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Haphazard Homemaking: Tips for Surviving the First Week

Moving In

The first week after a move is always the hardest, especially if you arrive several days before the movers. To make a sparsely furnished house livable, consider:

Indispensable Items

If you can’t get all your belongings at once, you can at least fill your car with anything small enough to fit, but prioritize these items carefully. When moving to a new house, many guests forget to bring:

  • A mattress
  • Pillows
  • Multiple sets of sheets
  • A pan
  • A large pot
  • Measuring cups
  • All-purpose knives
  • Towels
  • Cutlery
  • Toilet paper
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste
  • Shampoo and soap
  • Dish rags
  • Sponges
  • A desk lamp
  • Bottle and can openers
  • A shower curtain and bath mat
  • Dish soap and rags
  • A flash light
  • Duct tape
  • Collapsible chairs
  • Garbage bags
  • Plastic or metal cups or bottles
  • Scissors
  • First aid kit
  • Buckets
  • An all-purpose cleaning agent
  • A laundry bag
  • A broom
  • A mop
  • Rubber gloves

Making Due with a Mattress

If you don’t have a collapsible bed frame, you’ll have to sleep on a mattress, but mattresses feel rigid if they aren’t suspended. By constructing a lower bed level out of pillows, however, you can minimize this problem. First, arrange the pillows on the floor in roughly the same size and shape as that of your mattress. Make sure to fill in any gaps between the pillows; even a small gap can make your bedding uneven and uncomfortable. Once you’re satisfied with the shape, cover with an elastic sheet to hold the pillows together and place the mattress on top. This will mimic the function of a springboard and bed frame.

Cooking Considerations

If you don’t plan to eat out, you’ll have to figure out how to cook with as few furnishings, utensils, and cookware as possible. To get the best dining experience under these limitations, try:

  • Eating Out of the Pan– Once you’re done cooking, let the pan cool down and then eat directly out of it to minimize the number of dishes needed to feed yourself.
  • Make a Stew– A large stew or soup allows you to make a balanced meal, complete with vegetables, carbs, and protein with only one dish.
  • Stick to Jars– When you go to the grocery store, buy food that comes in jars. Every time you finish a jar, you can wash it out and use it as a glass.

However good you are at living without furnishings, odds are you’d rather have your belongings arrive quickly. Call 888-251-0892 for a Kansas City moving company that won’t keep you waiting.