We’ve moved a few times. Something like 9 times in 14 years. However, every move is different. This one was no exception.
Last time we moved, I had 5 children, the youngest being 1 month old. We moved ourselves (with a TON of help from our friends). But, this move was a professional move, meant to cause me less stress. *cough*
Let me just say, when you have a large family, moving will be stressful. There’s just no way around it. That’s why I wanted to do this series…a series that is still in the making as we slowly settle in to life in a new city.
One major aspect of moving as a larger-than-average family is the logistics of it all. For us, it got even more complicated because we had to send our 15 passenger van in to be worked on in the midst of all of this. That means it took 3 vehicles to get all of the children to our new home!
Thankfully, I was given some great advice from some other moms of many that I want to pass along to all of you, just in case there is a move looming on your horizon.
*If at all possible, send any child who is not able to be a BIG help to a grandparent’s or friend’s house. I am not usually an advocate of sending your children away, but this is one piece of advice I am so glad I followed! We kept only our oldest (age 12) and our youngest (age 4 months) with us. The chaos of boxes and last minute things to do would have made it VERY difficult to keep track of so many littles. We split the children up between two sets of grandparents so no one had to take on the full amount of care. And I think everyone involved truly enjoyed themselves!
*Pack 3-4 days worth of clothes for everyone. We are STILL living off these packings! Keep them in separate bags/backpacks, so you can easily hand them off to a caregiver or easily find an outfit or put away an outfit. Diapers also go in these bags and anything else the child might need.
*Keep out a stash of paper plates, utensils, cups, napkins (and diapers!). You will need them. In fact, with a large family, you’ll need a lot of them! We did not find all of our silverware, plates, and cooking utensils until the 3rd day we were in our new home! (and yes, we DID find the coffee pot on that same day!) And a few weeks of disposable diapers will be okay. 😉
*Create a staging area. We chose our main bathroom in the old house. We emptied that room of anything that needed to be packed, and filled it with the things we would be taking with us so the movers would not pack it up. However, a staging area is a good idea even if you are packing and moving yourselves…just maybe not in the bathroom! Choose a corner of your bedroom, a table top, a place in the garage and designate that your staging area for all the things that will need to be kept off the moving truck.
*Use the Buddy System at all times. We have a rule that everyone goes in twos (including me!). My children are just now getting to the age where I can have set buddies, but most of the time, depending on who needs caring for, the buddy will change. Using the buddy system during a move can be a lifesaver. While the movers were here, having buddies kept the children safe from all the movement in the house. On the road, it made it where a big kid could take a little kid to the bathroom. At the new house, it helped to keep little hands occupied while mama unpacked.
*If you have a laptop, keep it out. We used ours to check weather, look at maps, entertain the children, and get phone numbers for services we needed turned on or off. I say a laptop as opposed to a desktop for the simple reason of being able to easily pack it up when the time comes. However, if you have a way to transport your desktop, feel free to keep it around as well. There were just so many last minute things I needed to look up and moments when I needed to coral the kids in one tiny space, having the laptop made that much easier.
*Budget for eating out and convenience foods. Our move took a full 5 days. I purchased granola bars for breakfast. We ate out a lot and used our microwave more than it has been used in years! One thing I should have done better was plan for once we were actually in the house. Thankfully, my mother in law brought some meals with her, otherwise we would have eaten cheese chips for breakfast, lunch, and supper for who knows how long!
*Have a plan, but be ready to change it. I had a few crisis moments when I wasn’t sure what to do next. Thankfully, my mom and step-mother-in-law talked me off the ceiling. We put a plan in place with the understanding that it would more than likely be changed…more than once…and it was. However, just having a plan gave me something shoot for. And knowing it could change at any moment kept me from feeling too much stress when it inevitably did change.
I have to admit this move was harder than any other move we’ve done. We had a lot of extenuating circumstances that added stress, but all in all, we’ve survived!
Now, I want to hear from all of you who have moved with large families! What have you found helpful? What would you do differently next time? What tips saved the day?
Posts in the Large Family Moving Series:
The Logistics – this post
Saying Goodbye
Making an Abnormal Schedule
Unpacking
Starting Over
Hannah says
We have moved 11 times in the last 12 years, so I feel I can rightfully say, that was a good post! 🙂
I also enjoyed the church posts.
Good stuff, keep it coming, thanks! 🙂
Kelly says
I don’t have a large family yet and haven’t moved for 8 years. We have 2 kids with one on the way and will be moving this summer when I will be 8 months pregnant. Your ideas are helpful. Thanks. I hope everything continues to go well for you in your new home. I would love to eventually see pictures of it once you are settled.
Amy says
You do not want to see pictures yet…they are depressing! 😉
Suanna says
Thanks for the great ideas. I will try to be keeping them in mind when it is time for us to move within the next few months.
Dana says
Thanks for sharing! I have moved 4 times in 5.5 years, so I appreciate having a strategy. We haven’t moved with children yet since our daughter was born last summer. I have been professionally and personnaly moved, and I agree that using professional movers doesn’t take much of the stress off for me, probably because I like to be in control of things, but at least I didn’t have to drive the truck. 🙂
I’m interested in hearing more of your thoughts on what I think is even more difficult than the logistics of moving – getting connected in a new community. We struggled with this with moving so often. It may mean anything from choosing a local dentist to making new friends.
Amy says
I will definitely try to write on connecting! You are right, that is so hard.
SarahB says
We are not a “large family”, but we are a family who moves often, usually cross country (dh is military). My best advice, whether you’re packing yourself or having movers, is to make an “open first box(s)” Paint it a bright color so you can find it with no trouble (we painted ours flourescent green last time). Put in clean sheets for everybody, paper plates and utensils, diapers, wipes, papertowels, clorox wipes, toilet paper, garbage bags, granola bars, a box (or 5!) of cereal, a flashlight (we learned this one when we arrived at our new home and the power wasn’t turned on yet), anything you think you may need right away (coffe pot!). We almost always arrive very late at night, and it is SO nice to be able to quickly unpack mattresses and throw sheets on, and get tired kids to off to sleep in their own beds. You can quickly sanatize your new bathroom with the wipes, you have garbage bags to toss out packing materials. It’s great. It is equally great to wake up in the morning, brew a cup of coffee and have cereal for breakfast, and be ready to get started. Hope that helps somebody!
Amy says
EXCELLENT suggestion!
Traci Best says
Taking notes! We are moving with five kids this summer. Last time it was 3 (1.5 years ago) …and I’m not looking forward to it! The two littles (9 and 8) have special needs and trouble with patience…so it could get interesting!
Erika Shupe says
Great ideas, so glad to read up on improving our moving plans (prayerfully for some day soon). Here’s a couple more things that we do.
* De-clutter as you pack; don’t move it all and add to the confusion upon arriving somewhere new.
* Keep master bed linens accessible (and the bed of course) and prioritize setting that up one of the first things (or assign someone to it – my mom does this for us) so you can collapse easily at night and sleep well.
* Also prioritize the kitchen supplies and unpack it first so you can function easily there; everything else can be more gradual.
Amy says
Yes! Decluttering is a must!
Charity says
We haven’t moved in 13 years, and we are had only two little ones then. It makes my head spin to think of having to move with 7 children. I did enjoy reading all the tips. If the time ever comes that we move, I will be able to use these suggestions.
Julie says
Amy, I’m so glad I found your blog! We have 10 children between the ages of 3-12. Yes, we adopted them! We are hoping to move out of state (WI) by 2012. I am trying to do anything possible to prepare. At least we don’t have any babies to worry about. My youngest will be 4 by then. I appreciate you words of wisdom so much!
Amy says
Wow! After you get finished YOU will probably be able to give me ideas! May God bless your move!
Julie says
I found this because I am once again researching large family moving. I find it hilarious that I first wrote what I did in Feb. of 2011! We are still in WI. We did move. We moved locally into the city. We’ve moved 8 times in the 15 years we’ve been married. It was basically every time our family grew! We still want to move to a warmer climate, though we have a wonderful community here. Because we trust in God, I’m not afraid, but my biggest concern is building community elsewhere. I’d love to hear any experiences with that. We’d now be moving with 13 children ages 4-16. The actual move isn’t that concerning to me, but I’m pretty overwhelmed by finding new doctors and dentists, a church, places to shop, expense of the move, and dealing with insurance.
Amy says
We moved again too (actually 2x since I wrote this!). I should probably write another post about the things you mentioned. They overwhelm me too. 🙁
Meagan Mitchell says
I found this post while looking ahead to our family of 8’s move in a couple weeks. This will be move #5 in four years–whew! This last move was the first away from the town that we had our doctors, dentists, mechanic, ect. I really detested doing these things here and put them off. I wish I hadn’t. As far as a church goes, that’s the reason we moved, and we have had so much support and care from them it has been amazing. I found out who my girlfriends used for pediatricians, OBGYNS, dentists, went to people in church who had businesses that we needed(mechanic, body shop,handyman). It has also meant a willingness to be on the phone with insurance companies, and getting help with childcare while I do super unfun things like set up a bank account and get a pelvic exam:( But it has all been worth it! And now, almost a year later, this new place is starting to feel like home. Most important thing I should have done: committed to refrain from comparing/nostalgia to old town. Practice contentment!
Kim says
Can I ask why you have moved so much, I just found your blog and started reading it about a month ago. I love it.I have also moved a lot 7 times in 5 years 🙂
Amy says
Kim,
Welcome! Originally, it was college. Since then, it has been job changes and promotions. 🙂
Claire says
Hi! I am enjoying reading through your blog. We have 4 children and moved last year when I was 8 months pregnant. Here are a few of my favorite lessons.
*keep a lawn chair with you-you neve know how long it will take fora chair to be unloaded from the truck. * as furniture is disassembled- put all necessary hardware in a Ziploc baggie and tape it directly to the furniture. * we labeled boxes with different color duct tape for the different bedrooms. When the boxes came out of the truck at the new house we hung a matching piece of construction paper on the bedroom doors. * wrap your silverwarw tray with press and seal for am easy clran move.
I love the idea of the “open first” box! Brilliant!
Amy says
LOVE the lawn chair idea! I so should have done that!
Jyn says
Oh my goodness~! I have 8 also and I literally laughed out loud as I went down your list to my, seemingly, secret tips for how *we* are managing our move!! Isnt it amazing, though, how moving a family this size really makes you think… “Do we *really* need that?”
Also I have to say, garbage bags are THE best way to pack clothes, linens, and blankets and towels, hands down. They can be labeled with tape and closed and packed inbetween furniture like air sealed bags. WAY faster too!!!
Amy says
Great tips! (especially considering we are moving…again!)
Jyn says
Oh my! I wouldn’t wish that on anyone (unless it’s absolutely evident God is moving you somewhere new, in that case we can manage, right?)
We are having a very rough time finding a suitable home at the moment. We have been renting but our current landlord needs to renovate and sell her home asap and right now- we have 2 weeks to pack and find a new home. The one we did find the most suitable is super far, but closer to a homestead reality which is fantastic for the kids. Unfortunately it means we will be without anywhere to go mid Feb – Mid March! We all just got over the flu so that’s good, we’re just praying a LOT and remembering that God works so often last minute! *smile*
Good luck on your move! And hopefully (as they always say) the older kids can help out a little more! -Jyn
Amy says
Sounds quite familiar. 😉 God has really provided each and every time (this is move #12 for us). I’m finally realizing I need to relax and let God be God. Praying for you!
Traci Best says
EXCELLENT tip! 😀
Reggie says
We have only ever moved ourselves, though there were very generous friends involved in the last one! My tried and true tip is this: if you know the layout of the house you’re moving into, pack for THAT house, not the one you’re leaving. In other words, fill boxes and label with the room you intend those contents to go to in your new home. If you’re having people help unload, simply label the rooms with a piece of paper that corresponds to the labeling on your boxes. Having only the boxes that belong in the bathroom actually in the bathroom is a monumental time saver, this is especially true of the kitchen!!! Under the room label, I will typically have a short breakdown of the contents of the box, but only the essentials. Hope that helps anyone who’s preparing to move! I also pack up a house one room at a time as I feel it is less stressful than halving three different rooms only half done each. I merely leave out the items needed during transition as I go, much as Amy suggested with a ‘staging area’.
Jenny says
I know this is a super old post but were looking to move with our family very soon and I need help figuring out where to start in packing. What to get rid of and what to not. Do you have a post on what to pack first?
Amy says
Hi Jenny! I do not have a post on that particular topic. I usually declutter as I go. I also pack nonessentials first. Try to pack each child with their essentials bag and be sure to put together a kitchen box that has a lot of your go-to essentials in it so you can unpack it first and be able to cook a meal!
Phyllis says
Just beginning the moving plans. Thankfully, our oldest 4 boys are 20, 19, 17 and 15, so they will be a huge help with the heavy lifting and even packing. The youngest 4 boys are 10, 7, 4, and 20 months. I’m trying to not stress, but obviously…that’s impossible. Unsure of whether we will just rent 2 of the largest UHauls or what. Right now, I’m in the purging and getting rid of stuff, phase. Why have we kept so many things over the years? ?
Amy says
Ha! I hear you on keeping things! We moved a lot, but this last move we had been there for 4 years and has amassed more than usual. I asked myself that same question over and over!