Moving

How to Unpack and Organise Your Things After a Move

You’ve just moved into your dream house and all you want to do is relax and enjoy your new space. However, a tedious task of unpacking and organising awaits you, and you can’t postpone it. Well, with the right approach and a well-developed plan, unpacking doesn’t have to turn into a nightmare.

Plan ahead

You have to approach unpacking with a plan that will help you stay on track. Since you can’t do all at once, you should spend several hours a day on unpacking and organising your space. If you’re really busy and can’t get a few days off work, you should make an unpacking schedule you can follow. In addition, make sure to set a deadline for unpacking completely. Otherwise, you’ll just do it for months.

The power of labelling

This is actually a packing tip that will make your life so much easier when unpacking – label everything. Even if you know which boxes are for which items, you should label them. You can easily forget where you put certain items, and then you’ll waste your time on looking for them instead of spending it on unpacking.

A purpose to each room

Before starting the unpacking process, you should give each room a clear purpose. This will help you stay organised, and envisioning your space will be much easier. You can make a list of all the rooms in your house and then assign each one a purpose. Next, you can write down furniture and other items that you’ll keep in those rooms. Afterwards, you can bring boxes to each room, and then move on to unpacking.

Have an essentials box

Packing your essentials in one box will make your first nights in your new home much easier. These are the items that you’ll need the most, so you should make sure to pack all of them and to unpack them first. Apart from your bathing products, toiletries and other items that you find necessary, linens should also be packed in an essential box. This way, you can have a good night’s sleep instead of sleeping on a bare mattress.  

Unpack room by room

You should unpack one room at a time, and start with the kitchen. Since it’s typically considered to be the heart of a home, it’s a high-traffic area, so it’s important to get it organised as soon as possible. You should unpack the items that you’ll need the most, such as pots and pans, but if you have enough time, assemble and line the cupboards first. Afterwards, set up the major appliances and smaller ones you need, such as the toaster or coffee maker. You can organise the rest of the kitchen once you’ve unpacked other rooms.

Afterwards, start unpacking the bedrooms – assemble the beds and unpack the linens. Each member of the family can unpack and organise their room. The bathroom is next in line, but make sure to unpack the necessary items first. You can organise the rest of them later on.

Function before decoration

Instead of unpacking everything at once, you should start with the functional items first, and then deal with decoration. These are the items you’ll use on a daily basis and that will make your life much easier. Once you’ve assembled and unpacked all the functional items, you can move on to decoration because it’ll be much easier to put every item in its place.

Start big

Unpacking larger items first will give your space foundation and structure. These items entail beds, tables, closets, shelves and other bigger pieces of furniture. After you’ve done assembling and unpacking bigger items, you can move on to the smaller ones because you’ll place them inside the larger furniture. Otherwise, you’ll just create a chaos, and you won’t know which way to turn.

Have plenty of storage

Having plenty of storage is the key to keeping your home organised and structured. To maximise your storage, you should opt for multifunctional furniture with compartments. For example, you can buy beds with drawers underneath where you can keep linens and blankets, or a settee with a hidden compartment for storing pillows and other items. If there are any items that you don’t need at the moment, you can always rent a storage space. For example, there’s both temporary and long-term storage available to residents of Brisbane in need of additional space. So, ask around to see whether there’s a similar option in your area to keep your home organised.

If you have a plan for unpacking, then the entire process will be much easier and stress-free. Make sure to go step by step, starting with the most important items.