Have you just decided to move to a new home? Congratulations, especially if you plan to use professional removalists to make the switch as stress-free as possible. Once you move in, there will two major tasks that await you, namely unpacking and then organising your new home. This can be very time-consuming and if you’re not doing it right, it can be an energy drainer too.

Hopefully, before you moved out of your old house, you took time to decide what you were keeping, what you were donating to charity, and what you were going to sell as second-hand. This is a great way to earn a few extra dollars, do something for good causes, and importantly, reduce the number of items you need to pack, and subsequently unpack and organise in your new home.

Ideally, when it comes to packing the items you are taking with you, you should identify boxes, either by using a numbering or lettering to code them, or by using colour markers. Whichever you choose, you should mark the boxes based on what room they are going to, and as best as possible, what is in the box.

On the day that you move, you should give sheets to your removalists to show them which rooms specific boxes will be going to when they arrive, based on the system you have used. At the very least you want to use this system for heavier items which are in boxes, as otherwise the removalists will place boxes in the safest place, rather than the room you want them in.

This means that once they are gone, it will be up to you and the others in your home to move those heavier items to the room they are supposed to be in, which not only takes effort, it will take some time too.

When you’re done with placing the boxes in the respective rooms, don’t just start opening them. You should clean your new home first, and it is far easier to which areas needing cleaning most, before all the furniture is put in pace, and possibly obscure them.

After you’re done with cleaning, the next step is to start unpacking. But which room to unpack first? We suggest unpacking the children’s room first. Moving can be upsetting for the children, so setting up their room should help to calm them down, and as an added bonus, it means they are out of your way, as you start the rest of unpacking.

Incidentally, before unpacking, make sure you have pairs of scissors, and plenty of rubbish bags as you’ll be needing them for cutting the tapes and boxes, and for throwing out any used tape and packing materials

You should attempt to unpack the functional items before your decorative ones. So, items for the bathroom and kitchen such as toiletries and cutlery, should be unpacked before the porcelain figurines that normally sit on your mantelpiece. Thereafter, if your coding system has been followed properly you should find everything that belongs in the correct rooms

As a rule of thumb, it makes more sense to unpack those belongings that those in your household are likely to need first. Then go from room to room, until you get to the point where every box has been unpacked.