You can finally breathe a sigh of relief after reaching the new home after a long and exhausting Moving day. The most critical and stressful stage of the relocation is now over and maybe with a few minor exceptions, you will consider your move to be an outright success.
But you also know that you won’t be able to fully settle down in the new place until you’ve managed to unpack all or at least most of the cardboard boxes that have been scattered all over the new house or apartment.
Once you find yourself in the new place, one of the most important tasks ahead of you is to unpack your belongings and arrange them on their right places. But you already know this. What you may not know, though, is the time you’ll need to unpack your boxes after moving.
In order to plan your post-relocation time in the best possible way, you’re going to need to know how many days (approximately) it’ll take you to unpack those boxes. After all, it’s no fun living among piles and piles of unopened cardboard containers, is it?
According to statistical data, it takes Americans an average of 180 days to unpack all their possessions after a move.
In other words, it’ll take roughly 6 months to unpack the last box after moving to a new home – a piece of statistics that seems hard to believe.
Needless to say, things are never as straightforward as this. The real question is this: How long will it take you to unpack after moving?
Why unpacking can be even trickier than packing
The truth is that you shouldn’t underestimate the task of unpacking after a move. It may sound unbelievable, but in some cases, unpacking can prove to be even harder to finish than packing. Why, you may wonder.
- No deadline. While there won’t be a deadline looming over (Moving day) to stress you out like it was the case with packing, the lack of a specific date by which you must finish the job of unpacking is likely to let you relax more than you should. As a result, you may choose to prolong unnecessarily the unpacking job over time simply because the pressure to do it quickly is not there.
- No motivation. When you don’t have a fixed date by which you should be done with unpacking, you won’t have the required motivation to keep on working on the task like you would if you were packing instead of unpacking. In reality, the lack of sufficient motivation to unpack is one of the major reasons to procrastinate the task of unpacking after moving to a new place.
- No assistance. It’s customary to ask for packing assistance from friends, especially when you feel like you’ve fallen behind the packing schedule. If time is really pressing you hard, then you can hire professional packers to help with the packing job. However, it’s rare to ask for unpacking help from friends or professionals simply because the urgency to complete the task is not present. So, it seems that unpacking is a lonely occupation that often gets stretched out over time.
See also: How to motivate yourself to unpack after moving
Factors that influence unpacking time
Even though statistical data show that on average, it takes most people around 180 days to unpack completely their belongings after a move, the actual time you will need to unbox and arrange your stuff in the new home will depend on a number of important factors.
The thing is that вхен you are well familiar with the major factors that influence the overall unpacking time, you will be able to gain full control over the most critical post-relocation task.
- Size of the household. The more rooms there are in the new place, the more time you are likely to need to unpack the delivered boxes. Each room will take a considerable chunk of your post-relocation time so you have to be careful about the order of unpacking when it comes to which rooms you should make habitable first.
- Quantity and complexity of belongings. Of course, the more things you have brought along with you, the more days it’ll take you to unpack them all. Think about it: unpacking a single medium-sized book box and arranging the volumes on the bookshelf can take you approximately 15-20 minutes. But unpacking 7 boxes full of books will take you hours to complete. Also, unboxing a dish pack full of kitchen plates should take much longer than unboxing a container full of shoes, for example.
- Availability of help. It’ll make a huge difference time-wise whether you’re unpacking your things entirely on your own or whether you have helpers by your side. Therefore, if you’re in a hurry to finish unpacking as quickly as possible so that you can begin to settle into the new place, then you should seriously consider securing enough helpers for the job.
- Personal motivation and energy levels. As mentioned above, your motivation to unpack quickly will play a major role in the entire unpacking process. The lack of a deadline can be rather demotivating and result in the infamous I-will-do-it-later mindset. Also, how much time it will take to unpack after moving will be influenced by how much energy you got left from the entire pre-move period and Moving day itself. You just can’t expect any unpacking efficiency when you hardly have any energy to move around the house.
- Time constraints and other commitments. If you have to start work shortly or immediately after moving to a new place, then it’s normal that you attach a low-priority label to unpacking. Sure, you will still need to unpack your essentials boxes and make at least the bedroom and bathroom usable, but since going to work should be your top priority, you just won’t have enough time to concentrate entirely on unpacking. In addition to work, other important commitments will also prolong the time you will need to take care of the unpacking job the way you want to.
Read also: What to unpack first after moving into a new home
What can you do to speed up unpacking?
Unpacking after a move can take anywhere from a week up to 6 months, or even more. Some people never fully unpack for years after Moving day which begs the question of why they have moved stuff they don’t intend to use in the first place.
The truth is that there’s no way to know exactly how much time unpacking will take. However, what you should know is that there are good ways to speed up the unpacking task.
So, how to unpack quickly after a move?
- Follow the right unpacking order. You are likely to lose plenty of precious time if you mix up the correct unpacking order. First and foremost, unpack the rooms you will use most frequently – bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and then think about unpacking and arranging the stuff in the rest of the house.
- Unpack all essential items first. Your Open-First boxes that contain the most essential items are called Open-First boxes for a reason. So, make sure you unpack those essentials boxes first of all to maintain a high level of unpacking efficiency. You will need your bathroom items much sooner than your books, right?
- Reassemble the furniture pieces. Bear in mind that you won’t be able to unpack and arrange all the smaller items if the furniture pieces are not in their final resting spots. So, be sure to reassemble the large furniture units before you start unboxing and placing the various smaller things where they are supposed to go.
- Unpack room by room. You can get the highest level of unpacking efficiency if you follow the room-by-room unpacking method. Once you take care of the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen, you can turn your attention to the living room, spare room, and all storage rooms in the new place. Going from one room to the next without being ready with the first one will only increase the overall unpacking time.
- Get rid of packing supplies. When start unpacking those boxes, the no-longer-needed packing materials such as empty cardboard containers and multiple sheets of bubble wrap and packing paper will start to pile up. Soon enough, all your living space will become rather decluttered unless you keep getting rid of the useless packing supplies. Thus said, consider keeping the packing materials that are in good condition for your next move.
- Stay focused. When you start unpacking a room, you’d do good to avoid frequent distractions at bay so that you can maintain your concentration for longer. You can still make unpacking a bit more fun by playing some nice music in the background but it’ll be your ability to concentrate on your work that will determine just how long it takes to unpack after moving.
- Get timely unpacking assistance. If applicable, get your family involved in the house-unpacking process. If case you are forced to unpack entirely on your own, unpacking can take forever to complete. Also, ask some of your friends to help you unpack if you do happen to have any pals in the town or city you just moved to.
See also: How to unpack quickly after a move
Ultimately, it’s possible that you get overwhelmed with unpacking after a move. In case you cannot afford to lose weeks unpacking your stuff on your own, do consider hiring professionals to help you unpack quickly so that you can get back on track in no time.
