During your move, it’s an exciting time to get a fresh start, even if it can seem overwhelming.
The best way to get through a relocation successfully is to stay organized before and after the move.
Once those moving boxes arrive at your new house, only half the battle is over. Unpacking and staying organized after your move is the other half of the challenge.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to make the end of the moving process easier by staying organized. Keep reading for a few essential tips to keep your sanity as you settle into a new house.
Set Your Priorities
Before the move, create a list of rooms to unpack in order of importance. Break your unpacking into two phases: 1) Get all the essentials out of the boxes and 2) Unpack each room in order of importance.
By setting the priorities before your move, you will be able to dive right in once you arrive.
First Thing’s First: Your Essentials
Organized unpacking starts with an essentials box. Having your essentials immediately available saves you the frustration of searching through all your boxes looking for those necessary items you need right away.
Pack essential things for the family that you’ll need during your first week in your new house. A family’s essentials box should include:
- Toilet paper
- Paper towels
- A crockpot for easy meal prep
- Dishwasher and laundry detergent
- Phone chargers
- Laptop chargers
- Deodorant
- Shampoo, conditioner, and soap
- Towels
- Bedding
- Prescription medications
- A few days of clothing
- Disposable plates and silverware
In addition to the family’s essentials box, every member of the family should have their own essentials box marked with clear instructions and labels, like “Susan’s essentials” and “Susan’s room first box!”
This will make it easy for you to find your must-haves right away so that you have the bare minimum items you need to stay comfortable during the unpacking process.
Once you’ve unpacked the essentials boxes, it’s time to tackle the rest.
One Room at a Time
Unpacking an entire home’s worth of boxes can be overwhelming. But, if you break it down into manageable chunks with clear start and end points, the unpacking will be much easier.
Take out that list you created before the move. Each room represents a start and end point. Place the list on the refrigerator and start from the top. As you complete each room, cross it off the list and go to the next room. This may sound simplistic, but the action of “crossing off” an item or task has an emotional benefit. The Unpacking List is a way to keep you on track, see progress, and feel good about your efforts.
Keep Electronics Charged
Your phone is your lifeline to the world, which is why setting up your charging cords is an essential step early in the moving process. As you get settled, you will find that you depend on your phone even more than normal. Things like finding the hardware store to ordering takeout will happen more often as you unpack. Don’t wait for the battery to die before setting up your charging area. Keep your phones charged.
A Successful Move
If you’re trying to stay organized after a move, the best way to keep your head on straight is to stay methodical. Move through your tasks in a logical order and be persistent. You’ll be unpacked before you know it.
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