They say the most stressful things in life are the death of a loved one, separation or divorce, and moving. I recently completed the trifecta, with moving as the most recent adventure. Throw kids into the mix and you will be as close to a nervous breakdown as it comes. If you saw me over the past few weeks, this is what you would have experienced:

Making a move is one of those things that can’t be avoided at certain points in life and as the self-proclaimed “Queen of Efficiency”, I’m up for making anything easier and less stressful. If you’ve got a move happening in your life soon, here are a few things I learned along the way. Happy packing!

Tips For Staying Sane While Moving With Kids

1. Hire movers We all remember moving in college with a friend’s pickup truck and our cars filled to the brim. This is NOT that, so invest the money in letting someone else do the heavy lifting. If you can afford to, have someone pack for you…end of the article! (Just kidding!)
2. Get the kids out of the house Give yourself some space and time to pack in silence. There is no point in packing while your toddler goes through and pulls things out of every box. Trust me on this. Schedule play dates with friends and call in favors with family members. Bonus points if the playdate is at your house and the friend helps you pack! I did a ton of packing after the kids went to bed, as well.
3. Start early Packing up a house always takes longer than you expect. “Where did all this stuff come from?” is what you’ll ask yourself over and over again. This is a great time to purge and not take all that extra stuff with you to your new home. Do you really need eight pairs of jeans and 20 gray T-shirts? (of course you do…never mind, just purge everyone else’s stuff.)
4. Make it a family effort What better way to start teaching your kids to evaluate what they really need! Let them be in charge of deciding what items they can part with and then take it to a donation center together.
5. Packing hacks I can’t scroll through my social media feeds without seeing “life hacks” for one thing or another. Did you know you can pack a month’s worth of clothes into a carry on suitcase if you fold it the correct way? I kid, but seriously….Google is your friend for these things. The tip that helped me the most was setting a timer. I gave myself 15 minutes in one room and my goal was to fill two boxes. It kept me on track and focused.
6. Pack kids’ stuff last You need those quality distractions while you pack or else it will end up being TV all the time (you will get no judgment from me on that), but kids get bored easily. Plus, the longer you can put off the questions of where all the toys went, the better. You don’t need to be digging through boxes of toys at 9pm to find that one blue car that he hasn’t played with in the past three months but needs right-this-second-or-he’ll-die.
7. Move kid’s stuff first Their favorite toys, coloring books, games, and maybe even something new and fun to keep them busy while you enjoy the thrill of unpacking (insert eye roll). If they’re old enough, let them start unpacking their own room!
8. Have special “first-night” plans Moving is stressful for EVERYONE. Order in pizza and have a movie night picnic. Take a deep breath, a sip of wine, and thank the Lord it’s over.