Moving Hacks | Tips for Moving with Kids ~ Oh Wells

Moving always is so bittersweet for me; I’m torn in two with being overly excited and stressed with the amount of things I have to do be at the new place/old place. Thank God our move is done and over with! This move was a little harder since a todller and a puppy attached to either side of my hip. Every time I would clean something or pack it up they both would be right behind me looking for any reason to open the box back up or make a mess. Luckily, I had a few tricks up my sleeve to make moving a lot smoother with my two running amuck.

Sell/Donate - Waymon and my goal was to get rid of the crap we don’t use or need before we moved to the new house. Obviously, people should do this more often but I’m a hoarder (there I admitted it) and I like to store everything and anything just in case may need it in the future. Be realistic and sell what you can or donate it. I sold a lot of things on FB and Craigslist. If I couldn’t sell it I donated it to Goodwill or packed it away from family that needed it.
Number/ Pack according to room – We packed one room at a time. We tackled one room full force and moved onto the next. Of course, it’s a little harder with little ones because you don’t get to actually pack their things but packing most of it helped us. We also numbered the boxes according to their room (i.e. #100-#110 LIVING ROOM, #500-515 HAIDYN’S ROOM) and a brief description of what was really inside each box.
Stack boxes up in one room – After packing all of the boxes we chose one living room wall to stack all of the boxes against. It starts closing in on you a bit, but itll be easier for moving day to do this.
Clean as you go- I couldn’t deep clean like I wanted to while I was packing, but it made it a hell of a lot easier to pack and clean a little so that when we had to do our final cleaning it was a huge disaster. After the move, we only had to sweep the floors, vacuum and steam the carpets. No other deep cleaning needed!!
Make boxes their art project – It’s tough to pack, sort and clean with any age child around. To make it a little more interesting for them instead of plopping them in front of a TV/ipad create an art space for them. This way, they feel like they’re helping you, you can keep an eye on them and they’re actually staying busy.
Use bubble wrap as a distraction - I had a lot of bubble wrap leftover and anytime I had a little extra from the boxes I would give it to Haidyn and Rory to play with . You would’ve thought I bought them each a new toy!
Pack an essentials box – Everything you know you will need within the 24 hrs you are in your new home pack in this box such as toiletries, bed sheets, important documents, dishes , utensils and etc. This box will be your “go to” when you need anything. You can pack this in a plastic tub so that you can easily spot it or in a bright neon green box like we did. This box makes everything so much easier!
Live in your suitcase – When you’re about to pack your clothes make sure to set aside clothes you’ll need for a couple weeks so that you can be completely packed. We knew a month a head of time when our move was going to be so we packed our clothes for a month . It wasn’t hard at all to live out of a suitcase, but you do miss the choices of having your full closet at your disposal.
Don’t box up your clothes - While boxing up all of your hanging clothes seems like a good idea it’s not. Instead, use garbage bags to pack all of your clothes. The opening of the bag should be at the top with all of the hangers. This way when you place everything into your closet all you have to do is hang them up again!