Packing for Moving With Children Tips

I am a mom of 8 and moved nine times with children and my last move was with 7 children and I was so pregnant with the 8th that I had the baby 4 days later! Take it from my experience, you need to keep these things in mind for packing and moving with children.

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Keep your children's bedtime and morning routines the same, if possible, even if you feel like you do not have time. 

Try to keep your patience. Life gets busy and some days you will have a sick child, special events, club or church events, outings, etc. that will take up time. Just try not to add additional items, if it can be prevented, until after the move.

Always talk positively about the move and smile, sing or whistle as much as possible, even if you don't feel like it, never mention any negatives. If they bring up a negative, you respond with a positive. Example: “I understand that you will miss your best friend, but you can still keep in touch with him. Besides, you might make a new friend there and then you will have both!” If you seem less stressed, so will they.

Buy a different color or pattern of duct tape for each child's boxes. Example: Marissa gets zebra print, Matt gets bitmap green, Mercedes gets cheetah print, Maris gets camo, etc. Go through the house and label all of their boxes with a piece of this tape so they can identify and find them quickly in the new location. You could even ask all moving help to move these items to that child's room or side of the room.

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The child's “Keep With You” Box – Kids feel out of control if they can't at least have one small box of their favorites to keep with them while other boxes are being packed, and on the ride over to the new home, even if it is only a block away, and in their new room right away. We always made sure it was something that could fit on their lap, if it would not fit in the trunk. We preferred to have a clear plastic tote with latching handles so they could see the contents, but sometimes you can't find them and you have to use whatever you have.

Take a predetermined amount of time to go with them through the house evaluating their things before packing any of their items. Say things like… “Here is the bookshelf, do you have a few favorite books you want to put in here to use until we get everything moved and unpacked?” “Look through this box of matchbox cars / barbie dolls (whatever it is) and decide what you want to put in your ‘keep with you' box.”

Assure them that this box will stay with them in their bedroom and will be in the vehicle with them and will be what they can play with or use for a while until everything is moved to the new location and unpacked, which can take some time.

Wash and Pack all Kids' Clothing not needed until you are in your new place and have some time to unpack. For example, if it is winter and you know you will be unpacked by spring, then pack all of the fall, spring, and summer clothing (except for swimsuits, beach towels and accessories – you might pay to exercise at a hotel swimming pool or the kids may get invited to a party – yes, we learned this the hard way and had to buy them as ours were far back in the storage unit!) Label with their color of duct tape.

Pack all the Kids' Room Decor. They will have to get used to blank walls for a while, but it will feel good to see blank walls if they are seeing clutter of boxes.

Pack General “Kids Keep With You” Boxes. Keep one small box of each of the following items to use until moving day and in the new home until other items are unpacked. These should go in the car with you as well.

• Books, the Bible, a few chapter books you read to them, picture books, books they can read on their own, etc.
• Games – small games and card games (and the family trophy if you have a family game night)
• Art Supplies and Activities – coloring books, colors, not too messy crafts like pipe cleaners, play dough, stuff to do on a rainy day
• Movies and Electronic Games – pack a few DVDs to watch and handheld electronic games they enjoy.
• Snacks for moving day and the new place. One move, this ended up being our supper as it was a snowstorm and too dangerous to go out, or for delivery.

The Kid's Travel Bag – In addition to the “Keep With You” box, we had them pack a small backpack of travel items. This would be used for everyday travel to and from activities so it might hold their money, activities to do in the car, a few snacks, their water bottle, some toys, diapers and wipes and extra clothing if a baby or toddler, etc. Always leave enough room for their favorite stuffed animal or blanket on moving day. The child may have to have this bag at their feet in the car with the box on their lap for the move. Keep that in mind for sizing.

Pack all the rest of the kids' things except everything they need until the move. Extra blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, toys, books, puzzles, games, crafts, photo albums, all the treasured items. Remove batteries if items will be in a storage unit. It is best to do this before packing the rest of the house as it will keep the children's mess very small, which gives you much more time for packing!

I hope these tips will be very helpful to you and that your move goes very smoothly for you.

Infographic

provided by Move Central, a moving and
storage company

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