How to Efficiently Unpack and Organise Your Furniture After a Move
It’s no secret moving can be among the most stressful things any of us will have the misforture to experience in life. But it needn’t be that way, especially if you enlist the help of experienced, reputable professionals like those at Adlam Transport. The move takes a lot of energy, both physical and mental, but represents only two-thirds of the whole process. After packing and moving comes unpacking, a process that’s certainly not to be underestimated.
We asked the team for their best tips and advice on how to unpack efficiently after moving. The key lies in being prepared and some of these tips involve thinking ahead and planning before you even start the packing process.
Pack nothing until you eliminate things you no longer want/need
It doesn’t make sense to pack and transport items you will have to discard on arrival, so be as practical and ruthless as you can when packing. A cull of unnecessary clutter is one of the most refreshing things we can treat ourselves to, and there is no finer time than when everything you own has to be assured and transported. Ask yourself these questions:
- When was the last time I used it?
- Do I still want/need it?
- Is it in good condition?
- Does it hold sentimental value?
- Will I regret discarding it?
- Does it have potential use in the future if not now?
Be honest with yourself, only you can determine what value you give to each answer, but it will at least give you some insight into your relationship with the object in question. Allowing you to assess its worth and whether you need it in your life any longer. Clue: if you need to hesitate for more than a few moments, the answer is usually ‘no’.
Go room by room and divide everything into three categories
- Want/need
- Sell/donate
- Junk
Nothing from the latter categories is allowed to travel to the new location, so it’s time to get organised. Firstly, list and sell what you can as early as possible and find your nearest charity/willing recipient for items you don’t feel comfortable selling. Take the rest to the tip, job done.
Create a room plan
If you are unable to visualise what needs to be where, create a simple room plan and make a note of everything you feel necessary, right down to the furniture.
Pack essentials separately
Put aside as many boxes or bags as you need for the things you are most likely to want on arrival and don’t want to waste time digging for. Consider items like:
- Smart devices and chargers
- Kettle and tea bags
- Toiletries and towels
- Snacks
- Medicine
- Changes of clothing
If you become distracted, things go awry, or you are simply too tired to continue, you will be grateful you decided to put a box of useful items to one side. As long as the bed is put together, you can lie down, relax, and deal with the chaos the next day.
How to unpack efficiently after moving
Make sure the right boxes land in the right rooms; a relatively straightforward task if you labelled them beforehand and a living nightmare if not. Unpack only what you need first, something you cleverly facilitated by grouping those items together and adding detailed labels to the boxes.
Reverse the process
Just as you did once before, you are now going to deal with one room at a time. Because you were so organised in advance, each room now has its own set of boxes rather than one giant, unmanageable pile in the middle of the house.
It is not compulsory to empty every single box from one room before moving on to the next. When you get bored staring at one set of boxes, move on to the next room and stare at those for a while instead.
Contact us
If you still find yourself overwhelmed at the thought of moving and need assistance or guidance, please get in touch with our expert team of local furniture movers here at Adlam Transport before the big day. We go above and beyond when it comes to facilitating your move and are masters in the process of how to unpack efficiently after moving.