The Best Way to Move a Big Family

The Best Way to Move a Big Family

Home is where the heart is and this is doubly true when a big family lives under one roof.  It could be a three-generation household or a blended family, it really doesn’t matter – big families are full of the energy and excitement that make a house a home.

However, moving a big family can be a bit of a challenge.  Heck, it can be almost as complicated as a major military operation.  With that in mind, here is an overview on the best way to move a big family.

Getting Prepared

One of the biggest challenges to moving is getting prepared.   Now, I am not only talking about getting the packing supplies you need and cataloging everything but rather preparing the family to make the move.  For example, teenage children will be upset about leaving their friends, while younger children will be more concerned about the unknowns.  

Even moms and dads will need to prepare themselves.  Maybe it is the preparation for a new job but don’t forget needing to rally the troops and manage the move to make sure nothing goes missing along the way – which, by the way, is almost certain to happen.

A big part of getting prepared is to square away the costs of the move.  This way you won’t need to worry about breaking the budget.  As such, you will want to get a moving quote very early in the process.  In addition, you can ask the moving company to come in and explain how their service will work – maybe they can even give a presentation to the entire family.

Minimize the Pain

If we are being honest with ourselves, then you will have to admit that you don’t like moving.  I mean who does?  In fact, the only enjoyable move that I can think of is when I moved out of home and into college but beyond that, almost every move in my life has been a chore.

One big way to minimize the pain is to clearly communicate your expectations to everyone in the family.  This way, everyone will have a job to do and all the pitching in will help to bring the family even closer.

Just remember to put the project management skills you learned at work to good use by making a schedule and placing it in a central location.  Doing so will help to ensure that everyone knows what their role is.  An added plus is that you won’t need to spend as much time chasing cats – I mean kids.

Have Fun

Laughter truly is contagious, even when you are during a move.  As mentioned, above you want to make sure that everyone knows what their role should be.  But remember, you don’t want to be the task master.  Instead, make it fun for everyone.  After all, moving should be about closing one door to open another.

Other fun activities can be scavenger hunts, and if possible, taking the kids to the new neighborhood.  In this way, they can familiarize themselves with their new home.

Another important aspect to having fun during your move is to not procrastinate.  Start getting everything in place early on so that you, and the rest of the family, will not need to stress during crunch time.

Make a List and Check It Twice

As mentioned, things tend to go missing when you move.  The best way to make sure this does not happen to you is to make a list.  Start by asking everyone to identify everything that they want to take with them.  This can start by color coding everything in the house so that it is easy to know what will stay and what will go.

From there, you will want put together a written list which will note the object, where it is now, and where it should go in your new home.  This will help not only to organize how you pack but to make sure that nothing gets lost along the way.

Prioritize

Make sure the things that you need on your first night are within arm’s reach.  Take my word for it, you don’t want to show up and find out that your bedding set is in some truck which won’t arrive for another week.  So, use your list to identify what you will need on the first night and make sure you set this aside to either take with you or pack so that it is the first items that come off the moving truck.