Smooth Move: 7 Tips to Efficiently Organize Your New Home
Moving into a new home is an adventure filled with possibilities, but it can also be a stressful maze of boxes and confusion without proper planning and organization. To make your move as smooth as possible, use these seven essential tips to efficiently organize your new home.
Efficiently Organize Your New Home
With some planning and organizing before your move, you can avoid the last-minute frenzy of throwing random items in boxes and bags as you run out of time and find out how much stuff you didn’t realize you had. By following a step-by-step plan and staying organized, you can make a smooth move to your new home.
1. Plan and Organize Before You Move
It may seem counterintuitive to organize your current space before you move to your new home, but it’s important for a couple of reasons. It makes packing and unpacking before and after the move easier and more efficient. It also helps separate what you want to keep and what you can let go of so you’re not moving anything you don’t want or need to your new home.
Start organizing weeks before your move by collecting an assortment of small inexpensive plastic containers that can fit into drawers and larger ones for shelving. Organize small items you want to take with you into these containers and put them on your closet shelves and in your vanity, nightstand, kitchen, desk and cabinet drawers.
Add labels to the lids and keep them underneath the containers so you don’t lose them. That way you can still access everything you use regularly, and when you’re ready to start packing boxes for your move, you can put the lids on and stack them together in larger boxes so everything stays organized.
When you’re unpacking at your new home, you’ll start out organized with your plastic containers in drawers and on shelving in your new home. That way you can easily rearrange things as desired until you get your new home figured out.
2. Ruthlessly Declutter
Moving is the ideal time to reassess your possessions. Take a hard look at each item and ask yourself if it’s worth taking to your new home. Be vigilant in your decluttering efforts. Items that haven't been used in over a year, are in poor condition or don't bring you joy are prime candidates for donation, sale or recycling. Reducing your load not only makes the move easier but also ensures that your new home isn't cluttered with unnecessary items from the start.
If you have stored items in your attic or basement that you rarely access, make sure to go through them with the goal of getting rid of as much as possible before your move. You should have a good reason for keeping anything you don’t throw or give away, especially if you haven’t used it in over a year. You’ll be glad you don’t have to pack and move them when it’s crunch time during the move.
3. Obtain Boxes & Packing Materials
Make a list of all the packing materials you will need and decide where to get them. It's best to buy clean new boxes and packing materials unless you already have what you need from a previous move. Don’t forget to get mattress bags, packing paper, plastic wrap, box tape and wardrobe boxes for your best clothes. You can search online for the best prices on everything you need.
Efficient unpacking starts with organized packing. Label each box with its contents and the room it's destined for. This way, you can easily find what you need and direct boxes to their respective rooms during the move. Color-coding with stickers or using different colored markers for different rooms can be a helpful strategy.
Make sure to label at least one box “Day-1 Essentials” and put everything you’re going to need the first few hours or days in your new home. Make sure to include your moving binder with important information, box cutters, scissors, extra clothes and toiletries. Transport your essentials in your car so they don’t get mixed in with all the other boxes on the moving truck.
4. Set Up Key Areas First
When the moving truck arrives at your new home, direct the movers to unload furniture and boxes in the appropriate rooms. As you start to unpack, focus on the essential areas first. Set up the bathrooms, main bedroom and kitchen as soon as you move in. A usable bathroom is a necessity, a functional bedroom will provide you with a restful retreat after a long day of unpacking, and a working kitchen will allow you to eat proper meals even if things are chaotic the first few days.
If you followed step one above and have most of your bathroom, bedroom and kitchen drawer items in neatly labeled plastic containers, setting up these rooms with flow smoothly. You won’t need to waste time figuring out exactly how you’re going to use each room while unpacking since moving things around in organized containers makes it fast and easy to change their location and efficiently organize your new home.
5. Gradual Unpacking and Arranging
Resist the urge to unpack everything immediately. Start with necessities and gradually move to less essential items. This slower pace allows for more thoughtful organization and prevents the feeling of being overwhelmed. As you unpack, consider the best arrangement for your items. Sometimes what worked in your old home might not be ideal for the new space.
Remember that your first idea for the layout of your rooms doesn't have to be permanent. You might find that the furniture arrangement you initially thought was perfect needs tweaking after living in the space for a few weeks. Stay open to rearranging your furniture and belongings as you get more accustomed to your new home. For this reason, it’s best not to decorate or hang anything on the walls until you’ve had time to work out the best way to arrange each room.
Hold off buying new closet storage systems and other storage solutions until you have lived in your new home for a few weeks or longer so you have a better idea of exactly where you want everything, and how you will use each room. This is especially important for the kitchen, main bathroom and bedroom closets.
6. Utilize Storage Solutions and Finish Organizing
Once you’ve lived in your new home for at least 3-4 weeks, you should have a pretty good idea of where you want everything based on how you use each room. This is a great time to finish organizing your home with a variety of creative storage solutions and begin decorating the rooms.
Good storage solutions are key to a well-organized home. Invest in shelves, bins, and drawer organizers to make the most of your space. Be imaginative – under-bed storage boxes, over-the-door hangers, and wall-mounted shelves can save space while adding to the decor. In the kitchen, use drawer dividers and shelf organizers to keep things neat. In closets, consider space-saving hangers and shoe racks. Once the garage is cleaned up after the move, you can consider storage solutions to keep everything organized and easy to find.
7. Finish The Job
One of the hardest things to do after moving and getting your rooms set up is cleaning up any clutter left in the garage or other storage areas like the attic or basement. Finishing the job by getting rid of any unneeded boxes, packing materials or items you rarely use by storing them out of sight or giving them away will make your new home much more relaxing and enjoyable to live in.
Moving into a new home is a significant life event. It's a chance to start fresh and create a space that truly feels like your own. By taking the time to organize efficiently, you ensure that your new house quickly becomes a comfortable, functional, and welcoming home. Remember, organization is a journey – take your time to experiment and enjoy the process of making your new home a reflection of you.
Epcon Communities
Epcon Communities builds luxury single-level homes and townhomes with first-floor owner’s suites in communities throughout the country. We offer a wide variety of floor plans from 1,300 to over 3,000 square feet with 2-4 bedrooms. We also include many popular features and options including plenty of storage where you need it, especially in the garage, making it easy to efficiently organize your new home.
Many of our communities include resort-style amenities, so you’re sure to find the perfect fit for your lifestyle. Contact us to learn more and explore all the benefits we offer including our low-maintenance lifestyle that enables you to spend more quality time with your family and friends doing what you love.