The Best Way To Handle The Unpacking Of Boxes After You Move

  |   Posted In Moving Tips & Advice by Michelle Robshaw-Bryan

There’s no denying it, as well as moving home being stressful, perhaps the greatest hassle is when it comes to the dreaded unpacking. It’s likely that after spending days preparing for the move that you’ll be tired by the time you finally do move in, and unpacking and getting your new house in order can seem like an insurmountable task. With our tips though, we’ll help you minimise the pain of unpacking after you move.

Tips for unpacking after moving home

Do it methodically, room by room

The most important thing to do after your move is to make sure you’re methodical. Unpack room by room and get as much done in each room as you can before moving on.

Start with your moving day essentials box

We’ve blogged about the importance of packing moving day essentials box, so now is the time to open it up. It should contain all of those essentials like your kettle, tea and coffee, cleaning products and so on.

Take a walk around your new home and see if anything needs cleaning – it’s much easier to clean before you start unpacking so now is the ideal time to give and grubby surfaces and the bathroom the once over. Then we recommend a well-earned cuppa before continuing!

Don’t be tempted to start with the little things

Although it’s the little decorative elements like pictures, ornaments that make a home, these should be last on your list to deal with. If you’ve followed our advice on packing boxes ready to move home, you’ll have labelled your boxes so you’ll know exactly what’s inside each box.

Avoid temptation and leave boxes containing ornaments and knick-knacks in the garage or inside a different room and deal with the big things first.

Start with the kitchen

Starting your unpacking with the kitchen is practical and means that at least you’ll be able to stop for a well earned rest with a cuppa and a quick bite to eat.

You won’t need to unpack absolutely everything (the food mixer and pasta maker can probably remain in your boxes or crates for some time!), but getting the basics like the kettle and toaster unpacked along with any food you’ve transported with you is a great place to start.

Remember that appliances like fridges and freezers need to stand for a little while before they are switched on too, so make sure you refer to your manufacturers safety instructions before you turn them on.

Tips for unpacking after moving home

Then move on to the bathroom

After the kitchen, it’s a good idea to move onto the bathrooms, making sure you’ve got toilet roll, towels, soap etc. in place means they will be functional should nature call. It also means you’ll be able to take a shower before you finally collapse into bed.

After the bathroom, move on to bedrooms

After you’ve got the kitchen and bathroom sorted it’s time to move upstairs and take care of the bedrooms. The master bedroom and kids bedrooms need to be a priority, and if you do have young kids, you’ll probably want to start with their rooms so you can get them into bed at a decent time.

Once you’ve dealt with the kids bedrooms, it’s time to move on to the master bedroom. Get the beds reassembled, bed sheets on and then move on to things like bedside tables and lamps.

Tips for unpacking after moving home

Rearrange furniture and bulky items

Once these rooms are sorted, turn your attention to moving bulky items of furniture into place. Make sure you practice safe lifting techniques to minimise the chances of injuring yourself.

If you’ve hired a professional removals company, make sure they put any heavy items in the right locations for you to help minimise the amount of furniture and heavy box moving you’ll have to do once they leave.

Now’s the time to get all of your appliances in place and set up, flopping in front of the TV with a takeaway might be the order of the day!

Finally, make your new house a home

Once you’ve done all of the above, it’s finally time to start turning your house into a home. Unpack the rest of your clothing and put them into drawers and wardrobes. Put treasured ornaments out and over the next few days hang pictures on the walls, put up curtains and blinds and place your rugs.

Don’t beat yourself up if a few days later you still have random boxes tucked away in the garage that remain un-opened, do these when you find the time…and energy! Remember too that if you’ve hired crates from us, you can easily extend your rental agreement with us, so you can take as much time as you to get round to unpacking everything.

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About Michelle Robshaw-Bryan

I've been working in the crate hire and house moving industry for almost a decade and during that time I've learned everything there is to know about crates and have picked up many great moving tips! I use this knowledge to write about all things crate hire and moving related here on the Crate Hire UK blog. My life isn't all about crates though, I'm also a big fan of the outdoors and travel too and write for various different blogs.

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