Life as a single mom requires sacrifices and hard work, but you never quite imagined how much stress moving homes creates. While moving with kids poses a few challenges, it is possible to get everything packed and loaded up with minimal hassle. Since organization is the key to a successful move, use these tips to take the headache out of moving with your kids and enjoy the process.
Talk About Your New Neighborhood
When you are moving between two cities, you can bet that your kids will feel as though it is a foreign country. Since you need them on your team, spend some time talking about how fun your new community will be for their age group. If possible, visit the new place with your kids before you start packing. Alternatively, you can take an online tour of the area and highlight things such as their new school, malls, and community parks. Getting them excited will make it easier to get them to stay on track with sorting through their belongings.
Hold a Yard Sale
Downsizing is an important part of any major move since everything you pack costs time and energy to transport. As a single parent, you can get your kids motivated to help with the prospect of earning some cash from their outgrown belongings. Simply assign each kid a different colored sticker, and let them choose what to sell. This pares down your moving load significantly, and your kids will learn the value of letting go of things they no longer need.
Get Creative With Box Labels
Every box you pack should be clearly labeled on all sides, and it helps if you use a special color for each room. Check out some of the new types of tape that have kid-friendly colors and designs or pick up brightly colored permanent markers, and let your kids go to town decorating their boxes. Younger children can even add stickers to make it more fun. Not only will your kids feel as though their boxes are personalized, but it will let your movers see at a glance exactly where each box should go when it comes off the truck.
Know How to Load Your Moving Van
One of the biggest stressors on a moving day is worrying about getting everything to fit in your van. Then, you will also be worried about getting everything loaded and off the truck in one piece. For this reason, you will want to find out how to pack a moving van and ask for professional help if you have never done it before. For example, putting heavy items at the back and on the bottom of the van helps minimize breakage. You will also need to remove drawers from dressers and disassemble furniture so that it can fit easily and will not move around.
Prepare a Special First Night Box
While moving day will go smoothly provided you plan to have the right amount of help, you should still expect things to be a little wild that first night in your new home. To prevent bedtime routine meltdowns, have your kids pack a special box that they can carry with them in the car. In addition to the obvious change of clothes and toothbrush, have them include some comfort items such as their favorite music player or blanket. Then toss in some cards or other simple games for entertainment so that you can celebrate your first night in the new home as a family.
When it’s just you and the kids, it is important to work together to make your moving day as seamless as possible. By focusing on turning the dreadful tasks into fun and exciting adventures, you can keep your kids engaged with the move while easing the bulk of the strain.