Tips to Help Make Moving Simplier

Moving Tips:

Moving can be so stressful that many of us wish that moving was as simple as packing the kids in the car and hitting the road to their new home. However, as we all know, moving is a complicated process, and adding kids to the mix can mean more boxes, more stress and more to-dos.  If you take some steps to organize pre-move it will help to make the move that much less stressful.  A few years back I came across The Flylady who has some great tips on keeping the house up as well as tips on how to have a stress-free (well almost stress-free) move.  You can find her books and tips at: https://www.flylady.net/

Realtor.com has some new resources dedicated to making the moving process as seamless as possible: https://www.realtor.com/tips/.  Also, below, they have provided some handy tips to make that family move less “did we remember to bring the dog” and more “oh, we’ve been packed for a week already.”

Family Moving Tips

1.      Organize: Be sure to provide your child’s school with enough notice of an address change for any final documents they may need to send. Also, once you’re in the new house, you may need to access important documents like your child’ school records for new enrollment. Be sure to keep those documents set aside for quick access and maybe make some copies in case you forget which box you packed them in.

2.      Take Stock: You can finally clean out that playroom or your teenagers musty bedroom! This is your opportunity to really “clean house” (pun intended) and decide what you “pack”, “recycle” or “give to friend.” You could also consider having a garage sale and adding the money to your moving fund or donating what profits you make to a local charity.

3.      Pack your life up: Everyone’s favorite part – the actual packing. If you were able to get rid of a good amount of items through your cleaning efforts, this part might not be too bad. For little ones, you can have them get involved and pack their toys, stuffed animals, all their “non-breakables” in a designated box. This will keep them preoccupied and they can feel a part of the move.  Also, if you are moving long distance, remember travel arrangements for your pets. There are pet-exclusive airlines available such as Pet Airways, and regular airlines have travel options for pets as well.

4.      Make arrangements: If you have little ones, you might want to arrange child care for the actual moving day so you are 100% focused on the move and little ones are safe away from all the activity.  Also, you can do a final cleaning of your house/apt for the new tenants or arrange for a cleaning service.

5.      It’s Moving Day!: Unpack one room at a time, starting with the bedrooms. The whole family will be tired from the commotion of moving, so making sure each family member has their bedrooms setup so when it comes to bedtime, everyone can just crash and recover from the day.