How to unpack?

[Angryosaurus]

I am feeling utterly swamped and depressed. Moved into our new house 2 weeks ago. Husband has 1 more week off work/I work PT and looking after DC. We have still not even nearly unpacked :( There are boxes and boxes everywhere despite our huge effort (and accepting lots of help with childcare!) Every time I get a room done, I either have to move a load more stuff into it and start again or the kids mess it up.

I'm sick of living off takeaways and putting the kids in front of the TV for hours. I haven't even had time to hoover/mop/clean bathrooms. In 2 weeks!!

Got 1 week left- any tips to help us crack it?

We first built the beds, then all storage units so wardrobes, sideboards etc and put them in the correct place then filled then with everything.

Before we moved we cleared so much stuff (as we downsized a little) so everything has a place, we then after doing all this sorted little things like putting up pictures and decorative items. I found doing one room at a time also helped so that at least we had a space clear to live in iuswim

Great advice thanks

Tempted to say throw everything unpacked away, as you clearly don't need it!

Do you actually need it all?

Having your storage sorted helps. For example putting up shelves in the garage meant we could put 4x as much stuff in as when it was just shoved, likewise putting some flooring down in the loft. Tbh we moved last year and only unpacked our books the last couple of weeks when we finally got some bookcases. Is there something you are stuck on?

I agree with specialsubject, maybe it’s timw for a declutter.

Yes, empty boxes labelled for charity shop beside each set of boxes you unpack. And make sure furniture it situ first, so everything you keep has a home to go into.

I've always prioritised kitchen, then bedrooms, then other living spaces.
Set yourselves targets - work until this room is finished and then we take a break.

We can’t throw it all out (unfortunately!) but have got a growing pile for the tip despite huge declutter before moving.

What am I finding difficult? I think because the layout of this house is very different to old so not sure where everything should go yet. That there is no order to anything. That every time I get a room clear I have to fill it again. So it feels like I’m just moving stuff around. That the loft isn’t boarded out so can’t use it atm. And that every where is filthy!

Also that I didn't know where to start or what to prioritise but I'm going to focus on finishing bedrooms and one living space today :)

Do that tip run and clear some space.

Get the loft boarded! We got ours done 3 days after we moved in and it saved our sanity.

Def get your stiorage built. But maybe stop and have a think about what you want and where?

I shouldn’t really give advice though because it took me over 6 months to unpack (renovated, then couldn’t afford carpets for a few months, and couldn’t build wardrobes and bed etc until carpets were down!) I still haven’t got my pictures on the walls over 12 months later.

Could you set one room aside so that all the boxes go in it?
Then move things so that they have a home.

The one good thing about taking AGES to unpack was that I was ruthless when I finally did unpack. “Oh yeah, forgot about that! Chuck/charity”

When you first moved and packed items did you label them ? If so first thing to do is out every box in the ' correct ' room . i.e kitchen,your bedroom, child's etc. You then have everything technically where it should be. Then concentrate on only one room at a time. Personally the kitchen is the room I would do first.

We are still very far from straight & moved nearly 4 months ago. What is helping me is getting VERY firm with myself & throwing away loads! We downsized so just cannot keep everything. Storage was a priority & that is improving.

They say it takes a year for a house to feel right, in terms of layout and storage, so 2 weeks is nothing!
I would put all my boxes into one room, with stuff you’re sure you don’t need at the back (Christmas, Summer clothes, hobby equipment) and get volunteers to help clean the house first. No good putting stuff into dirty rooms. Ideally this would also be the time to paint or wallpaper because you’ll never have a blank canvas again.

Then unpack in the opposite order, so the last stuff you put away needs to come out first. Declutter ruthlessly and try a minimal lifestyle first. You may find you don’t need all those mugs, towels, books, toys, DVDs...

Group lots of things in clearly marked boxes and don’t unpack them, so pay slips and tax returns 2000-2010, old photos, specific books and lecture notes, baby clothes and equipment can stay in one place for IF EVER you need them. Garage or loft for those boxes. I have boxes like that that haven’t been opened for three house moves!

If the chaos is confined to one box at a time you can take longer and not feel so stressed with FT work and life going on as usual. Whoever’s room is the “Box” Room can be rewarded with (e.g.) a lovely new matchy-matchy duvet and curtains at the end.

After clearing what I thought was a huge amount last year before moving, I realised more still had to go. I put everything on the floor, took a picture and advertised it on fb selling groups as free and said I’d be leaving it outside the front door. It all went very quickly.

We moved almost four weeks ago. From a small rented flat (temporary move due to cross country relocation) to our hopefully forever home (small 3-bed). On the same day we also emptied our storage unit containing the entire contents of our previous large 3-bed home (- furniture which we sold prior to relocating). I hadn't seen the contents of the unit in the 6 months since we relocated and I forgot the sheer volume of shit we actually had.

I had a few wobbly moments on moving day when the movers just kept bringing more and more boxes in and despite having them stacked 3-4 deep around me I was running out of room to put them!

What helped me was my brother coordinating and putting all non-essential boxes straight into the loft. We designated one bedroom as storage and put most other boxes there. DCs are sharing the other room now short term until the boxes are emptied. I was then able to unpack the kitchen and lounge boxes and as the new furniture was delivered, get into some order.

Downstairs is mostly done now, under the stairs still has boxes but I can sort through them at my leisure. Master bedroom is done but kids room/ storage room are a nightmare, thankfully one I can live with until such time as it is sorted!!

Just do a bit at a time if you can and try and keep all the mess/unsorted boxes in one place so you can get other areas organised.

Thank you I'm feeling really motivated now- we can do this!