Tips for Unpacking After Moving

As professional movers in Vancouver, we’ve come across a wealth of tips and knowledge for movers; whether you are using a moving and storage company or not, these tips on unpacking after moving will help make your life easier.

Take the opportunity to purge

Once you get into your new house, you may realize that things that worked in your old house might not really fit in with your new surroundings. Or, maybe as you are unpacking, you realize you have even more than you thought, and you don’t even know where to put everything in your new space. This is the perfect opportunity to purge some of your belongings, even if you already did a round before your move. It will help make your home feel new and fresh; you don’t want your home to feel cluttered just after moving in!

Plan out your new home before you unpack

We know it’s tempting to want to jump right into unpacking boxes and getting your stuff out in the open, but before you do this take a minute to plan out what each room is going to look like! Now that your furniture is all moved in and you can really see what each room is like, you may want to move things around a bit.

Make sure you visually know what you want each room to look like, and then you can start loading up bookshelves and putting out decorations. It’s a lot harder to change up the layout of a room after you already have heavy books on shelves and picture frames centered above the couch. Your new rooms will have a different feel than the ones in your old house, so don’t be afraid to change things up! Just make sure you decide to do so before you have all your little trinkets everywhere.

Make a list as you pack for your move

Another tip to make unpacking easier before you move is to record what is in each box as you pack. Rummaging through ten different boxes looking for one thing will just result in a headache and some major frustration. When you are packing, as soon as you close up a box, assign it a number and record on a list what is inside that box. This goes beyond just labelling boxes as “bedroom” or “dad’s clothes.”

It doesn’t have to list every single item in the box, but at least enough to know what the box contains. For example, one of your kitchen boxes might be number 5: frying pans and small pots. Then number 6 can be “plates” (which you should definitely label as “fragile” too!). That way, when you are unpacking, if you really need to find a pan so you can cook something quickly, you just go to your list and find what number box you should look in. It might take a few extra minutes while you are packing, yes. But it can be worth it, especially if you have a lot of boxes. This can be a major time-saver and headache-avoider while you are unpacking!

Clean before you unpack

Once you arrive in your new Vancouver home, the first thing you will want to do is make sure the house is clean. The last thing you want to do is start unpacking your things everywhere and then realizing you wish you had vacuumed or mopped up first. Even if the previous owners cleaned the house, it can be nice to just wipe everything down quickly before you unpack.

Have an ‘essentials’ box

This is the box that will go into the truck last, or will come with you in your car, so that it will be unpacked first. Essentials boxes may have different things for everyone, but it is most likely the things you need to have out until the last minute. For some, this might include cleaning supplies, your toothbrush, and your Wi-Fi router.  It might be a good idea to also have a kitchen essentials box, with a couple plates, cutlery and cups so you have something to eat with when you get hungry as you unpack (ordering pizza will only last so many days!).

Unpack room by room

After your essentials are unpacked, you can begin to really move into your new home. Going room by room can help you keep calm by not having everything everywhere, which can get quite stressful. The order in which you go in depends on what room of the house is most important or most used by you. Some people prefer to unpack their bedroom first so they know they have a place to crash as soon as they are done unpacking for the day. Others need to get their kitchen organized before anything else so that they can begin to feel at home.

No matter where you start, finishing one room at a time will make you feel more accomplished and every time you unpack a room you will feel more and more at home.

Ferguson Moving & Storage

From portable storage to finding the best movers to packing before moving or unpacking after moving, every step of your moving process is important. Here at Ferguson Moving & Storage, we are ready to help you with all your moving needs.

Get a moving quote online or call us at 604-922-2212 to get your move started today!