Post-Moving Tips Will Keep Your New Home Neat and Organized

Checklists for packing and moving are plentiful. There are lists on what to do before you pack, how to keep your packing organized, and what to do each step of the way in the weeks leading up to the big day.

But what about after the move?

Buying and moving into your new home is exciting. What isn’t so exciting, however, is unpacking all those boxes. It’s no wonder some new homeowners still have unpacked boxes months–even years–after they have moved in. The process is tedious and makes your home feel disorganized and messy. The good news? It doesn’t have to be that way. Just as there are plenty of ways to keep your packing and moving organized and on track, there are also ways to do the same with your unpacking process.

Here are a few quick tips to help you get unpacked while staying organized and orderly in the process.

Focus on one room at a time. If you followed common advice for packing, then you have all your boxes labeled by room. Rather than opening boxes as you need something, concentrate on unpacking an entire room at a time. This comes after you have unpacked your box of essentials, of course. Once you’ve done so, focus on the room that you probably need to use most urgently–the kitchen. From there, move from room to room until you have completely unpacked and are ready to clear your space of all those unsightly boxes.

Keeping purging. Packing should have given you the opportunity to purge extensively. But that doesn’t mean everything you’ve packed up should be kept now that you’ve moved. There may be items you thought would go well and now realize, they don’t. You may find you’ve packed items you don’t use because you weren’t strict enough during your packing process. Whatever the reason, unpacking gives you a second opportunity to purge those items that really shouldn’t “make the cut.” Evaluate each item as you unpack it and get rid of those items that are unneeded, unnecessary and unwanted. As you did while packing, donate what you can, sell what you can and discard the rest.

Get organized. There’s nothing like a clean slate to help you get–and stay–organized. Take stock of those empty closets in your new home and organize them with bins, closet inserts, shelves, trays–whatever makes sense for what you are stowing away. The same goes for those areas of your home that tend to attract clutter, like the kitchen countertop where the mail gets dumped, the foyer that tends to have shoes and backpacks lying around or wherever there has been a past problem with clutter. There are so many options today for getting organized that can be worked right into your home’s decor. Take advantage and set yourself up for success by incorporating ways to keep clutter at bay before you’ve even unpacked.