If you are moving, and you have a family, it seems like the task is 1000 times more challenging. You’re supposed to pack while taking care of little ones, you have to tour homes and apartments while keeping your kids on a routine. There’s so much thrown at you! We recently moved with two young children, and I took notes of every strategy and tip I could think of so that I could pass on my ideas to my readers. Here are all of my suggestions for how to survive moving with kids. And hey, I have a free downloadable PDF to help you with getting it all done!

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Looking for a New Place with Kids

When you have to tour apartments, talk to realtors, and view homes, it’s hard to be dragging your little ones along. I have a few quick tips on how to look for a new place with kids. And then we’ll get onto the ideas for packing up your place and moving with kids!

  • Have a special bag in the car with snacks, toys, coloring books, etc. that the kids only get to use when you’re touring a new place. (Make sure they’re non messy ideas, like this reusable doodle pad or the markers that only write on special paper!)
  • Show the kids the prospective home/apartment so that they can visualize which room would be theirs, where you’d eat dinner, etc.
  • Ask the kids what they think, and what they observe. You might be surprised!
  • See what your kids think is the most important thing in the perfect home.
  • If possible, don’t go look at new places when your child is supposed to have a nap (unless you can baby wear them) as it’ll be a miserable experience for you both.
  • Let your kids help you take notes about each place.
  • Have measurements for your big/unique pieces, like an entertainment center or a treadmill. Then take a measuring tape and let your kids help you measure spaces!
  • Give your kids a task like “Count all the windows in the house” or “Check to see if all the cabinets work”.
  • Don’t forget neighborhood research! Find out what you can about the school districts, crime ratings, etc. Trulia has great filtering options. You might even want to look up things like the ratings of the closest school, if there’s a landfill or a prison nearby, and what the taxes look like in that county. Go crazy doing research, and tell your realtor what matters to you, too.
  • Download Netflix episodes or games onto a tablet in case there’s no internet and your kids need to sit quietly.
  • Finally, when you start putting in applications, you might want to write a letter to the owners/landlords. I have a sample one at the end of this article. We’ve been contenders on multiple-offer homes many times, and we always won when I mailed in a letter too! (Coincidence? I think not.) Get it to your realtor to pass on. 

If you want ideas on what I looked for in a home when I had children, check out that article here.

And we actually love having a small house. Here’s why.

Moving with Kids: Packing

I have tons of ideas on how to get some packing down when you’re moving with kids. This is for when you’ve got the boxes out, everyone knows something is up (of course to what extent they understand will vary!), and it would be great if you didn’t have to do all the work yourself.

  • The Big Rule: Once something goes in a box, don’t touch it or get it back out. It’s still yours, you’ll see it again soon!
  • Use color coded stickers or Sharpies on your moving boxes for each room: Kitchen boxes are labeled red, for example, and Kid #1’s Room is labeled green. Let the kids help put on stickers or color the boxes if they’re old enough. (Also make a Key sheet of paper to hang in the new house as the movers carry in your stuff, so it all ends up in the right room. You can see mine below.)
  • Don’t forget to book the movers (and know that they’re usually cheaper Monday-Thursday).
  • Get your kids excited about the move! Don’t be afraid to talk to them about it.
  • Use your own fabric materials, from towels to heavy coats to bedsheets, to wrap up valuables and save waste/bubble wrap. (Just don’t use anything for packing that you’re gonna need before moving day!)
  • Keep a folder by your computer with all the moving paperwork you might need: copies of licenses, proof of insurance/credit, bank statements, agreements, and realtors’ contact information.
  • I also had a separate folder with stuff for the new place, like utility information, local police, urgent clinics, moving company’s receipt, etc.
  • Inform your kids’ old school a week before you’re going to withdraw them, so that the teachers can put in all grades and all matters can be settled.
  • Start getting your kids adjusted to the new schedule/routine at their next school. You may need to contact someone to find out when your child will eat lunch, for example.
  • And if you’d like all of our tips for preparing our child for a new school year, read it here.
  • As you disassemble big pieces like your entertainment center and bookshelves, keep the small pieces either taped to the side of the item with painter’s tape, or put in a small organization case. I used my pill case and it worked great – see the photo in this article.
  • Have a full tank of gas in your car.
  • Give your kids tasks that they can complete successfully, whether it’s going through toys to donate a few, or putting all their off-season clothes in a box. It doesn’t have to be perfect: the point is that they’re helping, and it’s one less thing for you to do.
  • And hey, check out my free PDF download that has all of the addresses you need to change, as well as all of the “new stuff” you should find for the new digs!

Not sure if your kids should share a room? My son and daughter do, and they wouldn’t have it either way! See why.

Moving with Kids: Move Day

This is it! You’ve done all the work and now it’s time to finally relax and celebrate your new life in your new place. (Ok, the “relax” part is a total lie, but that’s ok. It’s all worth it!)

  • Have a special Move Day bag like a backpack, full of dollar store toys, coloring books, and snacks.
  • Pick a special spot at the old house while movers are packing up, and again at the new place, where the kids can sit safely and be out of the way (maybe outside on a porch, or in a bathroom, since movers don’t usually have to go in there). You can also mark off their place with chalk or painters tape so they know where their “zone” is.
  • Have another bag packed with house essentials and make sure it’s with you: Toilet paper, germ wipes, napkins, flashlights, chargers, scissors, trash bags, hand sanitizer, paper towels, etc.
  • Tape up your color coded moving box signs!
  • Make sure you have some shows or games downloaded onto your tablet so that they have a screen they can use offline.
  • Additionally, back up all of your devices just in case.
  • If something is time-sensitive, like a child receiving a medication or you receiving a delivery, set an alarm on your phone.
  • Get the utilities switched over to your name so you don’t get charged a startup fee.
  • Schedule things like internet, security system (unless you’d rather use something like Ring which we love), and repairs.
  • If you’re renting, make sure you do a “Move In Status” form of things that were stained, missing, dirty, or broken; that way you won’t be charged whenever you move out. Additionally, you can do a video tour to show what the place looked like when you assumed it.

Here’s the sample letter that you can give to your realtor to pass on to the owners/landlords!

To the owners,

Hello!

We are the Lastname family. I’m Myname and I had the privilege to walk your beautiful home today. I’m extremely interested in renting this property and I wanted to reach out to you directly so that you can learn a little bit more from us (and not just from the application!).

My husband Manchild and I have been married over ten years, we’re high school sweethearts! Our son is a kindergartener and my daughter is three years old.

We absolutely love this house and it’s a perfect fit for us. We hope that we’re a perfect fit for you, too. We’d be able to take possession on DateDate. I’m currently a stay-at-home mom and my husband works for Somewhere ISD. We have excellent credit (both over 700), no debt other than one car payment, and no criminal record. We also have over $ALOT in savings. I have all of the supporting documentation ready to send as email attachments which prove all of this, as well as show our good standing with our mortgage company since we currently own our home. 

We do have a few pets, who are all up-to-date on vaccines. Our two dogs are 12 and 14 years old. The dogs are not “dangerous” breeds – one is a 30 pound corgi and one is a 50 pound lab mix – and they are quite calm and friendly. They remain indoors and we keep them and their things very clean. I’m happy to send photos or do whatever I can to put you at ease! They’ve always had all of their shots and annuals, and have never hurt anyone nor done any property damage. 

Our family is clean, quiet, and happy to do whatever we can to keep your property as if it were our own. We are moving from the Whatsitcalled area due to changes in that school district, and truly feel like your home is the right one for us! We look forward to talking with you and answering any questions or concerns you have. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of applications for your beautiful home, and we really hope that you choose us!

Thank you again for taking the time to read this and review our application. We hope to talk to you soon!

Myname, Manchild, Kiddo and Tiny Lastname

Phone, email, other important grownup stuff

Woo hoo! I hope that you have ton of ideas in place for moving with kids. It’ll be stressful and exhausting, but these suggestions should help you stay organized and focused. What other ideas would you add? Please share in the comments below!