Settling into a new apartment or house can be a wonderful and exciting experience, but the moving process often comes with a hefty helping of stress. After the already-taxing process of getting all your belongings packed up and transported to the new place, you probably aren’t looking forward to having to take everything out again and putting it away. However, these 5 ideas can help turn unpacking after a move into a fun experience for the whole family!
1. Organize goals and rewards
Planning is one of the most important parts of moving. If you throw your items haphazardly into poorly-labeled boxes and don’t pack them strategically in the moving truck, you’re setting yourself up for a day of drudgery when the time comes to unpack.
Draft a plan for what you’ll want to unpack first–and while you’re doing that, write some goals that you know your family members will be able to meet with relative ease. Sweeten the deal by attaching a reward to each goal as extra motivation to cross each item off the checklist.
2. Hold races
If you have a few boxes that are filled with relatively durable items that won’t get damaged during the rush, hold unpacking races with your family. Use a kitchen timer or smartphone to set time limits, and see how many items each family member can unpack within the allotted time. As always, incentives such as snack bars or the promise of dinner out at the winner’s favorite restaurant are sure to boost enthusiasm.
3. Make it a pizza party
Order some pizza to lift everyone’s spirits and make unpacking more fun. This can provide a good opportunity to motivate everyone to work quickly, too: whoever gets done with their current box first can take the first pick from the pizza box.
Not only will some good pizza keep everyone’s energy levels and morale up, but it’ll also make the process easier by getting dinner out of the way. When you no longer have to worry about preparing food alongside everything else, the unpacking itself seems far less daunting.
4. Play some music
Plan ahead and create a playlist with a few of everyone’s favorites, and start playing as soon as the unpacking begins. You can help set the pace for the day by strategically selecting tracks with varying energy levels. Be sure to include a few laid-back songs to help everyone relax when it’s time for a snack or water break.
You can even add an element of friendly competition by letting particularly ambitious workers pick the next song!
5. Clean as you go
A common mistake that many people make is not cleaning up the boxes they’re unpacking along the way. All those empty boxes can quickly pile up, which can lower morale and make it look like there’s more work to be done than there actually is.
Every so often, announce that it’s time to halt whatever other unpacking activities are underway and flatten down all the boxes that have fulfilled their purpose. This will give everyone a moment to appreciate how far they’ve come and increase the sense of accomplishment when the finished boxes are sent away to recycling.
To Recap:
Moving to a new place can be stressful, but unpacking doesn’t have to be. By planning ahead, ordering some party food, and playing everyone’s favorite songs while unpacking and cleaning up, you can turn an otherwise tedious task into a fun event for the whole family to enjoy.