Home Unpacking Guide
At the end of a move, what a relief it is to get everything out of the truck and into your new home! Once you’ve returned the truck, what do you handle next? Sure, you’ve made it into your new residence, but you still have furniture to set up and boxes to unload. How do you start unpacking? Here’s a method that can work well for you, even if you’re busy.
We assume you labeled all boxes by room and dropped them off in the correct rooms, too. That will make the rest much easier. Let’s now go through what to do in what order.
The Essentials
Start with essential items. Put a roll of toilet paper by each toilet, put a bar of soap on each bathroom sink, and put a bottle of shampoo in each shower and bathtub. If you brought your own fridge, hook it up and put any food you brought with you away. Now, you and your family can wash up and grab a bite when you’re hungry, as you go forward with setting up your home.
The Beds
Unpacking can take a lot out of you, so before you do any more, set up the beds. You may find yourself exhausted after doing more of the work listed here and need to nod off early. Having your bed already put together and made will make that easy. You definitely don’t want to unpack all day only to realize, when you’re tired, that you don’t have a place to sleep.
The Shelving and Dressers
You’ll need somewhere to put away things like books and clothes, so set up your bookcases, dressers, armoires, and so on.
The Kitchen
We all need to eat, and while you may have some snacks leftover from the trip, you’ll need something more substantive, as well as your cups, plates, silverware, small appliances, and cookware. So, unpack the kitchen next. This is a good opportunity to get familiar with the kitchen and to decide how you want it arranged.
In addition, stop by a nearby grocery store and buy food for a week or so to stock your new kitchen.
The Bedrooms
You’ve already set up the beds and put the dressers in place. Now, it’s time to unpack your clothes, put your lamps and nightstands in place, and so on. Hang up your dresses and dress shirts, put your socks, underwear, pants, and other shirts in dresser drawers, put up your photo albums, and so on. You can also put up some decorations, like any artwork you like on your bedroom walls.
The Bathrooms
Putting the essentials in your bathrooms is just the first step. Pretty soon you’ll need more toilet paper and soap, so go ahead and stock the room. Hang up a few towels. Put rolls of toilet paper in the sink drawers. Put more soap and shampoo under the sink, as well as bathroom cleaning supplies. Put up a photograph or two. During this phase, you can also put the towels and washcloths away in the linen closet.
The Furniture
You need somewhere to sit, so put the rest of the furniture, including chairs and couches, where you want it. This is also the time to put together any furniture that needs assembling.
The Family Areas
You and your family need somewhere to relax, read, and work. These areas include the living room, dining room, and if you have them, office and library. Put your computers on their desks, set up the TV, put the books on the bookshelves, and so on.
The Garage and Storage
At this point, you’ll have all your living areas set up. If you have a garage, basement, or attic, you can now put the extras there. You may want to consider self storage, however, which can be safer for your belongings, especially if you have moved to a smaller home.
We recommend a unit with climate control, which maintains a safe environment for your belongings no matter what the weather is like.
The Outdoors
Finally, if you have a porch or a backyard, set them up. This includes outdoor chairs to relax in, a barbeque, an outdoor dining table, and whatever else works for you.
Unpack in this order over the course of a few days or a week, and you’ll be able to really enjoy your new home in what feels like no time.
