With moving comes lots of new memories – new home, possibly a new city or state, new friends, new school, new work opportunities. But moving is also extremely stressful. Whether moving locally or long distance, nobody enjoys the process. Add kids to the mix and the stress level goes up even more. But I’m here to tell you, it is possible to have a stress-free move. Trust me, since graduating high school, I’ve moved 10 times. Along the way, I’ve learned a thing or two about making the process as seamless as possible. Follow these tips and your next move will be your best one yet!
~This is a sponsored post on behalf of Infinite Moving. As always, opinions are 100% my own and in no way influenced by the company. This post also contains affiliate links in which I will receive a small commission for your purchase, at no additional cost to you.~
Right after high school, when the only person I had to move was myself, moving wasn’t a big deal. I could easily handle my own belongings. And because I was moving into a college-affiliated furnished apartment with a roommate, it was literally just my belongings.
Four moves later when my boyfriend entered the picture, moving still wasn’t such a terrible task, but it wasn’t fun either. We lived in an apartment, so it wasn’t like we had to move a whole house. Stairs were always a bit of a challenge and tiring to say the least, but we got it done. However, after three moves together, we decided not to continue moving more than we absolutely had to. Because let’s be honest, it’s not how anyone wants to spend their weekend.
As our family started to grow (we now have three kids), moving became a nightmare. That is, until we changed our approach. When you have a whole family to move, the mere thought of everything that has to be done, is outright daunting. There is just. So. Much. More. Stuff. It’s a lot to handle, but there are ways to make the family moving process stress-free.
Here is how we started handling our moves and dramatically reduced our stress levels throughout it all.
Start Packing a Month in Advance
If possible, start packing your household at least a month in advance. I know this isn’t always feasible, especially when it’s a last minute thing, but starting as early as possible will prevent that last minute panic.
For a family of five, just imagine how much stuff has to be packed up. Sitting here looking around, if we were in the process of moving, we’d have 4 beds, a few dressers, TV stands, TVs, desks, a couch, dining table and chairs, storage cabinets, our kitchen appliances, dishes, clothes for everyone, the kids’ toys, several electronic devices, all the house decor, bicycles, holiday decor, and so on. It’s no little task, so don’t treat it as such. I’ve previously been in that moment of last minute panic and rage-packing, and I never want to be there again.
Not to mention, no one wants to spend day in and day out packing. We have lives, right? Doing a little here and there over the course of a month lessens the stress of getting it done.
Purge Unwanted Items
Getting rid of unwanted items may be a no-brainer, but sometimes when we just want to be done with packing and moving, we start throwing anything and everything in boxes just to get it over with. If you start packing early enough, you’ll have plenty of time to purge any unwanted items.
Keep in mind…the less you pack, the less you have to unpack later. Donate the unwanted items, give them to friends and family, trash them, have a yard sale, do whatever you have to. Every time we’ve moved, we’ve gotten rid of so much unwanted stuff (several boxes and bags worth) through donation or having a quick yard sale.
Use Proper Packing Supplies
Using proper packing supplies will save you a headache once the move is over. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s hard to have nice things when you have kids, but you still want to take care of what you have.
I would say in our two most recent moves, we used a few packing items that we’d never used before and it made a world of difference when unpacking everything. Both of the moves were long distance, but we had not a single broken dish or chipped furniture (which I also attribute to the next tip).
These are some of our favorite moving supplies:
- Plastic Storage Containers (Don’t go out and buy these unless you plan to reuse them later. If you already have some, consider it free and sturdy packing supplies.)
- Moving Boxes (For anything and everything.)
- Packing Foam (For fragile items.)
- Glassware Boxes (For drinking glasses and coffee mugs.)
- Packing Wrap (For protection and to make moving more compact. Our kids have an eight cube storage shelf. We placed some of their lighter toys into the cubes and wrapped the whole shelf with packing wrap. It was all moved in one swift trip on the dolly.)
- Trash Bags (Don’t laugh. You know you throw your clothes in trash bags when moving. Also great for kids plush toys.)
- Towels and Blankets (Use what you have at home. You’re going to be packing and moving them anyways, so why not put them to use. Protect fragile items or place between furniture to prevent chipping.)
- Lifting Straps (If you’re going to be moving heavy objects yourself, these make it much easier.)
You don’t necessarily have to go out and buy these supplies. Get resourceful. Reuse boxes from stores or packages you’ve had delivered to your home. Even consider saving and reusing the packing contents. As I mentioned above, there’s no need to go out and buy plastic storage containers, unless you plan to use them for storage in the future. But if you already have them, use them. As for towels and blankets, use what you already have at home.
For our moves we specifically bought packing foam, glassware boxes, and packing wrap. Total game changers when it came to protecting our belongings!
Hire a Moving Company
As for the best game changer in the history of moving? I’m going to say this loud for the folks in the back because if you do nothing else to help make your family move stress-free, you must…HIRE A MOVING COMPANY!
Heaving lifting? Why do it when movers can do it for you?
Playing Tetris in the moving truck? Let the movers do it.
All the trips up and down the stairs? Not today!
Did I mention moving companies do all of this on both sides of the move? They’ll load the truck at your old place and unload the truck at your new place. You don’t have to lift a finger (except to tip them because they deserve it)!
Infinite Moving, a Florida-based moving company, even goes so far as offering a full service move. They’ll go into your home and pack everything up for you, load it on the truck, move it to your new home, and then unpack it. Yes, you read that right. They will pack and unpack everything for you (if you want)! Honestly, could there be a more stress-free move? You don’t have to do anything, but enjoy your last few days in your current home.
The pool table has always been my arch nemesis when it came to moving. It’s big, bulky, heavy…if you know, you know. I like to play, but I’ve always hated moving the pool table. Infinite Moving is the Polk County pool table moving expert. From breaking down the table, to moving it and assembling it back together to tournament standard, you won’t find better service than that.
Hands down, hiring a moving company has been the best decision we ever made during a move and we’ll never move again without their help.
Focus on Family
Moving is stressful for everyone involved, including the kids. For those kids who have made friendships in the neighborhood and at school, moving can seem devastating, especially if moving out of town. This means they won’t be able to see their friends as much anymore. Thank goodness for video games where kids can play and chat together, so friends aren’t completely cut off. But making new friends and getting acquainted with new surroundings is sometimes tough for kids (of all ages).
That’s why it’s important to focus on family throughout the whole moving process. Talk to your kids about where the family will be moving. Go online and, together, explore some fun activities in the area. Make plans to go and do some of those things once the move is complete.
Have your kids help with packing. Make them feel like they have a say in the move, as far as what clothes or toys they want to keep, and what they’re willing to get rid of.
Make the last night in the current home about them. Let your kids decide what’s for dinner or maybe even take them out to enjoy their favorite activity. You should already have all the packing done, with the exception of last minute essentials, and the movers will take care of the rest tomorrow on moving day, so focus on family. It will definitely make moving less stressful for the kids.
Hopefully just reading these helpful tips makes you feel more at ease about your current or future move. I promise, if you implement these tips, your move will feel much more seamless than any prior move you’ve been through. No last minute panic packing, no heavy lifting, no broken dishes, and more time enjoying the moving process with your family. Sounds like the perfect move to me!
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