Moving.  You’ve found the perfect new home for you and your family and the neighborhood is a dream…but now the hard part begins:  Taking all your things out of your old home and placing them into your new home!  Time to call the moving company (or several very generous friends and family).  But what happens after the movers have moved everything in and have left?  All your items are nicely packed and stacked but everything seems to be lost in several boxes that can take weeks to go through.   While it’s exciting to unpack and organize your things in your new home, it’s important to have a few items handy for the things you will most likely need during your “settling in” stage.  Here are a few tips to help you  from having to dig through every box for the essentials!

TV’s :  Yes, your movers will move them for you but make sure you have everything  you need for them to turn on after they get moved!  Place a piece of blue painters tape on the top of the TV and label what room it goes in.  Take the power cord and remote and put in a ziplock bag then label the bag as to what TV they belong to.  Be sure to keep all the ziplock baggies together and with you so you can easily hook the TV’s back up without opening every box in the house!

Electronics:  Box electronics together (with any cables and remotes bagged and labeled as to what device they belong to).  That way your are not searching for the DVD player for the living room or the cable to the modem or the printer for the study.  Having all electronics together can help you see exactly what you have and will be easier to place them.  I like to label these boxes with an index card and tape it to the outside of the box so it can easily be identified.

Linens:  Wash the linens from your beds and box them together.  This is another item I prefer to keep with me so when the movers set up the beds you can have them set up immediately.  Now your beds are ready to be slept in after a long day of moving!  It’s also a good idea to have a few towels set aside for the bathrooms.

Pack an overnight bag:  Pack as if you were going out of town for a few days.  Toiletries, clothes, shoes, glasses, etc.  Make sure laptops and any documents or paperwork you may need are taken with you, too.

Kitchen supplies:  Have some paper plates, plastic utensils and napkins handy for meals you may have before the kitchen is unpacked.  A cookie sheet, pot, wooden spoon, cleaning wipes, a sponge and dish soap is a good idea to have, too, in case you need it.  One of my essentials in the kitchen is the coffee pot.  Pack a box with the coffee pot, coffee, sugar and cups to keep with you and set up once your are at your new home.

Trash bags: Keep a box of large trash bags with you.  You will need these as you are unpacking!

Laundry:  I like to pack my detergent, fabric softener and dryer sheets and keep them with me so I can do laundry immediately.

Hopefully some of these will help make your next move a little bit smoother and enjoyable.  Please comment and let us know some of your tips for settling in!