Your New Home Done Right

05 Feb Unpacking Your Belongings in Your New Home Done Right

So, the stress is over! You’ve moved – congratulations! Well, not that fast… There’s what to be done before you can get to relax, it’s not over yet. Now’s the unpacking stage. Remember all that stuff you worked so hard to to pack up? Well, now you’ll have to be unpacking and organizing it all. I know, it’s a lot to tackle! In fact, it can be overwhelming. So you definitely fought, well, let’s see? I would say… about half the battle, but you do have another half to go. The key here, or, I should say, the winning strategy here is to take one step at a time. This is not gana happen in a day, or even in a week. Unpacking, organizing and settling into a new house, making it into home, can take weeks or even months. And remember, this is not a race for time, as a matter of fact, in this area, slow and steady wins the race…

In other words, pace yourself, take it slow, but keep going in a steady way… and remember, one day, believe it or not, it will be over, you’ll be all settled in and this chaos will all be forgotten. In the mean time, here’s a simple guide of sorts, to help you through a smooth unpacking and organizing stage…. cause, remember? We’re Reputable Moving, here to take the stress out of your move. Oh, and before we start, don’t forget, when you get tired, take a break, it will help you recharge and have a fresh start later. Anyways… here goes:

Start with the Essentials:

Remember the essentials bag or boxes you packed with the main things you’ll need once you move? Well, that should have been the last bag or box into the moving truck and therefore, should be the first one off, or it may have been in your own personal vehicle. Whatever it is, that should have the basics, like your toiletries, tissues, a change of clothing and pajamas, cleaning products, paper towels, some snacks, drinks, your phone and charger, some paper-goods etc. In other words, whatever you need to run your home in the short run. So, now’s the time to hit your essentials… Start by unpacking the basics. This will get you started and give you what you need to get going. It might also be a good time to take a quick break for a snack and drink in order to recharge before you continue.

The Restroom:

Once you have your essentials unpacked, your first room to tackle is the bathroom. The bathroom is the first area you and your family will need to use while unpacking your other belongings. Find the boxes labeled ‘Bathroom’, which should contain your toiletries, tissues, towels, soap, shower curtain and hooks, mat, shampoo, body wash etc. Unpacking and organizing these items in your bathroom, will make it functional and usable as you continue to unpack and settle in.

Hit the Kitchen:

Next, it’s time to hit the kitchen! After all, how can you continue without food? Right? Part of being able to function, is being able to prepare food and grab a drink. So, grab the boxes labeled ‘Kitchen’ and start by unpacking all your kitchen belongings such as cutlery, drink-ware, dishes, pots and pans etc. Consider the most sensible and easy access place to put each item, for smooth and easy access later. Having the kitchen up and running will put you in a whole new league… You can, now, actually, prepare a meal… Well, first you’ll have to do a basic grocery shopping and stock your fridge and freezer. But at least the supplies are in place, and for now, the snacks and dry foods you packed in will have to suffice, until you go shopping later or tomorrow.

Prepare the Bedrooms:

Now it’s time to ensure that everyone has a place to sleep for the night. Head for the bedrooms before you’re too tired to move. It’s super important that everyone have a bed with linen and a pillow to go to sleep in, after this exhausting day. Your professional movers already put your beds together and placed them in the bedrooms. All you have to do is get the linens, a pillow and blanket onto each bed. Moving day is exhausting, getting a good night’s sleep is imperative.

Shades:

At the moment, your windows are probably bare, open to the public. Before shutting down for the night, you’ll probably want to get them covered. If you have drapes or shades from your old house that fit on the windows of your new home, well, hang them right away. This will get your windows covered and ensure that your shades don’t get left folded up, at best, or in a heap, at worst, and attain deep creases that you’ll have to work hard to get out. If you don’t have shades, or for whatever windows your old shades don’t fit or that you don’t have enough shades for; before you move, buy temporary paper shades that come with stick-able tops. These are extremely inexpensive and easy and quick to put up. Now’s the time to take them out. Using a scissor, cut them to each window’s width, then remove the sticker paper on top and stick it to the top of your window. Those even look nice, and come with clips to put them up and down. So they can even stay for a little while, until you have time to go out and buy proper window treatments. In the event that you don’t have disposable shades, grab a few garbage bags or shopping bags, and a roll of tape. Then tape the bags to the windows for some privacy. If you don’t have enough for all the windows, do the most important ones, like the bedroom windows, the windows facing the front of the house and the windows that may be facing other homes. Oh, and tomorrow, go buy the disposable shades, they work for the time being.

First Impressions:

Now that all the essentials are in place, time to focus on starting from the top down. The entryway of your home is the part people will see when they come visit. So putting some time to clearing your entryway is a good idea. Also, being that you probably spend a lot of time there, if you don’t work on clearing it up, it will start collecting a lot of stuff and turn into a wreck. By moving the boxes to a back room for unpacking and tackling slowly, your entrance way will become clean and inviting for both visitors, your family and yourself. It will help make you new house into home.

Be Systematic:

Now that the main things are done, it’s time to get into the heat of unpacking and organizing. Getting everything into place, finding the right home for each one of your items… This can take a lot of time and thought. It will usually entail a number of trips to the store, where you’ll buy containers and holders appropriate for each space and item. This can be overwhelming. But instead of getting overwhelmed, be systematic. Allot a set amount of time each day to unpacking. It can be as little as a half an hour to as much as a few hours, either divided up into multiple parts or in a chunk of time… Depending on your personal preferences and schedule allowance. Unpack one room at a time, starting with the most necessary and used, then working your way down, leaving utility and storage areas such as the basement and garage for last. In this way, by dividing it into bite sized pieces, steadily, each day, you’ll get it all done, slowly and methodically. Before you know it, without even realizing it, you’ll be unpacking your boxes and making your new house into home.

Following these tips will greatly remove the stress of your move, as we always do here at Reputable Moving.

So whether you’re moving from or to Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, The Bronx, Westchester, Long Island, Staten Island, or New Jersey… Reputable Moving is here to take the stress out of every aspect of your move.