You’ve managed to achieve the dream of selling your house quickly, and now it’s time to start thinking about the practicalities of the move. They say moving house is one of the most stressful things you can do. Add kids into the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for chaos! That needn’t be the case though. Follow these five top tips and you’ll be well on your way to a smooth family move.
Start early and plan, plan, plan:
There are some areas of the home that you’ll need to wait until the last minute to pack up, but there are also items that you can begin packing well in advance of your moving date. Take a ‘little and often’ approach and you’ll be surprised how much you can achieve.
Having a plan is always important when managing a house move, but never is that more true than when there are children involved. Think through where the children will be throughout the move. The most convenient option may be to ask a friend or family member to look after the children, but that’s not always an option. If it is not an option for you, make sure you have easy access to some of your children’s favourite toys and allocate a ‘safe space’ within your new property where your children will be able to play, away from the chaos of furniture and heavy boxes being moved.
Pack well:
Well-packed and labelled boxes will make the whole moving process quicker, smoother and significantly less stressful. It will allow you to be strategic in how you pack, and how you unpack, giving you the opportunity to take things one room at a time.
Last time I moved I labelled each box with a number and wrote a list of numbers and a brief of what was in each one i.e kids toys, photo albums, kitchen gadgets. It meant on those first few days I could pick the box numbers in each room I needed to prioritise to get things at least functioning on the basics without having to dig around in each box.
It’s also a great idea to let each child pack a special bag, including some of their favourite toys, some snacks and any other ‘comforters’ that you feel might help to reassure them throughout the uncertainty of moving to a new home.
Start with the kids bedrooms:
When it comes to unpacking, starting with the children’s bedrooms will help to smooth their transition to the new home, offering them a safe place to go where they can escape from the chaos.
Engage The Kids:
Getting the children engaged with feeling ‘ownership’ of their new bedroom by involving them with design and decorating decisions will also help them to settle more quickly, and have you all feeling at home before you know it.
Timings:
Be realistic, if you have only a few hours to make the move then do what you can on the run up to moving day and then ensure you either pay for help or get the kids booked in with someone else to enjoy the day while the hard work actually takes place. Moving with the kids can be super traumatic as the boredom kicks in for them and the stress levels rise for you.
*Collaborative post*
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