Unclutterer

1. Posted by Lori - 04/14/2008

   We were mostly successful with this approach in our recent move. We designated one room as the catch-all box dumping room and just systematically worked our way through putting things away box by box. We still have six boxes remaining after two months, but those boxes contain “projects” that need to be further organized or otherwise dealt with, and we just haven’t yet had the time.

   It was so great to plow through that pile in about a week, and helped us feel at home much more quickly.

2. Posted by Karen - 04/14/2008

   I’ve moved three times in the last two years, so I’ve tried different approaches to unpacking. I think it’s a good idea to unpack in a reasonable amount of time. However, I’ve also found that it makes sense to take your time and put things in the right place the first time, even if it takes a little longer. Since I live in small apartments, this can be inconvenient (no “extra rooms” to store boxes – my entire apartment was filled with boxes with barely any room to walk between them) but it saves time in the long run.

   When I unpacked my kitchen stuff, for example, I took the time to consider exactly how I wanted to set up my kitchen and where I wanted to put things before I started pulling stuff out of boxes. It took a little longer but I was happy to have stuff in the “right” place from the beginning.

3. Posted by Nina - 04/14/2008

   I think it’s important to have a place for everything (and plan a place for everything before you move), so you don’t start unpacking but stop because you don’t know where to put it.
   When we moved 2 years ago we had some boxes standing around for months because we needed new shelves to put things. So if you know this before, you can avoid having boxes clutter your home.

4. Posted by Natasha - 04/14/2008

   Ugh, definitely do this!!! I moved a year and a half ago and am still not unpacked! I have been busy, but I sure do know that I am making excuses for doing “better things” with my time. I have cleared the next couple weeks of evenings and weekends to REALLY start uncluttering my life and house. I’m so excited!

5. Posted by Daniel - 04/14/2008

   I did two moves last year, the first across state to an apartment and the second into our new home. Unpacking sooner than later was the best way to go. Its also a great time to continue purging out the rest of the items you don’t need or will simply never use again. We found a consignment store nearby that sells items for you, the rest we just donated.

   I must admit we left a few boxes of items we couldn’t part with still packed until last week. We went through the boxes on Saturday and threw just about everything away. Its not easy but its definitely a liberating experience.

6. Posted by Arlene - 04/14/2008

   Yes! As a veteran (dozen, plus) mover, I concur: Unpack at once! This helps you discover if the movers have lost or broken something so you can take action, something that’s much harder to do after time passes. Better, it helps restore a feeling of control and familiarity during the chaos that always accompanies relocation. If you find (and you will) that you brought things that don’t work in your new place, keep and store carefully the things you truly love and are pretty sure you’ll use again, sometime. Then purge the rest and don’t look back.

7. Posted by Words Within - 04/14/2008

   I’m happy that you all have that much time, or that little belongings, to be able to unpack that quickly!

8. Posted by Anne - 04/14/2008

   I too believe in unpacking as soon as possible. We just moved 1300 miles, and sadly had to have a box for give away (we thought we had done this prior to leaving) but we thought we would NEED it here. We cleared alot out that way…it was never put away, but being in a new home(much smaller) gave a new view on STUFF!
   Our house is much more decluttered! And all the boxes are GONE! There is no guilt or wondering just what is in those boxes.

   For those moving, I always have a refuge…a livingroom or someplace done where I can go and not see boxes!

9. Posted by shawnna - 04/14/2008

   My boyfriend and I just moved in together. We were totally unpacked and setup within 4 days. I can’t stand boxes!

10. Posted by Barbara - 04/14/2008

    I’ve moved 22 times in my life, when I’ve moved as an adult I’ve always done what Lori mentioned. We label boxes well as they are packed, then once moved designate on room or area for smaller spaces as the dumping ground. All boxes go in there separated by room, and then one by one they are brought to the room they go in and are put away. I get through everything a lot faster, and I don’t feel overwhelmed by seeing boxes everywhere and having them in my way. We unpack the kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms first, then move to other areas of the house.

11. Posted by Jay - 04/14/2008

    One suggestion: until you have unpacked a box, keep it in the way, where it bothers you or interferes with your movement about your home. If you have to see it or step over it, you will be sure to unpack it.

    If you don’t, the box may stay with you for a while. A friend of mine and his wife and kids moved from an apartment into a house in 1998. Before they had a chance to completely unpack their boxes, a bunch of friends came over and “helped” them by carrying some boxes from the living and dining areas into the basement. Now, 10 years later, those boxes are still where the friends set them down in the basement.

12. Posted by Andre Kibbe - 04/14/2008

    The simplest procedure for unpacking without getting overwhelmed:

    1. Pick one box to unpack
    2. Before unpacking it, write down the next box to unpack
    3. Rinse, repeat

    Unpack a box, not an intransitive. Trying to “unpack” without limiting the sphere of action guarantees procrastination.

13. Posted by Laura - 04/14/2008

    I just moved myself and I found I was procrastinating with the rest once the kitchen and living room were unpacked. What got me motivated was setting a date for a “housewarming” party. A realistic time frame that would keep me busy unpacking but also wouldn’t stress me out too much. It worked! The house looks lovely, and it feel much more like home now that I am “settled”.

14. Posted by Shay - 04/14/2008

    I totally agree with Jay. We recently moved from an apartment into our first home, where we have more space. We labeled every box with what room it was to go to to help our family and friends who were helping us move. We also didn’t allow any boxes to go straight into the unfinished parts of the house – basement or garage – because we knew it would just sit there. Some of the labels were entirely arbitrary – a box packed with some decor items, a candle, and warranties might get labeled “bathroom” just so we had a place for it and had to unpack it.

15. Posted by reba - 04/14/2008

    i also advocate labeling on the front end so boxes end up in the right rooms, i think it makes the situation easier to assess. I always unpack bedrooms right away. when we moved into our current house, we were completely unpacked in about 5 days, most on the first 2.

16. Posted by Gayle - 04/14/2008

    Tax time is the best time of year for getting everything but the taxes done. We’ve been in our current home for 5+ years now, and the first tax season we were in the house (3 months after move in) was when the final box was unpacked.

    It’s amazing how productive I can be when I’m avoiding the taxes.

17. Posted by Mike - 04/14/2008

    Count one more Lori follower here. Often when I move, there is a time pressure to get trucks, people, etc out of service and back to their other commitments or what have you. We designate one place as the “staging area” and that’s where everything goes from “source.” Once the move from “source” to “staging area” is done, we know we are finished with that part of the move that cannot be done by my wife and I in the privacy of our new home and on our own time schedule.

18. Posted by Dream Mom DBA www.dreamorganizers.com - 04/14/2008

    Congratulations on your new place. It was great that your mother could help.

    I am so excited I downsized; it’s been wonderful. The secret it good labels and to unpack everything. It helps to also store things that you don’t use as often, to make moves easier. For example, all of the items in my garage or memory box stuff is stored in Sterilite 66 qt boxes. All have a standard label (8.5 x 11 sheet of paper taped inside the box)on the front that is easy to read with a standard labeling system. For example, it will be room or holiday, then item on the front of the box. That way, if I move, there is no packing needed. I just move the boxes and go.

    As for furniture, I think it helps to have a space plan of where all of the large pieces of furniture go so the movers can get it in the right spot. I put a space plan of the furniture layout on each door or large signs on the wall-sofa here, or bed here, etc. so the items got placed in the correct location to save moving time. It also helps if you are downsizing to do a space plan early-then you know what furniture you can take and what furniture you can get rid of.

    Enjoy your new home!

19. Posted by Meg from All About Appearances - 04/14/2008

    I consider myself a quick unpacker. However, while I’ve moved a few times, it’s never been a big move over a long distance, so in the past I’ve been able to move over the course of a week or so giving me time to unpack as I move.

    There actually might be a big move for me later this summer, so I got to thinking what unpacking might be like. I might not rush to get everything unpacked as soon as possible, but chances are, if things weren’t unpacked after a couple weeks, I’d have to really ask myself why and reconsider even keeping the still packed stuff.

20. Posted by Helen - 04/15/2008

    I hail from England where we pack and unpack everything ourselves. I’ve been living in Asia for many years and was surprised that movers here (not the two men and a van sort of movers) will pack and unpack everything for you – at no extra charge! Because of my previously horrendous clutter problem I’ve never used that service. And I won’t when I move in a few months time as a big part of packing and unpacking to me is the opportunity they offer to declutter. But I always unpack quickly (two days max) as I dislike the sight of boxes sitting there ‘gloating’ at me; they are a sign there is work to done [yuck!]. I label all the boxes and put a big red cross on those to be unpacked first – kettle, coffee, toilet roll, (make up) etc. – and ask the removers to make sure they are the most accessible. I get those unpacked while the removers are unloading the rest of the stuff.

21. Posted by Fuji - 04/15/2008

    We just moved from one good sized home to another about 20 miles away and did little packing whatsoever. We hired an 11 foot cargo van and made 5 trips back and forth over the weekend – very full trips mind you, but by Sunday evening we were moved in and unpacked. We never actually packed things, but just moved items from one place to the other and putting them where they needed to go as we went. We had a few large baskets and boxes, but we reused them each trip.

22. Posted by Lori - 04/15/2008

    Awwww… I have a fan club.

    I’ll second what Jay said. Don’t allow boxes to be relegated immediately to a basement or closet or garage or other storage area unless that’s where they truly belong (and they’re labeled well so you know exactly what’s in them). If you do, you’ll *never* get around to dealing with the contents.

    We thought having no basement in this new house might be a problem, but it has turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

23. Posted by john - 04/15/2008

    I completely disagree. What’s with all this anti-box bigotry? If you unpack your junk when you move in, then you’ll just have to pack it up again when it inevitably goes to Goodwill. Such a waste of effort! It’s much better to unpack as you need things. After a reasonable period–say, 6 months to a year–donate the unopened boxes to the charity of your choice!

24. Posted by Sue - 04/15/2008

    If boxes get banished to the basement, and you never get around to unpacking them, you must not have needed what was in them very badly. Does that qualify them as clutter?

25. Posted by Erin Doland - 04/15/2008

    @john — The assumption would be that you wouldn’t pack clutter in the first place. Expending the energy and expense to move clutter would be ridiculous.

26. Posted by molly - 04/15/2008

    How nice to have family near who is willing to babysit and help out! Our family all live on the other side of the US. So we still aren’t unpacked but I moved with a six week old baby. I would NEVER recommend this to anyone. Don’t move with a brand new baby unless you have no choice. Or you may find that a year after moving you still aren’t unpacked. Thank god for basements!

27. Posted by Liza - 04/16/2008

    It might seem like an extravagance, but last time I moved, I paid the removal people to pack and unpack. I left my old house one morning completely ‘full’ and went to work. By the time I got home that night it was totally packed up. I then cleaned it for the new occupants. Next day it was the opposite story – I received the key for my new home, handed it to the removal men, and went to work. When I came home, most of it was in place – I watched them do the final bit of unpacking (my kitchen cupboards, and books onto the bookshelves). They even plugged the kettle in and plumbed in the washing machine.
    The key to it all was a good plan of where things would go…but really it wasn’t that hard – old lounge to new lounge, old dining to new dining.

28. Posted by ageekymom - 04/16/2008

    We’ve been in this house for over 18 years now and we still have a few boxes from the previous house. YIKES!
    I dread the thought of the work involved in moving and take comfort in the fact that we have paid off the mortgage and don’t have to move until we want to, but we’re ready to move to a smaller home with less upkeep.. more time to travel!

29. Posted by Kate - 04/20/2008

    I actually have to agree with John.

    Usually when I’m moving it’s very long distances at relatively short notice, and it’s *much* easier to just pack everything and then deal with it when I get there.

    I try to label boxes with what’s in them (general labels for things I use a lot, getting more specific as the thing gets used less and less). When I get where I’m going, I unpack boxes as I need them. If I find myself with boxes I don’t want to unpack because I don’t need any of those things, I give the contents away and move on.

    It’s a wonderful uncluttering strategy for those of us who have to move quickly or aren’t good about getting rid of things they can see. (I’m sentimentally attached to my “stuff,” so having an excuse to get it out of sight helps a lot in terms of being able to break that attachment.)

30. Posted by emilie - 04/20/2008

    Throw an immediate house-warming party! With people coming over to ‘admire’ your new abode, it really motivates to be decisive about all those ‘where should this go?’ items.

    You can always slowly shift things around, but it gets stuff out of the boxes and boxes out of the house!

31. Posted by mira - 04/30/2008

    u can always slowly shift things aROUND U KNOW THAT!!/but it gets stuff out of the boxes and boxes of the house

32. Posted by WilliamB - 08/16/2009

    My tricks for a smooth move…

    Start packing early to give yourself plenty of time. You can live without most of your stuff for a little while.

    Wear something that will hold your gear; this prevents you from putting it down “somewhere” and losing it. For packing the common gear is tape, scissors, sharpies (black for labels, red for fragile). For unpacking the usual gear is box cutter and bandaids.

    Labeling! Label your boxes well. “Hardback SF” is a much better label than “books.” Label five sides of your boxes if you can, so no matter where they’re put, you know what’s inside.

    Then label your boxes by the room they should go to in your new place. Do this by printing up lots of labels of room names, and slapping the appropriate label on each box, either on top or on all 5 sides. This regularity means the movers know where to look for the label. Then print a full-page sign with the room name and post it on the room door, so the movers know which room is which. BTW, you don’t have to get every box’s room right. Approximate is better than nothing.

    Dish packs (packing boxes designed for dishes & glasses) are far, far quicker than wrapping stuff in paper.

    Speaking of paper, use blank newsprint rather than newspaper if you can possibly afford it. If you use newsprint you have you wash everything afterward.

    Ideally, use only a few different size of box. They stack and move more easily and with less breakage.

    Plan your furniture placement on paper: Draw a floor plan of each room on graph paper (if the room is parquet squares you don’t even have to measure, just count squares), then make cut-outs of your furniture to the same scale.

    In your new place, place your rugs FIRST THING. Moving furniture and boxes to place rugs is too damn much work, and unnecessary effort.

    If you can, have a staging room or area.

    If you’re moving your dressers, pack your clothes by drawer. “Black dresser, top two drawers” tells you exactly where to unpack that box.

    I like unpacking bathrooms first; they’re so small they go quickly. Then I do the kitchen because I like to cook and have a lot of kitchen gear.

    If a homey feel is important to you, put up your decorations immediately. It’s amazing how much that makes a place feel like home.

    I think the couple in the picture is smiling because they had only 3 boxes to unpack.

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