Unpacking After a Move

[Raidra]

How long does it take you to unpack after a move?

Just curious. :) We moved to an old farmhouse in semi-rural Maine the weekend after Thanksgiving. Not sure whether I dislike packing or unpacking more!

[egoldber]

Oh I hate packing 50,000 times more than I hate unpacking. :) Packing usually has a hard deadline and unpacking does not.

We moved in March and still have 4 boxes on the main level. Waiting for new bookshelves that arrive TOMORROW!!!! :cheerleader1:

Our basement is still a sea of boxes.

My advice is if you haven't unpacked a box in a year (to give yourself a chance to move through all 4 seasons) get rid of it!

ETA: We moved some boxes this move that had not been unpacked from our previous move TWELVE YEARS before.

[lizzywednesday]

We closed on our house in October 2008 and I still feel like I haven't fully unpacked.

Moving was a nightmare, too, but that was mostly because DH wasn't fully clear about his plans for the move-day ... and I ended up spending a week after that cleaning our old apartment every day after work so we could get our security deposit back!

[JElaineB]

I moved in March 2008 and we still have some boxes that have not been unpacked.

[citymama]

I moved in March 2008 and we still have some boxes that have not been unpacked.

We moved in March 2011 and have a basement full of unpacked boxes. Thank you for making me feel a little better (or maybe worse, knowing we'll still have unpacked boxes 3 years from now!).


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[brittone2]

We do it pretty quickly. When packing I try to label our boxes with red, yellow, or green stickers. Green are unbox immediately (first week or so), yellow are sort of 2nd tier...nothing urgent, but hope to unpack once all of the green boxes have been unpacked. Red are more long term storage things (seasonal decorations, etc.) that don't have to be unpacked right away or really are never fully unpacked (Christmas decor, etc). We are usually pretty quick with it because I pretty much hate living out of boxes. The only catch is it takes a bit to learn how we'll use our kitchen, etc. and things often have to be rearranged anyway (different cabinets/drawers than what we started with, for ex.)

Congrats!

[hillview]

I moved in March 2008 and we still have some boxes that have not been unpacked.


2007 for us

[nfowife]

We just moved this summer to a much smaller home and will be here for 2 years. The military moved us here, and part of the service is they will unpack your boxes. We had them unpack about 80% of the boxes and still have 20% of our stuff packed that we won't use. Most of it is decorative house stuff- framed art, china, display-type stuff. A few pieces of furniture and books from our office bookshelves (no office in this house). I still plan to go through and trim down some of the boxed stuff before our next move, because we won't be in a another house as big as our previous one for sure (by choice). While the movers don't put things away, by unpacking and taking the boxes with them it forces you to put as much away as you possibly can because otherwise it's all over the place! Works well for us.

[jgenie]

Oh - I feel your pain!! We moved this summer and have a crazy number of boxes. I unpacked the boys' rooms first then worked on our room. We still have a few boxes in our room and a ton in the guest room, garage, and basement. I'm giving myself a year. :)

[WatchingThemGrow]

Oh, am I the only one whose MIL wrote in their Christmas letter (about us), "they moved in August and haven't been able to put their boxes away for some time."??????!!!

[Raidra]

Good to know, guys! We don't plan on staying here for that much more than a year, so I'm motivated to both purge a LOT and to put things away quickly. The idea of "I'm going to have to repack this in a year" makes it so much easier to toss stuff. But the kitchen is the biggest pain in the butt.. we went from having tons of cabinets to not a whole lot, and the ones we do have are either tiny or are tall cabinets that are missing the shelves (have to go look out in the barn to see if they're out there). We've also got to buy a washer and dryer and having dirty laundry all over the place is driving me nuts.

I did get most of the family pictures hung yesterday, though! Our few pieces of wall art are still back at the old house, waiting for a UHaul to move them safely. But we're supposed to have a nor'easter this weekend, so that might have to wait until the weekend after.

[specialp]

I have a 6 month deadline to unpack, but I have moved several times and learned the hard way the secret to unpacking quickly is pack lightly. So much gets purged in the packing up that the only stuff left was the "must haves."

[jgenie]

Oh, am I the only one whose MIL wrote in their Christmas letter (about us), "they moved in August and haven't been able to put their boxes away for some time."??????!!!

Only because my mother would be the one to say that and she doesn't do a Christmas letter. :)

[marymoo86]

well 10 years later we still have crap in the attic that is unpacked - I keep begging to dump it or donate.

[Momit]

We moved at the beginning of October and are still unpacking. Most of the house is livable but there are a few boxes in almost every room, no pictures on the wall, and our bedroom is a complete disaster (and so are the basement and the garage. Sigh).

[Momit]

Oh, am I the only one whose MIL wrote in their Christmas letter (about us), "they moved in August and haven't been able to put their boxes away for some time."??????!!!

Are you serious?!?!

[logan's mom]

Oh, am I the only one whose MIL wrote in their Christmas letter (about us), "they moved in August and haven't been able to put their boxes away for some time."??????!!!

YIKES! Although I must say that if I read this in your MIL Christmas letter, I would think poorly of her for choosing to share this-not you.

[Raidra]

YIKES! Although I must say that if I read this in your MIL Christmas letter, I would think poorly of her for choosing to share this-not you.

I agree.. that comment reflects way more on the MIL than the DIL.

[bisous]

YIKES! Although I must say that if I read this in your MIL Christmas letter, I would think poorly of her for choosing to share this-not you.

Excellent point, but still!

This thread makes me feel better--because I am in good company. It has been a year and DH still has about 10 boxes in the garage of stuff.

[eagle]

How long does it take you to unpack after a move?

usually there are a lot of boxes that we find unpacked when we are packing for the next move.

im trying to declutter and get rid of crap. so that unpacking would take a lot less time. ;D

[Corie]

I absolutely cannot stand clutter! So I unpack very quickly. The day we moved in, I was already scrubbing down the kitchen cabinets and drawers, etc.

And, since we've lived in Ohio (3.5 years), we've gone through the storage totes in the basement storage area on several different occasions. Just to clean stuff up,
re-organize, and purge.

I know! I'm a freak. My friends want me to come over to clean out & organize their homes!

[Corie]

We don't plan on staying here for that much more than a year, so I'm motivated to both purge a LOT and to put things away quickly. The idea of "I'm going to have to repack this in a year" makes it so much easier to toss stuff.


I have a quick nosy question for you and I'm sure you have posted about it. I probably just missed it! But, why did you move to Maine? And why are
you only staying for a year?

[MamaMolly]

We packed in July for an August move, closed on our house in late September and finally moved in in the middle of October. Our last shipment arrived about 2 weeks go, and I have about 10 boxes of books and DVDs in the basement to put away and two small boxes of Lladro thingies from DH's grandma (gifts to our DDs) to unpack.

Moving every 2 years with DH's work doesn't make the moving process any easier, but it certainly has given me plenty of practice!

[elliput]

When we moved in January, I had some boxes which had not been unpacked from the 2008 move. And now, I have several dozen unpacked boxes. Books mostly. One of these days I will actually put them on the bookshelves.

[lele]

A week or two--but as a military family we kind of have to be fast. We won't be in one place too long, so I like to get settled as quickly as possible.

[Raidra]

I have a quick nosy question for you and I'm sure you have posted about it. I probably just missed it! But, why did you move to Maine? And why are
you only staying for a year?

You didn't miss it, don't worry. :) We only moved about an hour away, we're barely in Maine. We've been looking at buying a house in either southern NH or southern ME for about a year, but hesitated to pull the trigger. We decided to rent up here for a year before buying, just in case we don't like it. It's a big change - from a 70's split level in a very suburban city that I've lived in most of my life, to a farmhouse built in 1850ish with farmland all around. We love it so far! Plus we can keep our old friends since it's only about an hour drive. We have friends who did the reverse, moved from southern NH to north of Boston, and three years later, they're still coming up this way once a week to visit.

We were just nervous about buying a house and being stuck somewhere we don't like.. this way, we get to try it out and get more familiar with all the little towns, see where we really want to settle instead of just telling realtors, "Um, I don't know which town.. just so long as it's not more than an hour commute!" - which is quite a big area, actually.

[Twoboos]

Our basement is still a sea of boxes.

My advice is if you haven't unpacked a box in a year (to give yourself a chance to move through all 4 seasons) get rid of it!

ETA: We moved some boxes this move that had not been unpacked from our previous move TWELVE YEARS before.

Oh yes to all this. There is one room in our finished basement that is only boxes and stuff we don't know what to do with. PLUS we have a stupid storage unit that I share with my brother - who know what's in there or the condition that it's in now, 2.5 years later. :nodno:

I would love to chuck the boxes that have been untouched for the past 2 years. DH would have a coronary, since it's mostly his stuff (books). He has pack rat tendencies, and thinks he will be able to find a use for that thing we should just get rid of.

And yes, we moved boxes that hadn't been opened since our move 9 years before.

Glad to know I'm not the only one though. :waving4:

ETA: I've found the fastest way to get unpacked and get your house organized is to move about 6 weeks before Christmas, and to have your MIL plan to visit for Christmas. It's worked twice so far.

[Pennylane]

About 10 days total. Like Corie , I am a neat freak and can not live in clutter. We have moved a lot over the years , so I feel like a pro now!

Ann


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[mackmama]

I used to unpack within 3 days - every single box and house would be decorated with stuff on the walls.

We moved in July - first move since having a child - and we are STILL unpacking! Totally different ballgame.

[okinawama]

I'm another one who likes to put my head down and power through the unpacking process as fast as humanly possible. Living in a state of clutter and disorganization gives me anxiety. We've had the movers remove everything from the boxes purely so that we are forced to put everything away. I do try and do some stuff on the packing up process to help speed things along with the unpacking process, and it seems to help a bit. Good luck! Unpacking is a crazy time!

[crl]

Somehow I have gotten slower with every move! We have been in the place for almost a year and still have about six boxes. Blech. I'm blaming pack rat dh! Even if it isn't "his" stuff in those exact boxes, I unpacked and pitched enough of his stuff to slow me way down this time.

Catherine

[WatchingThemGrow]

Are you serious?!?!
Word. However...she's quite a fabulous MIL save for this comment and always commenting about my appearance years ago. DH told her back then to not say a word about my appearance ever again. He's thinking he'll say something about the boxes if it comes up again.

[crayonblue]

About 10 days total. Like Corie , I am a neat freak and can not live in clutter. We have moved a lot over the years , so I feel like a pro now!

Ann


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Same here. Plus we live in an area that attracts silverfish so we have to get rid of every piece of cardboard asap or risk attracting those gross bugs. So the boxes have to be unpacked fast.