Moving is one of the most stressful things you can do, but after living in two different apartments, I learned a few ways to make the task easier.
When unpacking and organizing your apartment, you should do some pre-cleaning, refrain from doing it all in one day, unpack what you’ll use on the first day, place each box in their respective rooms, unpack all essentials first, then non-essentials, mark your progress and always ask for help.
The best thing to do when unpacking is to do it based on which rooms you’re going to use first.
1. Do Some Pre-Cleaning
Before you start unpacking everything, you’ll want to wipe down some things. The first place you’ll want to take care of is the bathroom, specifically the toilet. As the busy day goes on, you’ll be in and out of there. If you’re going to use it before you fully move in, might as well make sure it’s clean, right? After that, you’ll want to wipe down the sink’s faucet handles. Lastly, give the kitchen counter a good wipe down because, chances are, you’re going to put food on it during a lunch or dinner break.
2. Don’t Do It All In One Day
When it comes to unpacking all of your stuff, it’ll probably take longer than you initially anticipated. Plan to take at least three days to get everything situated and ready to use. Not rushing the process will lower the chances of chaos ensuing. Also, it’ll give you enough time to take breathers during the whole process. Moving is not an easy task and can wipe you out if you don’t take your time.
3. Unpack What You’ll Use On The First Day
This is probably stuff like your bed (or mattress at least), soap for the bathroom, shower curtains, toilet paper, paper towels, wash rags and towels, the microwave, etc. Not only that, think about what you’ll need the morning after the first day too. Do you need your coffee before speaking to anyone? Do you need deodorant before even stepping out of the apartment? Prepare for these circumstances ahead of time.
4. Place Each Box In Their Respective Rooms
Now that you’ve unpacked the immediate necessities, it’s time to put every box in the room that they belong in. I’m sure you’ve marked which one belongs where, but if not, take a peek inside of each one and label them now. You don’t have to worry about actually unpacking them yet. Make sure to get all of the heavy lifting done and out of the way first thing. You don’t want to spend all day walking back and forth from the moving truck/van. Not to mention that, as the day winds down, the energy you had in the morning won’t last until the evening.
5. Unpack The Bathroom
Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty. I suggest fully unpacking and setting up the bathroom first. This is because, as I mentioned before, it’s going to be the first and most used room throughout the day. It’s best to have everything that you need readily available. I mean, who wants to use the bathroom without washing their hands? What about drying them? Also at the end of the day, when you’re all sweaty, wouldn’t you like to jump in the shower and wash the stress off?
6. Unpack The Kitchen
You might be wondering why I didn’t suggest unpacking the kitchen first. After all, you’re going to be pretty hungry after all that hard work right? Well, a couple of years ago that would’ve been true. However, now that we have DoorDash, Ubereats, Grubhub, and other food delivery services, that’s a concern of the past. Just be sure to order from them before it gets late into the night, otherwise having an unprepared kitchen will be a problem.
7. Unpack All Essentials First, Then Non-Essentials
After you’ve unpacked everything that you’ll need on short notice, it’s time to set up everything else. Just as you’ve been doing, unpack everything in the order of necessities to non-necessities. I suggest categorizing the order of unpacking by room. You’re probably going to use the stuff in your bedroom before your living room, and so on. This part of the process is going to take a couple days or more. Don’t rush it, but also don’t take forever. Moving boxes are notorious for sticking around well after settling in, so don’t end the process until everything is unpacked and put away.
8. Mark Your Progress
One of the keys to a successful move is being organized. If you completely free-style this process, you might realize last minute that things are missing. That’s why, as you’re packing up for the initial move, you should keep a list of everything that you own. As you unpack them in your new apartment, check everything off the list. This is an especially good idea if you hired a moving company to help you. If some of your stuff goes missing while in their possession, you’ll be able to tell quickly.
9. Always Ask For Help
If there is anything that you shouldn’t have to do alone, it’s move. Relying on yourself to get every single task done is abnormal, cruel behavior. Call up some friends, family, and/or a moving company to take the extra weight off of your shoulders. Be strategic with who you pick too. If you have any particularly strong friends or family members, ask them to help carry the moving boxes into the apartment. If you have any friends/family who are type A, ask them to help you organize your things while unpacking.
10. At First, Organize Based On Your Instincts
One thing I liked to do when putting away all of my belongings was base it off of the last spot that I lived in. For example, when I moved into my college apartment during my senior year, I set up my kitchen exactly how my parents set up theirs in our home. This allowed me to get the kitchen unpacked fast since I didn’t have to waste time on deciding where everything went. You’ll have plenty of time to rearrange after you’re all moved in.
If you have a particularly small kitchen and are worried about how you’re going to fit everything inside, check out my 29 tips for setting up the space on my other blog post!
11. Don’t Keep What Doesn’t Fit
If this particular move is a downsize from your old place, then you’ll have to let some things go. Having too many belongings in your apartment is a recipe for clutter, which is not aesthetically pleasing or fun to live in. It can be hard to let stuff go, but let’s be honest, if you were going to put it in a storage garage, you weren’t going to use it any time soon. Make some extra money and let go of the extra stuff.
