Throughout the years, I have moved a handful of times. Okay, somewhere around 13 times in actuality. But, a friend of mine, Ariane, has moved nearly twice that. As some of you can likely relate, my hat’s off to you. With her knowledge and experience, she was kind enough to share a bit of advice she has learned along the way to make your move as smooth as possible (hopefully).
Get on with it, shall we?
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I have moved a LOT in my life; at the time of this writing the count is at 22 times; 7 before I was married, and 15 after, and 3 of those were with children with 2 of these last moves being across state lines (in one case the move was over a distance of 2,000+ miles). So, I like to think that I know a little bit about moving and hopefully moving well.
But you know what? No matter how many times I do it you can never predict or prepare for everything, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to. It just means do your best and when things get crazy just roll with it and try to enjoy the process, and I say this knowing exactly how difficult that can be!
So, to help you out and to hopefully make your move with kids a little easier; here are my top five moving with children tips.
Get help.
I know I know; this can be a hard one. Maybe you are moving to or from a place where you don’t have any family or friends that you can ask. I have done moves both ways, with no help at all and tons of help and I am sure that you can guess; tons of help is way more fun and a lot less stressful. So even if you don’t have friends and family that you can lean on, get help. Hire movers to come to help you move and even pack. Hire a cleaning lady to come do the move in and move out clean for you. And most of all hire someone to come and entertain your kiddos for that day of moving, and even days leading up to and following that move. You will be glad that you did, it is worth the extra money (and I am super cheap and try to do everything myself).
Make it fun and familiar.
Change is hard. Change for little ones is even harder. It can be scary to be moving to a new place, and little ones feel the weight of all of the change and uncertainty most of all. Talk a lot about the move to them during quiet times, so they know what is going to happen. Tell them fun things about their new home, go and visit with them and let them spend a bit of time exploring it if you can. Have something exciting for them to look forward to about the new place. In my most recent move, I bought a new blow up pool to go into our new big backyard, and my little girls were absolutely ecstatic about the opportunity to get into the new house and swim in the pool.
Trickle in.
If your schedule and geography permit it, move a little bit at a time so that the intensity level is a bit less and the workload is a bit more manageable. This can be especially important if the workload is resting squarely on your shoulders.
Try to be patient.
It will take everyone a few weeks to a month (or more) to settle in and really feel at home. This is especially true if your kiddos are little like mine are (3.5 and 17 months at the time of this writing). That means everyone needs extra snuggles, might need more naps, earlier bedtimes, more snacks, and have more spontaneous meltdowns. I know how frustrating and exhausting this can be. But try to be patient with them, and with yourself. Unpacking can wait a bit, household projects can wait, whatever it is it can probably wait. Take a moment with the kids and take a moment for yourself.
This too shall pass.
When all goes awry, and you wish that you were on the other side of this thing, remind yourself that this is a brief moment in time, and you will soon be settled in your new home!
Happy moving!
Ariane writes stellar SEO, publish-ready content for a host of clients from all different backgrounds and with various and sundry needs. Clients choose her because she never misses a deadline, can flawlessly write in any tone desired, and competently compose prose on virtually any topic. She is an English major with the soul of a scientist and worked for 8 years as an environmental chemist before embarking upon her career as a freelance writer and virtual assistant.
On a rare day off, you can find her snuggled up with her four great passions; a good book, her husband, and her two young daughters.
If you are looking to make a career change, find a new job, or just want your resume updated, Ariane can breathe new life into your old resume or create a spectacular new one from scratch. Email her at ArianeCooley@gmail.com to discuss your project and see examples.
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