One of the things that make unpacking so challenging is trying to arrange furniture among a sea of boxes. Obviously, this is an even bigger issue in a small space. You literally have to shift the contents of the entire room like a jigsaw puzzle. Then, when you decide you don’t want something where you positioned it, you have to go through the process again. This can consume a large amount of your time and energy. There are things you can do to make arranging furniture a whole lot easier.
General Measurements
Ideally, you will go to your new home and take measurements to make sure your furniture will even fit. If you are moving into an apartment building, you will need to also measure hallways and elevators. If you have large pieces of furniture in your bedroom that will not go upstairs in the new place, you will need to consider the layout of the stairs. A spiral staircase or those shaped like an “L” may make it tricky to get everything up there. You should take measurements early, so you know if there are items you need to list for sale.
Detailed Measurements
Now that you know the furniture will fit, you will want to get a detailed measurement of each room. You might want to know if there is enough wall space between the window and door for your dresser, or you may need to make sure the shape of the living room will accommodate your sectional. If you have it set in your mind that you want your furniture a certain way and then find out on moving day that it just won’t work that way, you will be a little disappointed.
Take Pictures
Don’t be afraid to take pictures of every room. You can do a video walkthrough, too. There is so much to pay attention to that it is easy to forget where the windows, closets, and electrical outlets are in each room. Having something to reference will help. You could plan your room, making sure your large wall water fountain is the main attraction on a specific wall, but when you get there and discover there is not an electrical outlet you will need to rethink everything again.
Design a Floor Plan
You do not have to be an artist to design a floor plan. All you need is paper, a pencil, and an eraser. You can recreate each wall, making sure to add windows, doors, and other permanent fixtures. You can also use large pieces of poster board with one representing each wall. Add the permanent fixtures in marker and then use a pencil to create a floor plan. If you know where everything goes ahead of time then you will know not to pile all the boxes on the wall where the sofa will go.
Communicate With Your Movers
Do not feel bad about asking your furniture movers to place large pieces of furniture in specific places. Ideally, you will take them through the rooms and give them access to your plans. This way they will know ahead of time where they should pile boxes. What you really do not want to do is ask your movers to reposition the same piece of furniture three times. So, putting a little thought into your space ahead of time is the best thing you can do. Then, all you will have to do is unpack your boxes.