ACCORDING to a study by housebuilder Redrow, one in 20 Brits take more than a year to unpack after a house move – but most get the Wi-Fi up and running in 24 hours.

The research, which polled almost 2,000 homeowners, looked into how we approach the challenge of setting up home and asked questions about priorities and that all important first box.

For more than half of us (58 per cent), getting the kettle on is the number one priority after we’ve stepped over our new home’s threshold. Then comes getting the bed made.

Often considered the ‘heart of the home’, the kitchen is the first room we focus our efforts on. This is followed by the main bedroom, with the dining room and spare bedroom usually being left until last.

Interestingly, far from focussing our efforts on getting our new home into a functional state with furniture built and utilities plumbed in, the study revealed we often favour setting up the TV, getting online and ‘dressing’ rooms with candles and cushions.

Almost two-thirds of homeowners surveyed said they connected their TV in the first 24 hours and 57 per cent set up their Wi-Fi router during this timeframe, too.

In contrast, one in seven said they managed without a washing machine for two weeks or more, and over half waited a week or more to get the dishwasher installed.

The findings also highlighted that assembling key pieces of furniture sits surprisingly low down in our priorities, with eight per cent of homeowners admitting that because they couldn’t be bothered to build their bed frame, they had slept on the floor for a month or more.

It also found that many of us favour redirecting our mail over meeting our neighbours, with 35 per cent of us ticking this box within 24 hours versus just 15 per cent.