Easy, Inexpensive Ways to Tame Chaos After You Move
You’re in your new custom Florida home and the worst of the moving upheaval is over.
Congratulations! Now it’s time to unpack.
Uh oh.
You probably packed essentials separately ahead of time, so everybody has clothes, shoes and toiletries. The coffeemaker’s out, and so all electronic devices and their chargers. But otherwise, you might be staring down a cardboard maze of moving boxes and dining on takeout pizza.
Most of us have been through the same situation, so we can offer some tips for how to start tackling your-life-in-cardboard.
But what about belongings that don’t yet have a storage destination? Read on.
Unpack it, then corral it
Here’s the thing: once you remove belongings from boxes, it’s best to have a game plan. Know roughly where you want to place items and have those spaces ready to go. If you don’t, you may end up piling items on floors and countertops until you decide where to store them.
Say you generally packed all kitchen tools and supplies together, and so on. You kind of know what goes where, by room, and moving-company workers placed all your big pieces of furniture.
That’s a good head start. Unpack and place all that stuff first.
What to do with the rest
Odds are you sold or donated some things before you moved, thinking you’d acquire new ones. Especially storage containers. Most of us are glad to drop-kick stuff like old laundry baskets when we move.
The replacements you might’ve bought ahead of time either haven’t been delivered, or you haven’t had time to shop for them. Or, you’re ready for a new pantry storage strategy, but haven’t decided what that is yet.
Oops. All that stuff that doesn’t have a planned destination must go somewhere other than a cardboard box (you don’t want those to sit around forever).
Head for the nearest big-box or home improvement store and stock up on decorative, affordable (cheap!) storage boxes, bins and other such containers. Save your receipts in case you buy more than you need.
At your new home, divvy up the stuff that still needs to be stored and place it in the new bins, boxes or storage ottomans. Use whatever system makes sense — fabric bins stack nicely and can round up bathroom linens. Storage ottomans not only give you a handy place to sit, but also to hide books or extra socks. Just don’t forget about their contents!
You’ve now created an attractive solution to scattered messes.
Garage shelving
It probably shouldn’t be your first choice — better to find a long-term storage spot for something than to move it twice — but temporary shelving can get extraneous stuff and still-packed moving boxes out of the family-room floor.
And sometimes out-of-sight, out-of-mind is what you need after a move. Until, of course, you need something on those shelves!
