Making Moves to Your Family’s New Home

Moving to a new home can be a challenging time, but when your household includes children, that challenge can be magnified. From leaving behind friends to experiencing a new neighborhood, children typically have a lot of concerns when it comes to a move.

Here are a few things you can do in the weeks leading up to a move as well as moving day itself, to ensure a smoother transition for every member of the household:

Create a moving binder

Use a brightly colored binder with sleeve protectors to keep copies of all your important papers, such as birth certificates and rental or mortgage agreements. The bright color will help keep the binder within easy sight and you will feel much more organized during moving day and the days surrounding it.

Purge and pack

In the months and weeks leading up to a move, clean closets and get rid of clutter. Donate unused items or make a bit of change by selling them on eBay. Younger household members can be guided into giving up toys that no longer fit their age or hold their interest.

Bag it up

Both quart- and gallon-sized plastic bags with zip closure can be extremely useful in keeping smaller items sorted. Every family member can use a supply of plastic bags in both sizes. Encourage children to begin organizing their things in the weeks leading up to the move. The see-through characteristic of the baggie make unpacking and organizing all these small items a snap at your new home.

Take a picture of your TV wiring

Unless you don’t have a DVD player, speakers or gaming console, you will probably want to get a quick picture of the wires running in and out of your television and other electronics. Those pictures will be invaluable when you are ready to set up your entertainment area in your new home to keep kids occupied while you unpack.

Set up lessons, camp and daycare

Select new activity and childcare providers well ahead of your moving day and then have the proper applications completed and returned. This enables children to get into their new routine without further interruption.

Find new physicians and transfer records

Look for a new pediatrician, dentist and other healthcare providers in your new area if you are moving too far to continue with the current clinics. Be sure to have all healthcare records transferred. While it is unlikely someone will get injured or seriously ill on moving day, you do not want to be scrambling to find a doctor in the middle of a minor emergency.

Throw a goodbye party

Remember that moving time is a stressful one for younger members of the household as well. Ease the anxiety of leaving old friends behind and venturing into unknown territory by throwing a going away party for the family. Children can invite their closest friends, while adults have one more opportunity to socialize before heading down the road.