Tips and advice when moving with two young kids
Those that know us probably know that we have moved 3 times in a span of 6 months in Singapore (right before we moved to the USA) and 3 times in less than a year in Charlotte (North Carolina USA). Life of a nomad. Yes, we might have to move again!
So, I can proudly and confidently self label myself as "pro" when it comes to moving especially with 2 young kids in tow, apart from the labels "stress", "wacko", "crazy", "cuckoo", etc... that comes along as well. Lols!
Note that we did all the packing n unpacking ourselves. And had the movers moved them for us.
So since this momma of 2 young kids have been moving non-stop and living a nomadic life, I shall jot down tips and advise of moving with 2 young kids in tow.
Few months before moving day~
Sell, purge, donate any items that you won't need at your new place. This is a good practise to do a "spring clean" and get rid of unwanted stuff in your life. That way you will have less things to pack, move and unpack. When we moved from Singapore to USA, we blessed away and donated ALL of the kids toys!!! I was expecting tears but surprisingly Sienna and Skyler did not feel sad at all. They were happy that their toys will be going to another blessed home and will make another kid happy!!! Sienna was only 4 years old and Skyler 2 back then. This momma was so proud of them! (P/s: I did let them keep 1 soft toy each to bring on the plane with them. Sienna of course chose to keep her 1st teddy bear we gave her and Skyler chose his favorite Elmo)
Do not buy any groceries at ALL!
Okay maybe just some...for us it was the staples like milk, bread, fruits especially banana is a must in our family and vegetables.
I went all creative with my cooking n tried to use up things in the fridge, freezer (especially meat items) n as much from the pantry. Mr. Hubby n kids didn't complain of my new own-found recipes!!! Muahahaha...
Keep all valuables in one place n move it yourself personally. Mr. Hubby put all our important documents, passports, paperwork, cheques, cash, laptop, etc into his laptop backpack n we brought it over to the new place in our car.
Have a "go to" bag...
Everything from your hygiene items to diapers to sanitary pads (u never know when the time of the month will come) to snacks! Pack as if you are going on a short 4-5 days trip. That way you don't have to look thru tons of boxes just to find specific items.
Everything is there in your "go to" bag.
Also band aids for small boo boos for your little ones...
I'm glad I still had my bag all packed n ready from coming back from my in laws place just a few days prior to our move. I made sure to do the laundry right before we left my in laws place so that way we were ready n less work once we reached home.
Have your kids pack their own bag with activities, books, stationary, favorite toy n soft toy just to keep them occupied during the first few days.
Keep the family comforters, pillows with pillowcases kept in a big plastic bag to keep them clean. I'm glad we did this n not let it get dirty. By the time we reached our new place, it was dinner time. We ate at a Chinese restaurant nearby, came back, unpacked a little while the hubby gave the kids their bath n I put new bed sheets on the beds n voila we were all snoring soon after. The washer n dryer were still not hooked up n laundry was not our priority on that 1st move-in day. Clean beddings instantly without having to start the laundry when we were all dead tired.
Label the boxes with BIG WORDINGS the room that it needs to be moved to n the itemized items in SMALL wordings. That way the movers knows right away which room the boxes are headed to in one glance. And I know exactly what is in the individual boxes when I needed something urgently n it helped to prioritize which box to unpack first!
You can also color code your boxes by putting colored sticky tapes on it but I didn't like that idea coz what if your movers are color blind? Just saying....or worst case, your hubby? No, my Mr. Hubby has "perfect" vision after his lasik treatment ... not that he was ever color blind before anyways, Lols!
On moving day~
Get some cold drinks ready for the movers!
We had some soda drinks that my family doesn't drink so we blessed it away to the movers n they were so pleased by this simple gesture as it was a really really hot day!!!
I had some magazines to be left for our new tenant, but it turned out to be a blessing within a blessing. My kiddos kept themselves busy with them while the movers were loading up the truck!!!
Get ready for kids to nap.
I left behind a comforter n pillows to make a makeshift bed where they can sit, lie down or nap! But yeah, naps did not happen during the move.
We don't have family nearby to help nor have we engaged any babysitters before. But if you do, please take advantage of it! Your sanity will thank you!!!
In Singapore, our next door neighbor "jie jie" Jasmine played with Sienna and Skyler and kept them entertained at her place while the movers came in and out of our place. Made the whole move a lot quicker.
We left a welcome pack (drinks, lemon sachets, mock tails, etc) to our new tenant n had the kids drew a welcome note to go along with it. This kept them busy while mommy cleaned our condo that we were vacating n daddy was at the new place with the movers!
After moving in~1st day.
Just do the utmost necessities!!!
I was in charge of getting the kitchen up and ready! (boiled water for our drinking water n cool it off). Cleaned and wiped down the fridge/freezer, microwave n ALL surface area.
Unload all the food items into the fridge/freezer.
Hubby was in charge of setting n hooking up the internet n settling the kids (shower n brush teeth).
Have cleaning supplies ready at hand.
This is absolutely needed as the first thing is to clean, clean, clean!!!
I cleaned the previous place right before we left n more cleaning at our new place. Don't be fooled at how "clean" n spotless it looks at your new home. One wipe n the wipes were dirty. Our feet were somewhat black especially the kiddos from going around running n exploring the new spacious house. I don't blame them as they have only been used to staying in less than 1000 sq ft condominiums! So a medium size house feels like a mansion to them!
Have toilet paper ready at hand.
The kiddos had to pee n poo right the minute we got to the new place!
What AWESOME timing right???
Have the food delivery phone numbers on speed dial at the new place!
We didn't have to use it but just in case!!!
N I have 2 ever hungry kids... so as mentioned we had plenty of snacks in our "go-to" bag!
After moving in (2nd day onwards) ~
You would find items that tend to be mixed up.
Like things that belong upstairs but they are downstairs n vice versa!
(Think, coz we moved from a 1 level to 2 levels).
Don't be a superhero or OCD n quickly put it back in its place. You would end up running marathons up n down the steps like multiple times a day. Just leave it beside the staircase n inform hubby to bring up/down the stairs if he sees any item(s) bedside the staircase!
Or ask the kids to do it for u! Sienna n Skyler gladly helped out...they think it's a game!
Or if all fails, just do it ONCE at the end of the day!
Any other advice and tips?
Please feel free to share your experience.
Don't hesitate coz this crazy momma might be needing it again for our next move!
Happy moving!!!
Yes, I know that it's NOT a "happy" process, but why is it called happy moving??? Lols!!!
Someone please enlightened me, as this mommy brain is not functioning.
Anyways, if Mr. Hubby and I survived 6 moves (and counting) and are still happily married, I'm sure you can do your move with your hubby and come out just fine! "Jia you!!!"
BELOW ARE 2 SETS OF PICTURES.
The tops ones (when kids were bigger) was from our move in USA.
The below ones (when kids were younger) was from our move in Singapore.
