Where to start unpacking after a move: the first 48 hours

The movers have gone. Every room has a stack of boxes, the tiles are covered in packing paper, and nobody can find the kettle. This is the moment most people open the nearest box and start there. Don't. Where you start unpacking decides how the next two weeks feel. Start with the things that let you sleep, shower and eat, and the rest of the apartment gets easier.

This is the order we use in the first 48 hours, whether you've just moved across Tel Aviv or just landed from abroad. If you shipped a full lift, our 5-day lift unpacking plan picks up where this one ends.

Before the first box is opened (30 minutes)

If you can, do this while the apartment is still empty, or before the movers bring everything up:

• Photograph the meter readings (electricity, water, and gas if you have it) and anything already damaged. In a rental, these photos are worth having.
• Give the floors a quick sponja. Israeli tiled floors are easiest to wash while they're clear, and you'll be walking on them all weekend.
• Name every room, including the mamad, the mirpeset and the machsan. Tape a sign on each door that matches your box labels.
• Keep the mamad door and window clear. It's tempting to fill the safe room with boxes because it's the room with a door that closes. Stack them along one wall at most, so the door and window can still close fully. (More in our mamad guide.)
• Pick a landing zone in the salon for boxes with no obvious home.

Ask the movers to put each box in its labeled room, not just "inside." If your building has a va'ad bayit (building committee), check if it has rules about moving hours or protecting the elevator.

Hours 1–4: the essentials

1. Check the hot water. Find the dud shemesh (solar water heater) switch, often in or near the bathroom or the kitchen, and learn how it works, including any timer. Turn it on now if you'll want hot showers tonight. Otherwise you may discover the dud at bedtime, with cold water.
2. Beds first. Assemble the beds and make them up. Use sheets from your suitcase or a "first night" box if you packed one. A made bed is the single thing that most changes the mood of a moving day.
3. Trisim down, curtains up (or not). Roll the trisim (shutters) up and down in each bedroom so you know they work and you can make the room dark tonight. Curtains can wait.
4. Bathrooms. Toilet paper, soap, towels, toothbrushes, a bath mat on those slippery tiles, and a small trash bin in each one.
5. The "today" spot. Pick one shelf or drawer for keys, documents, medications, chargers and plug adapters. Tell everyone where it is.

Hours 4–8: a kitchen you can use

Don't unpack the whole kitchen yet. Set up a first-week kitchen in the cabinets closest to the sink and stove:

• kettle, coffee or tea, a mug for everyone
• one pot, one pan, one sharp knife, a cutting board
• plates, bowls, cutlery and glasses for the household
• dish soap, a sponge, a towel, trash bags

If the apartment has a gas stove, check that the supply is connected before you plan to cook. If you keep kosher, set up your basic meat and dairy separation now, so you don't have to redo the kitchen later.

Then stop. Order food, or eat something simple. The first evening is for resting, not for finishing.

Evening one: kids and sleep

If you have children, unpack each child's bedding, pajamas, a few clothes and the toys or books they love most before anything else in their room. Familiar things help kids sleep in a new place. Set out tomorrow's clothes for everyone, and charge every phone.

Day two, morning: the kitchen, properly

With a night's sleep behind you, unpack the rest of the kitchen by zone: prep near the counter, pots and oils near the stove, everyday dishes near the sink, and dry goods together in one pantry spot. Israeli rental kitchens often have fewer and smaller cabinets than people expect. If something doesn't fit, that's useful information: it goes on a high shelf, into the machsan, or into a donation bag.

Line the drawers and shelves as you go. It's much easier while they're empty.

Day two, afternoon: clothes and bathrooms

Unpack clothes for this season only. Israel has two real wardrobe seasons, and closets in Israeli apartments tend to be compact, so the off-season clothes can stay in labeled boxes on the top shelf, under the bed or in the machsan. Hang what wrinkles, fold what doesn't, and use the same hangers throughout so the closet looks calm.

Finish the bathrooms: everyday toiletries at eye level, backups together in one box or basket.

Day two, evening: the salon and the landing zone

Clear the sofa, find the remote, and put one lamp on. Then open the boxes in the landing zone. Each item gets one of four outcomes: place it, store it, donate it, or decide later. Keep "decide later" to one dated box, not half the apartment.

Flatten the empty boxes as you go and stack them on the mirpeset or by the door. The apartment will feel twice as big.

What can wait

You don't need to do these in the first 48 hours: hanging art (and drilling into concrete or stone walls is a job for a handyman, and something to check with your landlord first), sorting books, the machsan, decorating, and the boxes of things you weren't sure about when you packed. They'll still be there next week.

Moving close to Shabbat or a chag

If your move falls on a Thursday or a Friday, plan around Shabbat. Many shops close early on Friday and stay closed until Saturday evening, and public transport is limited. The same goes for chagim. Buy the basics (water, coffee, milk, bread, toilet paper, trash bags) before move day, and keep them in one box that goes in last and comes out first.

FAQ

Where should I start unpacking after a move? With the things that let you function: hot water, beds, bathrooms and a small first-week kitchen. Everything else comes after a night's sleep.
Should I unpack the kitchen or the bedrooms first? Bedrooms and bathrooms first, then a small working kitchen on day one. The full kitchen is a day-two job.
How long should unpacking take? It depends on how much you own and how much help you have. With a plan, most households have a functional home within the first few days. Finishing touches take longer, and that's normal.
Can someone help me unpack after a move? Yes. An organizer unpacks with you and puts things where they'll work long-term, not just where they fit today. That's what our unpacking service does.

Want help unpacking after a move?

The Landing is move-in and lift unpacking by an organizer, not just a mover. We follow this order with you: kitchen working, beds made, closets sorted, the mamad and machsan set up, and light styling so it feels like home. It's priced by apartment size: ₪1,490 for a studio to 2 rooms, ₪1,990 for 3 rooms, ₪2,690 for 4 rooms (all prices include VAT). Still abroad? Start with a Video Walkthrough (₪300, credited in full to a Landing booked within 90 days).

We work in Tel Aviv (including Ramat Aviv), Ramat Gan and Givatayim with no travel fee, and in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas for a flat ₪80 travel fee. Send us a photo of your boxes on WhatsApp at 058-737-9097, or book online.

Our unpacking service: The Landing · Unpacking your lift: the 5-day plan · How to organize your mamad · What to bring on aliyah