Moving With Kids: Make The Upcoming Move Easy On Everyone

Moving is an exciting time. It is filled with anticipation and expectation for new things to come. If you are moving to a new city with kids, however, the dynamic can change. As a parent, you need to take extra care to make sure everything and everyone is ready to go. Make the entire moving process as seamless as possible by preparing with these easy-to-implement steps.

Get a Home Inspection

Home inspections are essential for any home buyer or seller. A licensed and professional home inspector will use their years of training and experience to find problems and make recommendations to repair and replace concerning areas before you move. A pro tip is to schedule a home inspection at each of your properties.

Arrange one home inspection at your current home before putting it on the market. This shows you are a proactive seller and provides powerful documentation you can show to prospective buyers. More importantly, a home inspector will find issues that the buyer’s home inspector will likely notice, allowing you to address them before they become an issue or a sticky bargaining point. Of note, even though you and your family may have lived in the house and taken good care of it for years, crawling into an attic or conducting a thorough inspection was probably not on your radar, so there will presumably be a few items to fix that will surprise you.

As for your new home, ensure you also have that structure inspected by a licensed home inspector before signing any paperwork. Once again, even if the previous owner was honest and diligent about care, problems go unnoticed. Small issues, such as a water leak between the walls can soon turn into a nightmare with resulting damaged wood, floorboards, walls, and dangerous black mold. It is always best to do your due diligence and know what you are getting into. Finally, the results of the home inspection will allow you to schedule repairs before moving in so the kids can settle in right away.

Pack Strategically

Packing is the most time-consuming and labor-intensive part of any move. Make it easier on everyone by using a packing and labeling system. Label boxes with room names and a number, such as “Kitchen 3.” This is the third box packed in the kitchen. As you pack, list contents on a corresponding spreadsheet. To illustrate: If you are looking for the cutting boards, you will know they are in the box labeled “Kitchen 3,” and settling in will be less stressful. Keep your laptop nearby as you pack so you can quickly type a word, like spatula or pots, to make finding everything upon arrival much easier.

Wait to pack the necessities, such as toiletries and a week’s worth of clothing till the end. Keep all cleaning supplies so you can give the house a once-over unless you intend to hire a cleaning company such as move out cleaning service in Boise. If you cannot move the cleaning supplies with you, consider donating them. Otherwise, many movers will be happy to take them off your hands. The new homeowner might even appreciate them.

Watch this video to learn how one mom managed to pack up her household.

Visit Your Favorite Places

Kids fall into different categories when faced with an upcoming move. Some will be excited beyond measure and ready for something new and different. Others will mourn the loss of the home they know and the city that they have lived in for a while. They will be overcome with anxiety about making such a huge change. Most kids will move across the categories depending on the day or as the days on the calendar creep ever closer to moving day.

To help your kids feel better about the impending move and deal with their feelings it is important to remember they are still living in a city they enjoy, and you should all celebrate it. Schedule fun activities between moving deadlines and checklists. Go to your family’s favorite library, restaurants, and ice cream shop. Spend an afternoon at the zoo or museum after a few hours of packing in the morning. Make sure everyone takes a lot of pictures and videos to document these special places. Once the boxes have been cleared out at your new home, sit down with your kids and look at the photos you took. Create a slideshow or an old-school photo album they can look at anytime.

Make Plans To Reconnect

While you are saying your goodbyes to the people you have become friends with as well as beloved family members, make plans to reconnect with them soon. This will help reassure your kids that they will still have a relationship with those special people in their lives. Try to avoid saying, “We’ll see you soon,” or “We’ll have to get together sometime.” These phrases leave things open-ended for kids and fill them with hope that may go unrealized.

Instead, make a concrete plan to connect. Pull up your calendars and enter a date to visit, if that is realistic due to the distance between your new and old cities, or schedule a video call. With technology, there is no excuse for letting a friendship or family relationship languish. Put a fun spin on staying connected by gifting your kids and their friends new stationery sets with colorful pens, stickers, and stamps so they can write to one another. This old-school way of communicating is fun because the gratification is delayed, and it is always exciting to receive regular mail.



Sometimes, the best way to tackle moving when you have kids is to make a good plan to get the grown-up stuff done. Prioritize tasks like tactical packing and home inspections on both ends of the move. When you have your adult responsibilities taken care of, you can attend to your kid's worries and excitement by spending time with them in your current city doing the things they enjoy before departing for the next exciting adventure in your new home and city.