Written by: Madeline Blake
Date:

The day has finally come! You’ve said your goodbyes, packed up everything, and next thing you know – a new home and fresh beginning. A moving company Verified Movers helped you hire has done the hard part, they handled the transportation and have dropped everything off. But now you have a new apartment full of boxes that need to go through the bothersome unpacking process. And in case you haven’t thought this far ahead, let us offer some sound advice.

The unpacking process is a blank piece of paper - it's up to you to write how it will go.

Learn all you need to about the hardships of the unpacking process and how to overcome them.

You need to prepare well in advance if you want to ensure a smooth unpacking

If you want to have a smooth and organized unpacking process you have to start preparing for it before you start packing. You cannot just stuff your boxes randomly with items and expect that your unpacking will go smoothly and efficiently. Of course, everything will be easier if you had reliable movers by your side. So before you start with anything, go online and read some state to state movers reviews Georgia reviewers left online. Identify the best and book them for your move. Meanwhile, here are some of the things that you will need to do before your movers arrive.

Get rid of the unnecessary items – that will immensely simply later unpacking

The first thing that you would want to do is to clear out the junk. There is no need to pack and relocate items that you never use or items that will not fit into your new home. By moving unnecessary items, you are increasing your relocation cost and you are making the unpacking process more difficult. So start with decluttering. And remember, if you are more concerned about the cost of your move, concentrate on removing larger and heavier items. If you are looking to make your unpacking adventure easier, get rid of smaller items that you rarely or never use. And be relentless. If you later regret removing an item, you can always get a new one for the money you saved by not moving it.

Get a blueprint of your new home in order to plan the packing process properly

After you remove the junk you need to make a packing plan. Try to imagine the unpacking process in your mind. Think about the layout of rooms in your new home. It would be helpful if you had a blueprint of your new home at hand for this. It will give you a clear image of how you need to pack in order to make the unpacking process as smooth and as efficient as possible. Unfortunately, most of the time people do not have a floor plan for a new home.

two men holding a blueprint while planning the unpacking process

Get a blueprint of your new home in order to plan the unpacking properly

If that is the case, you can ask your real estate agent to get it for you, or you can go to the county clerk’s office in the county where your new home is located and get it. Once you get a blueprint of your new home, it will be easier to make a packing plan that will ensure a smooth and effortless unpacking.

Pack your boxes room by room paying attention to your new home’s room layout

The best way to pack your items is to use a room-by-room method that has proven to be the most efficient for packing as well as unpacking. Of course, since you are not moving to a home with a same room layot, your primary focus should be to pack according to the rooms in your new home. Pay attention to details and make sure that you pack in such a way that, after arrival, one box will contain only items for one particular room in your new home. More precisely, you do not want to have a box that contains kitchen items and your kids’ toys, for example. Naturally, make sure that you use quality packing materials that will ensure the safety of your items even if you hired the best moving companies South Carolina has to offer.

Do not forget to label your boxes properly

After you pack everything, make sure that you label your boxes properly. Labeled boxes will help you or your movers handle them properly during, loading, unloading, and unpacking as well. For this you can use a marker and simply write directly on your boxes, you can use stickers, use boxes of different colors, or whatever you want. The most important part is to know the content of every box you are transporting.

Make sure that you load a truck in a particular order that will ensure smooth unloading and unpacking

One of the things that most people disregard or simply forget is how the boxes are loaded into a moving truck. If you want to ease your unpacking process, you need to stack your boxes in a particular order. Of course, if you are moving with the help of state to state movers Tennessee, be present during the loading process and give them specific directions on how you want your boxes to be stacked. If you are moving on your own, load the boxes that need to get out of the truck first, last. It helps if you go through the unloading process in your head.

movers unloading a van

Unpacking will go much smoother if you load the truck in a proper fashion

You can skip the unpacking process altogether if you hire movers that offer unpacking services

One final reminder. The unpacking process is something that you actually do not need to go through. There are many moving companies that handle unpacking as well. And their help will ensure a smooth and swift unpacking without you lifting a finger. So if you would rather skip unpacking altogether, go online and read some state to state movers reviews South Florida customers leave online and identify a moving company that has positive reviews regarding unpacking.

Things you need to know before and during the unpacking process

Now, if you’ve been paying attention to our packing secrets, you should now have a pretty organized pile of boxes. And as long as you remembered to mark each box, you should have no problems at all. And even if you forgot, it’s no big deal. It’ll take a while longer but we’ll help you get there.

The amount of time you will need to set out for the task of unpacking

This might be your main concern, which is why we’re tackling it first. It’s always hard to determine how long a certain task will take. Unpacking is no exception to that rule. For starters, you need to define how you’ll go at it, based on the amount of stuff you have. The choices would include:

  • Self-unpacking – if you’ve moved to a new apartment all by yourself, the logic is that you won’t have too many boxes. However, everyone is different. In any case, these are the types of situations where you can go about doing all of your unpacking by yourself. No complications and you have all the time in the world to go about setting up your new place the way you want to.
  • Having family and friends help out – there would be moves including the whole family. And in such cases, everyone needs to help out. The thing here is that you need to set up the essentials so that everyone can function properly. The comforting part is that if everyone does their part, the entire process will be done in no time.
  • Hiring professionals for the unpacking process – these would be situations where you have an entire house or company to unpack and no time to do it. Given that this is a measure that has additional costs, you need to think hard before deciding on it.

No matter the path you take, consider that this is no easy one-day thing. But with a little planning and sacrifice, it can take a whole lot less. So on to the next part of the task.

a simple clock

There are many factors that affect the time needed for unpacking

Where to begin with your unpacking process?

Standing there and looking at all those boxes makes your head spin a little. But hey, one step at a time and it’ll be over before you can say “Packing for the sake of unpacking“. To start you off, make sure that you separate and stack all the boxes to the designated rooms. Since you won’t be looking to unpack in a day, it’ll definitely give you more space to move around. Also, bear in mind that this can be a fun activity. You are decorating while unpacking, so make the best out of it.

Once you’ve organized everything, time to get started with the essentials. So you need to consider the following:

  1. Everyday living supplies. This includes supplies such as personal hygiene (toilet paper, toothpaste, shower gel, soap, etc.) and sleeping commodities. In case the unpacking takes longer than expected, you need to have these two covered.
  2. Cleaning equipment. The thing with new places is that sometimes they need a thorough cleaning. And what better timing for this than when they are empty. So, go about unpacking the box with the cleaning supplies early on.

Make sure that everything is cooking in the kitchen first

Although you should be prepared to order or go out for food while you unpack, it’s still important to have your kitchen up and cooking. So, you need to commit your unpacking process to the kitchen first. This does not mean that you have to have everything ready and going.

Your unpacking process should begin from the kitchen.

We all have to eat and so, the kitchen comes first on the unpacking list.

For starters, make sure to plug in all the major appliances. Then make sure that all the shelves and cupboards are in place and tight. Finally, go about unpacking the pots, pans, and dishes. Everyone needs to have that morning cup of Joe before getting down to business. But remember the essentials for everyday use only. No need to overdo it and spend too much time unpacking grandma’s antique teapot.

Next step – setting up the bathroom

Even though most of the bathroom should already be set up (shower, toilet seat, sink, etc.), there are still things to unpack. For starters, set up your medicine cabinet and personal hygiene drawer. Unpacking can be tiring and dirty work, so make sure that the plumbing is in order. At the end of a busy day, nothing beats a good long shower.

Time to lay out the bedroom

Now that you have secured food and hygiene, time to secure a place to rest. Basically, it’s enough of a fix to pull out a mattress, get a pillow and some sheets, and there you go. But still, nothing beats the comfort of a fully set up bed, especially after a full days’ work. Also, you’ll get rid of quite a number of boxes when you fill out your closet with a wardrobe.

Putting together the living room as a gathering spot

Unpacking is all good and well, but at some point, you’ll wish to have a cold refreshing drink and rest. What better way than by unpacking your living room in a suitable relaxing manner. In case you are planning on having guests early on or people helping you out, you’ll need a common room.

The living room as the final touch of your packing process.

And the last larger room to unpack – the living room. The rest can wait.

However, before you start putting the furniture together and arranging it, we advise planning out the layout of the room. It’ll be easier to do so without having to move around an entire sofa or armchairs.

Finishing touches on the unpacking process

Now that you’ve taken care of the major areas, everything else should be a stroll. And the best part is since you have all the necessities covered, you can take your time with the rest. But that doesn’t mean that you should go about unpacking for the next half a year. Just take off several hours each day until you’ve got everything set up. After all, this is your new home and a reflection of you as well. So why not make it out as best you can.