As if moving isn’t stressful enough, after all of the work of packing, planning and hauling, your boxes will still need to be unpacked. Unpacking doesn’t have to be a huge problem. If you take it slow, stay organized, go room by room and ask for help when you need it, you really can unpack and feel at home before you know it.
Here are 5 tips to help you unpack with ease, so you can get down to the business of living your best life in your new apartment home.
Make sure your boxes end up in the right rooms.
Label your boxes with a color coded system or simply by writing the name of the rooms they belong in. This way, your movers will know where to place your boxes and save you tons of time when the unpacking begins. If you didn’t label your boxes, go through them and begin moving them into the right rooms before unpacking. This will help to organize your process right from the start, setting you up to move through your home systematically.
Use the alphabet system.
Label your boxes using the ABC system, with A being everyday use items, B being weekly use items and C being items you use infrequently. Start by unpacking your A boxes first, moving to B and C as you go.
Take it room by room.
You won’t get far by trying to unpack an entire apartment or townhome at once. It’s best to go one room at a time, making sure to fully unpack one before beginning another. Start with the most functional and important rooms, like your kitchen, bedroom, home office, etc.
Don’t keep what you don’t need.
Avoid getting a storage unit to store mountains of items that you might someday use. While it may be necessary to store certain belongings, mementos and family heirlooms try to avoid using them for old housewares, dated electronics and boxes of books you haven’t dusted off since college. It’s okay to use your move as a chance to simplify by donating, selling or tossing what you no longer need.
Phone a friend.
When in doubt, call in your most organized friend to help you along. It’s okay to ask for help, and if finding places to put your precious belongings feels overwhelming – a friend can help. It’s likely you have a friend or family member who loves to organize, and they will likely take you up on some assistance in exchange for feeding them.