TIPS TO UNPACK AFTER SHIFTING TO A NEW PLACE

Shifting a home or office is a very ‘personal experience’ (after all, we are shifting the very roots that defined us over a considerable period), and not surprisingly, each of us approaches it differently. That said, there are some common ‘rites of passage’ everyone must follow, in order to ensure that the move – and in particular the post-move scenario – is as smooth as possible. Here, therefore, are a few tips to unpack your furniture and other items, after you have arrived in your new destination.

Unpacking begins with packing.

The first step in ‘unpacking’ happens even before your move has begun. This is the stage where you pack your essentials and other elements in appropriate boxes, colour-coding and labeling them, so that unpacking is easy. We have explained the packing tips in our previous blog.

Plan your space

Before you unpack, get a ‘sense’ and ‘measure’ of your new space. Discuss the new lifestyle with other members of your family or team and visualize how you want things to look. Now, retrofit your furniture and related items into this ‘blue-print’. This ‘plan’ should factor in every room of your new destination, and all the available space. At the end of this exercise, you must have complete clarity of what goes where.

Prepare the area

Once you have unpacked, preening and cleaning becomes a million times more difficult. Make sure you complete all dry-dusting, wet-cleaning, mopping, vacuuming, scrubbing and rug-shampoo-ing before you unpack. Don’t forget to include windows, wall-cabinets and shelves into this regimen. Make sure shelves, cabinets and storage areas are clean and in working condition. It is a good idea to do a pest-control, too, at this stage when the space is free to operate on. Finally, if you plan to paint the space in the near future, it may make good sense to prepone it and do it now.

Follow a logic-flow

In simple terms, this comprises a series of steps like deciding the function of each room, placing the right boxes in the right room (write the item-room combination on top of each box), rustling up a time-line and priority order for unpacking. This is a great stage to make things fun, so create games and competitions around these activities (with cool prizes like pizza) to get more members of the family involved.

Start with the essentials

You don’t have to unpack your entire home all at once. Start with the stuff you absolutely won’t be able to get by without – in other words, the absolute essentials first. For a lot of people, the sequence reads kitchen, kids’ room, bedroom, bathroom, dining room, living room and public spaces and ending with areas like storage, garbage, utilities, patio, deck, verandahs, garage and others. However, you may find a different order more appropriate for your specific situation.

Go from big to small

Once you have unpacked the big, heavy and unwieldy stuff – such as almirahs, beds, tables and other large items – it becomes very easy to shuffle the smaller stuff around. So, it is importantly to decide first – and quick – where the heavy stuff will go. The term ‘heavy’ includes ‘assembled items’ as well.

We hope these few tips to unpack your goods and items will be helpful for you when you shift your new home or office.