Part of planning a simple and efficient move is getting the timing right. Having spent…
Moving into a house is exciting, but the packing process can be dreadful. It’s no surprise that many people let unpacking drag on for many days, and even weeks. Some people never finish unpacking!
The smartest thing you can do after moving is to unpack everything as soon as possible — don’t you want to start enjoying your new place? The size of your house, number of residents, and home accessibility are huge factors, but an efficient unpacking job can usually be completed in two days. Here are some tips on unpacking your house in just 48 hours.
Pre-Moving is as Important as Post-Moving
Chances are, you already visited your new place before moving in, so you have an idea what it looks like and what size it is. You should come up with a basic layout of where your furniture or belongings are going to be placed. You can then pack your belongings efficiently; packing them in the same order in which you will unpack them.
Label and stack your boxes based on where they need to go. Make sure your new place is cleaned the day before or the same day you arrive so that you can start organizing your stuff immediately.
The Pseudo-Natural Approach
We should always remain open to change, even after we have chosen our “final” layout. There are always certain aspects we don’t consider until we start living in a house, and these will require us to change the layout we initially preferred. Always go for functionality over appearance as having an efficiently organized house will make your life a lot easier.
Do Not Ask for Help
Unless you are going to be packing and unpacking your house with the same person, don’t ask anyone for help even if they are part of your household. Getting help from someone who was not involved in the packing will only slow you down. Take care of the unpacking yourself — at least until you have finished unpacking the basics.
Forget Cooking for the Next 2 Days
Cooking a decent meal can take two hours or more out of your packing schedule, so order take-out and focus on getting your house set up. Take-out food doesn’t always equal unhealthy food. There are plenty of healthy fast-food options available today, especially if you’re moving in Seattle, Ballard, Fremont, Redmond, Bellevue — areas well-known for great food.
Unpacking Your Home Room-By-Room
Now it’s time to start moving all the stuff from your moving truck/living room to the rest of the house. Always start with your kitchen. Then you can work your way through your bedrooms, bathrooms, living areas, and finally, washing rooms, garages and laundry rooms.
Set Up Your Kitchen First – If you had no trouble packing your dishes and your kitchen efficiently, the first thing to come out of the moving truck should be a cooler with meats and perishables. Put all meats, perishables, and fresh foods in your fridge, and bring in any other boxes labeled kitchen. Start by unpacking the big things, like frequently used appliances and kitchenware, pots, pans, plates, and wine glasses, and put them in the cabinets and drawers. Get out your spice rack and lay out your kitchen as if you were going to start cooking straight away.
Unpack Cleaning Supplies and Essentials – Get your cleaning supplies and essentials box out as you will need both sooner rather than later. Take out bed sheets, pillows, brooms, dustpans, your vacuum, toilet paper, body soap, shower curtains, towels, shampoos, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorants, trash bags, scissors, and a change of clothes. Put the shampoo and other toiletries in the bathrooms and keep the cleaning supplies close at hand.
Bedrooms & Bathrooms – Finish setting up all the bathrooms, and move to your bedroom. Put covers and bed sheets on your bed and layout your bedroom how you want it. Put on pillow cases, and start folding your clothes. Clothes on hangers should go straight in the closet. Once you finish with your room, move to the next until you finish all the bedrooms.
Living Rooms and Heavily Furnished Areas – Next, you must tackle living rooms and heavily furnished areas like offices and studios. Move around your rooms until you found the right layout. Start bringing out books, photos and decoration, and place it where you want. Couches, chairs, and tables should be positioned based on comfort and functionality. Work desks should be placed close to power outlets and windows for natural light.
Storage, Garage, and Laundry Rooms – Once bedrooms, bathrooms and living spaces are set up, move onto to not-so-trafficked areas. Laundry rooms, garages, storages, attics, and basements should be left for the last day, once most of your belongings are out of the way.
Leave Your Electronics for Last – Televisions, computers, DVDs, cable boxes and other electronics should be set up at the very end of your unpacking. It will encourage you to finish your unpacking quickly, and prevent you from taking too many breaks!
Following these simple steps and guidelines should help you unpack quickly and turn your new house into your new home. If you need to hire professional movers who can help you move and set up your new place, give us a call today. Our team of qualified experts will be more than happy to help you out.