Both boys are at school, unfortunately this means hubby will have to pick them up at 3 o'clock and they will be under feet after that time. So around about unpacking the van time unless we can find/ bribe someone to look after them
So just how do you cope with moving with little feet around? Hopefully this guide will help whether you are going 10 minutes up the road like us and have them for half the day or whether you are going hundreds of miles with them in tow all day long. If you can think of anything I've missed please mention it in the comments for others to see.
Ideally have friends or relatives look after your children on the day of your house move. If this isn’t possible then read on................
Give the kids age specific tasks to do, such as putting light boxes outside the door or opening all the cupboards to make sure there are no toys hidden in dark corners.
I've made a box of old colouring pictures, paper, stickers, pencils and felt tips that can stay at the old house. As we'll need to go in and give it a clean Friday morning (typically Ben is on a teacher training day!) it can stay there over night and be thrown away when locking up for the last time if needs be.
Make sure that children’s toys are the last items to be packed onto the van and are therefore easily accessed at the other end. They can carry a box each into the house if they are around and take it straight to their room to play with keeping them out the way.
I've also made a special 'new house' box that contains the same as the box above so they have plenty to keep them busy with the added bonus that they have brand new colouring pens and pencils.
Pack a moving-day essentials box containing snacks, kettle, tea, coffee, milk, sugar, mugs and spoons. Don't forget to add loo rolls, general-purpose cleaner and any medication you might need, it's always a good idea to add paracetamol/ ibuprofen too, just in case.
Make sure bedding is packed in an easy to find box/ labelled black bag so you can do this easily. I wouldn't suggest trying to build beds the first night in it's far more fun to sleep on mattresses.
Pack a night-time box for the kids, this should have a pair of pj's, their 'babies' as mine call their cuddly night time toys, duvet covers/ pillowcase and a couple of books. You could also put toothbrush/ toothpaste in it and their alarm clock if they have one.
Make sure these boxes are either unpacked first or travel with you so they do not get lost.
If you are making more than one trip you may want to buy a cheap kettle to have one for each house. It can be very thirsty work!
Make sure their high chairs and feeding/changing equipment are to hand so that you can maintain their routine as much as possible.
Hopefully you won't move very often - buy a 'sweetie box', dig out the DS's and portable DVD players and let the kids crash and burn..... they won't go to sleep very early anyway.
First night
Forget unpacking on the first night. Make it a special night and get a takeaway and a DVD. If you set up one thing make sure it's the TV (great for keeping bored kids quiet!)... even more important then the fridge/ freezer (which should have time to settle anyway)!!
You could have a sleepout in the front room if you can't find your way/ don't have enough energy to dig through the boxes to find the bedrooms.
If you really can't face doing anything then go out for a meal and check into a hotel for the night with the added bonus that you can have a good cooked breakfast before tackling the mess in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment