What to do after the move - a guide for residential moves in Canada and USA
So moving day is complete, and you are left in your new home feeling exhausted while staring at a mountain of boxes and a few days' worth of unpacking... So where do you start? At this point a little planning is the key to avoiding excess work. Hopefully you've taken our advice and clearly labelled all boxes according to their destination; if so,our movers will have made sure each box has arrived safely in it's proper place within your house or apartment. You definitely want to avoid any additional moving of boxes or sorting/re-arranging so as to save time and effort.
If you have kids who are old enough to help out or loyal friends/family members who have 'toughed it out' by your side throughout the move, the best place to start once the movers have left is with a break and some dinner. Once everyone has had a chance to take a break and 're-fuel', it's time to get to work.
We recommend you start by unpacking your breakable items first or putting them off to the side for the moment. This is a great precaution if you've decided to recruit some help from friends or family members - you can handle all of your delicate items first hand to make sure they get your personal attention and the care they deserve. Your "helpers" can then assist you with some of the more cumbersome items.
Many people get a sudden burst of creativity when staring at the blank canvas that is their new living space, however you must avoid the temptation to start re-decorating and rearranging your furniture! Remember that your creative juices will flow much longer than your physical stamina as moving day draws to a close. The best place to focus your energy is on getting as many items out of their boxes as possible. Once you have finished unpacking there will be plenty of time to re-decorate and re-engineer your living space - perhaps several times over!
The first room you should dedicate your energy to is the bedroom. Regardless of how much of the unpacking and clean-up gets done on moving day you will need a comfortable place to lie down and get some much needed rest. From there the kitchen and bathrooms should take priority as you will also need a place to eat and freshen up. Once these rooms are fully un-packed and functional you will have the option to take a break or even leave the rest of the un-packing for another day. By approaching the process in a systematic way like this you can avoid burnout - if you run out of energy you can always stop and resume the unpacking later. If you start with your living room and suddenly find yourself exhausted you may still be looking at an hour's work just to get your bedroom ready for you to have a good night's rest.
During the next few days the unpacking should be complete and you can turn your attention to other areas. If you've moved to a new neighborhood this is a great time to familiarize yourself with the local hospital, police station, and even the post office. If you are changing family doctors you can update your records, and if you are in a new city you can find out if the garbage and recycling pick-up times are different than in your previous home.
The rest is common sense, however with a lot of adjusting left to do and loose ends to tie up it is easy to get overwhelmed. It is a good idea to organize a "to-do" list and work from there. All that will be left at that point is to enjoy your new home!
|
| |
©2006 North Movers
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
