How To Unpack After Moving House
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How To Unpack After Moving House

Moving house can be an exciting time and no doubt the first thing most of us want to do is unpack everything to try to start to make it feel like home. But unpacking can become chaotic if you don’t have a plan in place, knowing where to start and how to manage it will help you to settle in as quick as possible. Follow these steps below on the best way to unpack your new home:

CLEANING & PREP

Not the most fun start to kick off your to do list but the best thing you can do once in your new house, is to clean it. Unfortunately you can rarely guarantee the state of the property you are moving into so it is always recommended a good deep clean prior to unpacking. Especially if the house has been sat empty collecting dust, without all your belongings in the way cleaning will be a lot easier to do. A good idea before moving is to pack a box of essential cleaning products so you don’t have to go rooting through all your packing to find them. For a more in depth guide on where to start with cleaning see our blog post on Cleaning Advice for Moving into a New Home.

After cleaning a good idea is to make sure you have divided up the boxes into the right rooms, if it is all in one place that will make it seem like one major task – seeming unachievable. For your own sanity, the best way to work is room by room. This way you will break it down into small tasks, feeling accomplished each time you finish a section of the house. This will also help you to plan; your new home is different to your last so placing and organisation will need to be rethought in this first stage.

THE ESSENTIALS

When packing up your old house, if you followed our previous blog on How to Reduce Moving Day Stress, you will have packed some essentials together in one box or bag. This is a great place to start. Just to get you through the first day and night, you will need things like toilet roll, hand wash, a change of clothes and maybe some coffee too (!). It might also be a good idea to keep some basic appliances in this kit also – items like the kettle and some basic crockery and cutlery will definitely come in handy on that first day.

In the chaos of a house move things can frequently go missing, so it is useful to dedicate a draw or a safe place for all those important documents/spare keys etc. to keep together so they don’t get lost. Do this early on so you don’t have to worry about it when your house is in full unpacking mode!

LARGE ITEMS

Now we begin the real unpacking, and it’s best to start with larger items like beds, sofas, larger appliances/white goods (fridges, washing machines etc.) and dining tables as these will determine the basic layout of your rooms, and make a huge difference when starting to organise your unpacking. Getting these items assembled and laid out will make a visible dent in your pile, so getting this done first will have you well on your way. And you will thank yourself at the end of that long first day when you don’t have to worry about making the bed up!

BATHROOM

Now we get into the rooms, and doing this one by one will help you to keep from feeling overwhelmed. The bathroom is a great place to start as one of the most essential rooms in the house – along with the kitchen. It is also an easy place to begin as there usually isn’t as much to unpack as you don’t have any furniture to contend with.

 

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    KITCHEN

    Next is the Kitchen, probably one of the largest tasks, so a good one to tackle early on. Start with the appliances – your cupboard organisation will most likely depend on where you place your white goods and counter top appliances. For example, you probably want to co-ordinate your kettle with your mugs/tea/coffee cupboard, it’s good to keep certain things within reach of each other.

    Assessing the space within the cupboards is also something to bear in mind before putting away, as bottles and glasses will need shelving with certain heights and crockery is usually stored in a large cupboard altogether. But a good way to plan this out is to layout in front of the cupboards what you want together and where, as it’s easier to move around and re-organise outside the cupboards than when they are packed away.

    CLOTHES

    As the start of the lesser essential items to unpack, clothes usually take up a lot of space and time to organise. So to begin with split your clothes into seasons, this will most likely determine which clothes you use the most and where you want to store them. Pack your least used items at the bottom of drawers or the back of the wardrobe and then keep your most used at the top, making them easily accessible. Lost some space in the move? Try using vacuum packing to store those off season pieces, this will help maximise space for your most currently used items.

    CARPETS

    Again these are usually non-essential and decorative items so leaving them till the end is a good strategy to keep them from getting ruined in the moving in process. They can also be a nuisance when trying to move any larger items as they can bunch and buckle making the process a lot harder. So once you have finished moving everything into the new house and moving around to where you want them, then you can place any carpets and rugs down – leaving till the end will also help you to avoid having to clean them again.

    DECOR

    Probably the best part of unpacking, and therefore a good one to leave till the end – like a reward at the end for all your hard work. Decor can be done over time, so if you focus on the functional items first you can spend time to decorate later on. Instead of rushing to do it all at once, you can see what space you have left to work with, allowing you to place more thoughtfully.

     

    Follow these tips to efficient unpacking and your house will be feeling like a home in no time! For more help and information on packing and removals why not call us onĀ 0800 917 1015 or view our Removals page for a detailed breakdown on the services we offer.

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