How Your Family Can Best Prepare for Moving Ahead of Time

Moving is rarely simple, but it is especially complicated when you have a larger family. From helping younger children cope with the change to ensuring nothing gets left behind, this can become a massive undertaking. The following guide can help your family have a less stressful and more successful move.

Help Your Young Children Cope

For younger children, the idea of leaving their home, friends, and school can be a very frightening concept. If you don't take these feelings into consideration, their fear can add stress to a big move. Fortunately, it's not very difficult to allay their fears when you take the time to involve them in each step of the moving process. For example, your move should involve getting rid of items that you don't use anymore, and your kids can help by getting rid of unwanted toys.

You can also involve them by taking them to visit the new home and letting them pick out their bedrooms. If it's a long distance move, maybe you can show them pictures of the house. The key is to encourage them to feel excited and involved in the move.

Get Everyone Involved in Packing

The packing process is going to be very complicated for a larger family because there will be more to pack. You should work together to pack the home room by room. As you go through your belongings, make three piles to separate what you're taking with you. In addition to that "take" pile, you should have a second pile for things you can sell and a third pile for things you'll have to throw away.

It's a good rule of thumb to discard anything that can be easily replaced for under $10 in order to save space. Anything that hasn't been used in six months or more should also be discarded, including clothes that haven't been worn in recent months.

Rely on Experienced Movers

It is a common mistake to believe that hiring movers is more costly than trying to do it all yourself. In fact, there are many services that a moving company will provide to make the move easier and more cost-efficient. There are also moving companies that provide a wider variety of moving services if your family would like a seamless move. As long as you take the time to research moving companies and review estimates, you can find quality movers that will help you relocate for a fair price. This is especially true for a long distance move because you may share a trailer with other families that are moving to locations along the same route. This cuts down what you'll have to pay for fuel, man hours, and other expenses. Before you decide to do it all yourself, get estimates from movers in your area to see what they can offer.

Don’t forget to ask your kids how they are feeling about the move! It is important that you talk about the move in a positive way so that your children do not feel scared or anxious during this time. Try asking them what room they would like or ask them for their opinion. A South Florida moving company states that “Giving your kids a say makes it less likely for them to feel like they’re being forced to move and more likely to get excited.” Ensuring your children are feeling happy about the move will also relieve a lot of stress for you.

Prepare for the Trip

As you pack, keep in mind that you may need access to certain personal items along the way. Particularly if you're moving a long distance, such as in a state to state move, you may not be able to get into your new home right away. Each person in your family should pack a bag that contains at least one change of clothes, personal hygiene items, and any medications they may be taking. Additionally, you should buy a manila envelope to contain your important papers, such as a lease agreement, the moving truck rental agreement, pet vaccinations, children's medical records, and other important documents. Keep that envelope with you at all times to ensure you have those documents on hand.

Eliminate Distractions on Moving Day

When moving day arrives, there will be a great deal of commotion, so you should take steps to eliminate unnecessary distractions. You should consider boarding your pets for the day and hiring a sitter to care for younger children. As the movers are loading the truck, you can take the time to call ahead to ensure utilities are turned on, or switched over to your new home. The loading of the truck should be left to experienced movers who are trained in safely lifting heavier objects. In the meantime, you can help be ensuring every box is properly labeled. This will help avoid confusion when the truck is unloaded at your destination.

Above all, you should begin preparing your move six months in advance, or longer for especially large households. This gives you the time to prepare everything without feeling rushed, so you can avoid common mistakes. Giving yourself proper time and following a plan will help you avoid the frustration and worry that can otherwise complicate a big family relocation.