One Mom’s Guide to Surviving Moving Day

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Our family of five recently moved. Moving is a very stressful endeavor for the whole family but quite often an eventual part of life. We’d been renting a home in Kettering for almost five years and while we loved the neighborhood and were very comfortable there, we decided to make the jump to home ownership. The process of finding our home and then everything that process entails was a lot of work and time consuming, but in the end, we love our new home!  

The time leading up to our move was stressful and exhausting, but it was worth it. If you are considering a move, here are a few tips that may help reduce that stress. Some I tried and were very successful and some I had to learn the hard way!

  • Keep the entire family in the loop – I grew up in a home where my mom was very open with us and now my husband and I do the same with our children. Our kids knew when we found the house. We told them all about it and as soon as our offer was accepted we took them to see it. They also knew – at any point, things could change and we may not move, so, we were all excited yet cautious together.
  • Start preparing early – The moment our offer was accepted, I began prepping. My husband, thankfully, could get boxes from work. Every moment we had, we were cleaning and packing. I took so many boxes of stuff to the Goodwill trucks. My philosophy was whatever we get rid of, we don’t have to move! By the time moving day arrived about 90% of our home was already in boxes. It made for a much smoother moving day.
  • Occupy the kiddos – We have three small children. At the time of the move, they were 1, 4 and 5. It was hard on them seeing their stuff packed up. Not being able to do things they normally could do because mom and dad were busy. But the day before our move I took them to the dollar store and allowed each of them to pick out two toys. I also bought a little reusable tote bag and they each carried their toys around in their tote bags. They couldn’t open them until moving day. When we were moving, I tried my best to keep them out of everyone’s way which was easier to do with new toys to help occupy and distract them! Another trick I did was a few days after the move, I took them out of the house to their favorite play place. I was exhausted and one hot mess. I had a million things to do at home. But giving them a few hours of something “normal” really helped!
  • Try not to make too many changes – This sounds almost impossible considering that literally, everything is changing. Our older two girls shared a room in our old house and we all agreed as a family that at the new house, our oldest would get her own room and the younger two would share. We were all excited about a princess room with a new canopy bed for the oldest and the younger two would have a Peppa pig room with bunk beds. They loved their new rooms! Except for almost four months later our oldest still has a hard time sleeping alone. So, if I had to do it over I would have kept them together and saved the changing of the shared room until after we were settled. 

It might be a stressful season in your life, but hang in there, momma! It’ll all be worth it in the end! Do you have any helpful tips for moving? Please share in the comments!

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Amy Blair
Hello! My name is Amy! I am married to my wonderful husband who works at Target! How awesome is that!?! I have three very beautiful girls. Savannah is my oldest and my artistic one. Lacie is the middle one and is my wild child with the biggest heart. Emma is littlest one who acts and thinks like an adult. I work full time managing a team of specialists at a call center. I'm completely addicted to Iced Chai Lattes and Starbucks. I love getting out and about as much as our hectic schedule allows - either exploring new places or revisiting our tried and true favorites!