unloading moving truck

You have now arrived at your new home and are in the home stretch, but you are not done yet. While the process of unloading the moving truck is largely the opposite of loading the truck, a bit of organizing will help make sure your stuff gets off the truck as safely and quickly as it went on.

The tips below will help you organize your thoughts and devise a plan that works best for your situation.

First, who will help you unload the truck?

If there is no one to help with unloading, you may want to hire local movers to unload large and heavy items. If you have children that are old enough or you have extra help, these tips for unloading your rental truck will help to reduce the stress.

Walk through your new home

Walking through your new home will allow you to visualize and decide where furniture and other larger items should be placed. It is a good idea to draft a plan ahead of time showing the layout of the furniture in each room. Tape a copy of each plan in the corresponding room so that whoever is bringing in furniture or cartons can place them in the right spot. Indicate in the plan where you want cartons placed so they are not in the way of large items and to make it easier for you to unpack them later.

Measure doorways and openings.

Before unloading, you want to know make sure the doorways and hallways can accommodate your larger pieces. This will help save time and potentially a lot of frustration.

Unload the truck carefully

Items on the truck may have shifted while in transit, so slowly open the doors of the truck checking to see if anything might be ready to fall. Then start unloading each tier as you move to the front of the truck. Make sure smaller pieces that will come off first are not placed where you want the larger furniture and appliances. This will reduce double handling items.

Secure loose drawers and cabinet doors

Remove all shelves and drawers from your dressers before moving them. This will prevent them from falling out and will make them a lot lighter. Cabinet doors should also be secured closed so they do not swing open into doorways or on your fingers.

Place boxes in the correct rooms.

The next step is to unpack boxes. Having them in the correct room will make sure that process is much faster and easier.

Keep children busy.

If you have small children, try to keep them busy in their rooms. Let them unpack some of their clothes and toys.

Whether you’re unloading the truck yourself or you’ve hired movers to do it for you, you still need to know where the large pieces of furniture will be placed. I always recommend that these decisions are made before you move. But in a lot of cases, you don’t have the opportunity to get a really good layout of your new space in order to make those decisions before you unpack the truck. If you’re in this position, then try to get to the new location before the movers or take a half hour to decide where certain pieces will be placed, such as the couch, the big screen tv, the piano – any items that are difficult to move on your own.

Tip

Check out our article on ”How to Unpack your Household Goods”.