Unpacking

sometimesalwayschaotic · April 2014

How long does it take you to get a house unpacked and settled after moving? We moved 3 weeks ago and my house is in partial shambles. My In laws are coming this weekend. After 3 weeks would people expect a house that is put together? I just put together today that she would be here this weekend and I'm starting to panic. We have a family wedding and I was thinking about them coming over after that.

nonoemily · April 2014

I had all the boxes unpacked after three weeks, but we went from living in 1,000 sq ft to 2,200 with a lot of storage. That was in July and I'm still not sure how settled I feel.

sometimesalwayschaotic · April 2014

Our big problem is that we went from a house with a giant basement that we used completely for storage to a house without any storage. I feel like I'm at a stand still. I can't unpack this until this gets out of the garage and I can't get that out of the garage until... Most of it also entails my husband being home which is hard when we've been busy.

AprilLVE · April 2014

3 weeks is not long at all. I would expect to still have some boxes stacked in corners at that point. I'm going to say it took us 5-6 weeks to unpack everything. (Except the boxes that went straight to the basement...probably don't need whatever crap is in those.)

JCM · April 2014

I have no idea how long it would take me to unpack a house with a 3 year old, 2 year old, & 4 month old. I just want to say after 3 weeks I don't think I would be completely unpacked and settled. Give yourself a break, most people are still in or just coming out of survival mode at 4 months.

sometimesalwayschaotic · April 2014

Oh I wish we had a room that we could put the unsettled stuff and close the door! Maybe my focus will be cleaning off the table. I can do that as long as I don't have to find places for everything on the table.

jillyjill1026sr · April 2014

You have 3 kids to take care of on top of getting the house together- I don't think 3 weeks is enough time to be completely settled in.

AimeeL85 · April 2014

It took me months to unpack!

bhuffman · April 2014

Well, I unpacked quickly BUT I wouldn't expect others to be as fast as I was. Also, unpacked and settled are two different things, IMO. We have been in our house almost a year and we are still arranging and decorating.
I think you can ease up on yourself. 3 weeks isn't that long to be in a new house and to be settled.

magentawarped · April 2014

We've been here four years. I think I've unpacked most of the boxes...

rachie1019 · April 2014

SO funny that you just posted this. We moved 4 weeks ago. We had my family here for Easter. I warned my sister via text that our house is kind of clean, painted, and decorated... kind of not. I have 3 kids and DH travels a lot for work. So it's hard to get things done during the week. My Mom just today (we ARE super close) asked on the phone when we plan on finishing painting and hanging pictures. I tried to let it go. Then she sounded terribly upset that we don't have our formal dining set ordered yet. I hung up on her

DH and I think it will be a good 3-4 months to really feel settled and decorated around here.

chickaboo1974 · April 2014

When we moved- I had two 9 month olds- I had all the furniture put in the rooms that it was suppose to go- then focused on making sure the boys' room had everything ready for them to be able to sleep. From there I had all other boxes in the garage. I would bring in boxes at a time and focus on making sure they were put away until I could bring more in. The last thing I brought in was any kind of decor. We hosted the boys' 1st birthday, while everything that was necessary was put away- I still did not have any decor out and well we went from a house of 1600 sq ft to one that was 3000- so we had little furniture for the whole place and a lot of blank walls. Now 3 yrs later we are settled, but still need furniture for the dining room.

Give yourself a break- you have A LOT on your plate now. If people have issues with it then they should step up and help out.

sometimesalwayschaotic · April 2014

Earlybird725 said:

Army wife here. I unpack quickly but I've done it a lot. Last move with a 3.5 yr old and a 6 week old we were done with pictures on the wall in 2 weeks. I wouldn't expect anyone else to be done that quick. I just need to be for my sanity. Some things that help me unpack quickly are - I put things in the same place. So pictures on the entertainment center are in the same location, furniture is as close to the same location as possible, dishes are as close to the same cabinets as possible. I never get everything exactly the same, but it's always very close. This helps everyone feel more settled and "at home" as well as helping me unpack quickly. - my husband and I work together (or my parents for the multiple moves while he was deployed). So other people take things out of boxes and set them down for me while I put them where they belong. My "helper" also deals with all the boxes and paper. Usually bringing it all to the garage. - kid areas done first. Once DS had an area to play it was easier to get things done. He also played with boxes. If I had extra people, they would take him for walks as well so he would be out of the house. - I try to finish 1 room before moving on. I also start unpacking while the movers are still unloading. This move I had half the kitchen and half the playroom done by the time the moving truck was pulling away. Then I went back and completed the kitchen before moving to the playroom. Then it was family room, DS's room, master bedroom, guest room, office and DD's room (she wouldn't be using it for months so hers was last. I didn't even have sheets bought when we moved this time). - I do all hanging at once. Once I'm unpacked, DH and I go around and hang everything at once. He hates doing it so we do it all at once. Sorry I got wordy. TL/DR don't worry about being unpacked/ here are tips if you want them.

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely use these when we move again in a year..UGH!

-T- · April 2014

We moved in November and our main floor is unpacked and mostly decorated how it needs to be. Our basement is unfinished, but their are boxes and junk all over down there. We moved from 2400 to 1300 square feet, so we have a lot of extra things that need to be donated because they just plain don't fit.

Want a personalized experience?

Unpacking

Re: Unpacking

Choose Another Board

Search Boards