Make Your Move Easier On The Whole Family With These Tips And Tricks
Although the experience is typically thought of as exciting, moving can be one of the most stressful experiences for people to go through because of all the change that takes place throughout the process. Between making the actual moving arrangements and figuring out how to affordably pay for the move, you can expect to have your hands full. And when it comes to moving with kids, the experience tends to be a lot more complicated – here are a few things you can do to make moving with your children less stressful for everyone involved:
Make Packing Fun
Packing never seems to be an enjoyable task, especially for kids, but it's a necessity nonetheless. Getting the kids involved in packing will help them feel like an integral part of the moving experience, and the quality time you spend together preparing for your new family journey is sure to help reduce stress levels overall for everyone. So get the family together to pack the living room or kitchen and make it fun! Here are some ideas to consider that will help increase your family's fun factor:
- Ask the kids to decorate your packing boxes while the adults pack everything up.
- Play 20 questions while the boxes are being packed.
- Assign specific things for each person to pack (books, movies, etc.) and race to see who finishes packing first.
Turn the radio on and make a plate of cookies to turn the packing event into a small celebration of change and new beginnings.
Hire Professional Movers
Hiring professionals to do the back breaking work for you should save you plenty of time to focus on budgeting, school enrollments, and other important issues (like making appointments to have power, cable, and phone service turned on at the new house) without taking too much time away from your family life.
To save money on the services, forego any offers for packing materials and head to your local grocery stores for free boxes instead. You can also save money by packing all the boxes yourself and protecting your breakables with bubble wrap so everything is ready to be put on the truck when the moving company gets there.
Make Some Decisions as a Family
To make sure that everyone feels like they have some control over this new chapter in their life, it's a good idea to hold weekly family meetings to talk about decisions that have to be made about your move. For example, you can all come together to determine the exact moving day, what type of meal planning should be adopted during the hectic moving period, and what items each person wants left out during the packing phase that can be used until the actual day of your move and packed on the way out the door. These meetings should decrease miscommunications, cut down on frustrations, and help to keep stress from building up to unmanageable levels.
Get to Know Your New Neighborhood
A great way to get the family acclimated to your new home quickly is to spend some time getting to know the neighborhood before actually moving there. Visit the schools during lunch time so your kids can make new friends before their first official day, head to the park so you can get to know other parents within your new community, and check out local restaurants and attractions to get an idea of what's up for offer. Consider taking a walk around the block of your new home to check out where dogs live and to get a glimpse of how the neighborhood interacts with one another.
These tips and tricks are easy to implement and everyone in your family will surely appreciate the consideration that they each experience throughout your big moving event.