Moving With Kids: A Helpful Checklist

Moving With Kids: A Helpful Checklist

Although it can be one of life’s most challenging experiences, moving to a new home also presents a refreshing opportunity to start anew. After all, moving offers an excellent way to eliminate the clutter that accumulates in even the most well-organized home.

Moving with kids requires some extra thought and attention to ensure the experience goes smoothly for everyone in your family. Begin the planning and packing process as soon as you know you’re moving. You will be less likely to make hasty decisions, such as choosing a moving company without checking references or packing so haphazardly that items break. The following timetable can help you organize your tasks and relieve some of the stress of moving with kids.

Moving Timetable

Prepare your family for moving day by keeping yourself organized and on top of your tasks.

Two Months Before

• Create a list of all your valuable possessions. Work with your insurance agent to verify replacement values.
• Go through your children’s toys together with your kids. Decide together what toys they want to take with them to your family’s new home.
• Request quotes from and select a moving company.
• Research new daycare and child care accommodations for your child. Arrange a visit to new centers if possible.
• Start cleaning out your home’s closets, cupboards, drawers, and storage spaces. Sort through your possessions and decide what you want to keep, donate, and discard.

Six Weeks Before

• Get copies of medical records from your doctor and your children’s pediatricians and dentists. Ask for recommendations for health professionals in your new community.
• Inform your children’s services providers and schools about your family’s upcoming move. Contact schools in your new community to request and verify enrollment.
• Notify your children’s day care providers. If your children require prescription medication, ensure you fill prescriptions to last through the move and the first few days of settling into your new home.
• Request copies of your children’s school records or have them sent to your children’s new schools.
• Verify the terms of your homeowners insurance policy for your new home with your insurance agent.

One Month Before

• Notify electricity, cable, and other home services providers about your move. Request that services be disconnected at your old house the day after you move. Arrange for electricity, cable, and other essentials to be activated several days before your family arrives at your new home.
• Purchase packing supplies and begin packing. Your children can help you create labels and organize items in boxes.
• Secure storage for any items that you won’t be immediately moving into the new house.

One Week Before

• Ask your vet to create a health certificate for your pets, especially if you’ll be traveling to your new home by air.
• Confirm the moving deposit and payment for your moving company. Don’t forget to have some cash handy to tip the crew on moving day.
• Organize and pack items you’ll be personally transporting, such as jewelry, essential records, and personal beauty and health products.
• Pack boxes with new home essentials (see below).
• Provide your movers with directions to your new home. Confirm the moving date and time. Share your cell phone number and verify your point of contact at the moving company for your moving day.
• Submit change-of-address notices at your local post office. Provide your new mailing address to banks, credit card companies, friends, relatives, and other service providers.
• Wrap up any remaining packing.

Moving Day

• Work with your moving company to confirm all your possessions and create inventory reports. Verify the condition of all furnishings and large items that can’t fit into boxes.
• Close up the house by locking windows, pulling down blinds, and turning off lights.
• Conduct a final walkthrough after the movers depart to make sure you haven’t left anything behind.

Pack Boxes With New Home Essentials

Packing boxes with new home essentials will help you gather all the items you and your family will need for the first day and night in your new house. These items will come in handy on the last morning in your old house and the first day and night in your new home. Carry your new home essentials in your vehicle or make sure they’re the last boxes you place on the moving truck. Label the boxes so that you can easily identify them on the moving truck when you start carrying boxes into your new house. Home essentials can include:

• A few toys for the children.
• A fresh change of clothes for every member of the family.
• Bottled water.
• Clean bathroom towels and washcloths.
• Flashlights.
• Freshly laundered bed linens.
• Garbage bags.
• Home toolkit with screwdrivers, a drill, a hammer, and other essential tools.
• Light bulbs of various sizes.
• Old T-shirts and towels for dusting off and cleaning surfaces and objects.
• Packs of new batteries.
• Paper plates, cups, and eating utensils.
• Pet food and pet supplies.
• Prepackaged snacks for the kids.
• Rolls of paper towels and toilet paper.

Ways to Make Moving Less Stressful for Children

Moving doesn’t have to be a scary event for children. Below are some tips for helping to ease the transition for children.

• Talk to your children in advance about what moving will be like for the family. Be prepared to answer their questions as necessary.
• Involve your children in the process, such as packing boxes. Getting them involved can help them feel in control of something they might initially perceive as out of their control.
• When faced with the task of unpacking all your belongings, keeping bedtimes and mealtimes consistent may not be at the top of your list. Maintaining these routines can help give your children a sense of security and stability.
• Fill your new house with familiar objects for your children. Family photos or the comfortable blanket they snuggle with on the couch can help make your new home feel cozy and inviting for your children.

Staying focused and organized will allow you to keep your move smooth and manageable. Whether you’re moving across town or farther away, turn to the team at High Level Movers. We take the stress out of moving so that you can sit back and relax. Write to us and let us know how we can help you with your moving and storage needs. If you’d like to speak with us by phone, call us at 415-333-0259. Make your next move with High Level Movers.