5 Things to do Before Moving So Unpacking Will Be a Breeze

Moving house is either an exciting or a much-dreaded affair. All the furniture that has to be moved and the tons of things that have to be packed. Then the inevitable unpacking and arranging them all in a new home can sometimes become overwhelming. Not to mention you have to ensure the place you moved out of is left in a good enough condition to be handed over to the landlord/buyer.

Our move back to Singapore from Shanghai. 2015.

I have lived in six homes in the last 11 years in three countries. I wouldn't go so far to say I love moving houses but I don't dread it. Besides, a new home always holds so much promise and excitement that the move is but an inconvenience.

The first move for me was from Singapore to Shanghai in 2010 and then the subsequent repatriation in 2015. Those 2 moves happened before I was introduced to the Konmari Method of tidying. The moves were messy. When I moved to Shanghai, I remember living in the apartment with unopened boxes for a couple of months. The boxes were taking up so much space in the living room, but somehow I lived months maneuvering the obstacle course they created.

2017. I read Marie Kondo's book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying" a few months before we moved to the USA. I have always prided myself on being clutter-free but this book made me question my definition of what is clutter. It made me think about what I wanted to keep, instead of what I wanted to throw away! After reading the book cover to cover, I set out to tidy my home. I threw out at least 20 bags of things that I did not want to keep. Today, if you were to ask me what I threw out in those 20 bags, I would not be able to tell you because I don't remember. What was in those 20 bags which were in my home for so many years, but I have no recollection of what they were? 

After the tidying journey, the next step is to prepare for the move. I packed most of the boxes myself even though we had a full-service moving company which included packing and unpacking services. I have learnt in previous moves that the professional packers work only with speed and the safety of the items in mind. This makes unpacking and subsequent rearranging of items slow and frustrating.

The biggest difference I noticed between this move and the pre-tidying move was the unpacking. The previous move took me weeks to rearrange the items and put them into place. This time, every box was unpacked the same day the boxes arrived in the home and all items were put into place within two days. By day three, nothing was out of place and the move was complete.

Below are five things to do to prepare for your move that will make the unpacking process efficient and painless. Your future self in the new home will be grateful to the self who did the pre-move preparation.

1) Request/Buy packing boxes at least 6 weeks before move date

Good, mindful packing takes longer than you think it does. It is not uncommon that people start sweeping things into boxes in mild panic mode a couple of days before move day. Have enough boxes ready at least six weeks before the moving date. You will need time to prepare the boxes by taping the bottoms. Starting around six weeks before the move date gives you plenty of time to work through your things slowly and without stress.

2) Gather all fragile items (except kitchenware), wall art, wall ornaments into one place

Gather these items into one place so that you or the movers can wrap them. This can be done weeks before the move date. It is far more efficient to wrap and unwrap the fragile items all at the same time than to wrap/unwrap them as you find them. If you are the one wrapping them, be liberal with the use of wrapping paper and/or bubble wrap.

3) Start packing early and pack mindfully

Start the packing process at least four weeks ahead of the move. That gives you eight weekend days. With ample time to pack, you will not feel stressed and hurried while packing. Pack a little each day or take a few hours each weekend to pack. Take each item and assess if you want it in your new home before placing it into the box. Always have a box meant for items to be donated and a box meant for items to be discarded.

4) Lay hanging clothes flat if possible

Lay hanging clothes flat in long, flat, rectangular boxes if possible. If you don't have access to long, flat boxes, take several pieces of clothing at once with the hangers, fold them in half or thirds loosely (depending on the length of the clothing) and place them into the boxes carefully. Lay them gently into the box and don't overstuff the box. You really don't want to have to iron each and every piece of the clothing in your new home.

5) Label the boxes by their new location

Label each box before you tape it shut. The labels need to clearly state which room/space the box should go in the new home. For example, “Master Bedroom”, “Guest bedroom”, “Storeroom”. You can include contents in the labels for your own reference, but understand that labels that simply say "Children's books" or "Pillows" are not useful as the movers will not know where those boxes are meant to go. If your moving services include unboxing, the movers will most likely unbox all unlabeled boxes in the living room and you will have a floor full of items that do not belong to the living room. Yes, I learnt this the hard way. Even if you are doing the move yourself, clearly labeling boxes with their destinations means you don't have to worry about where each one goes as you are moving them in.

Prepare for your move with the above five tips and you will be pleasantly surprised at how efficiently your boxes are unpacked in the new home.

 Good luck!