Family Moving Made Easy: Survival Tips for Moving into a New House

Moving into a new home can seem like a monumental job, especially when you've just finished all the tasks of closing on your new home. It's a time of excitement as you look forward to settling into your new living space and making it your own. It can also be stressful — especially when you have kids who need to be looked after while you're trying to coordinate moving to a new house. 

Even though they can't help with everything you need to do while moving, including your children in the moving process can help keep them out of mischief. It can also create a bonding opportunity, help them feel involved in their new home, and take some tasks off your plate. Read on to discover moving tips for families, including undertakings little ones can help with, activities that may be at the top of your kids' minds, and some things you can do to improve your family's safety in a new home.

Before You Move

Preparing for a family moving day with the following tasks can help keep kids occupied and reassure them that their favorite belongings will be joining them. Here are a few things you can do together:

• Declutter their things: A week or two before you move is a great time to have your kids go through their toys and donate anything they haven't played with in a while. Donating clothes that don't fit them anymore can also help prevent you from needlessly moving items you might donate shortly after the move anyway.
• Tour their new schools: If you're changing school districts, you'll want to ensure your kids' transcripts are sent to their new school and confirm their enrollment and their start dates are accurate. Involve your children by taking them to their new schools, walking around the campuses together, and showing them their new classrooms. If you can't tour the school before the year starts, you can visit their website to get familiar with their culture and any events for your kids to look forward to.
• Clear the refrigerator: Moving groceries to your new house is a hassle you don't need. The week before you move, have family dinner nights that creatively employ the food you already have in your refrigerator. Your kids will love coming up with unusual culinary creations, and since you may be eating out until your new kitchen is set up in your new home, it may be the only home cooking they’ll get for a few days.
• Packing time: You probably have enough to pack when moving to a new house, so having kids pack their own belongings and treasured items can be a timesaver. Show them how to properly pack, seal boxes, and have them write their names on boxes so they can easily find them later. Just do another sweep of their rooms afterward so nothing accidentally gets left behind.

Moving Day

The day has finally arrived, and while you prepared for the big move, there's still plenty to do. It takes careful orchestration to pull off moving day without a hitch and it requires keeping kids content and occupied. Here are some tips for moving into a new home when children are around:

• Bring a cooler with food and drinks: Moving boxes and furniture is hungry work, and you likely won't have time to run out for lunch to feed hungry, cranky kids. While a cooler filled with ice isn't an easy item to add to your moving inventory, packing premade sandwiches, water, and other beverages saves you time better spent moving into your new home. It can also be a good idea to bring enough for any movers you use; they may not take you up on your hospitality, but they’ll appreciate the gesture.
• Introduce kids to movers: Introducing your kids to movers or any other professionals on the day of your move helps establish trust. Plus, movers may be able to assign small tasks to children who are eager to help on family moving day.
• Assign kids easy tasks: If possible, give your kids easy moving tasks that keep them out of the way of difficult jobs like moving large furniture. Once they know which rooms are theirs, have them carry their labeled boxes to their rooms. You can also have them unpack simple things like clothes, books, and bathroom essentials.
• Provide entertainment: Even the most helpful, focused kids can run out of patience on moving day. To keep them occupied, bring a bag of fun activities like coloring books, crayons, tablets, and books.

After the Move

Once everything is moved in and you're left staring at stacks of moving boxes, you may wonder how to tackle this big unpacking job. Make a room-by-room unpacking plan, starting in the kitchen, then bathrooms, bedrooms, and then office space and other remaining rooms. As you unpack, check if anything was damaged during the move and that your appliances are working properly. Let the moving company know right away if anything is damaged or missing. Here are some more moving tips for families to help you get settled:

• Focus on essentials: Unpack critical items you will use over the next few days and keep them handy. It’s pointless to try to unpack everything at once. Set up clean towels, linens, clothes, toiletries, children’s favorite toys, pet food, and basic kitchen items.
• Involve your children: Give your kids directions on where to put clothes and toys and let them unpack themselves. For teenagers, you can assign more serious tasks and let them make plans and arrange their rooms the way they like.
• Reorganize as you unpack: Moving to a new house is a great opportunity to try a new living room layout or change how you organize your kitchen cabinets and pantry. Assign a shelf in the pantry for the kids to organize their snacks and favorite foods.
• Don’t rush to unpack everything in one day: Take a break after a couple of hours of unpacking to walk around your new neighborhood or visit the nearest supermarket to stock up on necessities. You can also use your break time to take the kids to a playground for some exercise or to the nearest library to get new library cards.

New Home Projects for Family Safety and Health

You're fully moved in and unpacked, but the work of a homeowner is never done. Here are a few more things to do after moving to a new house to keep your family safe and comfortable:

• Re-key the locks: Even though you received keys from the previous homeowner, you don’t know how many copies are still floating around out there. Get new locks or re-key the locks as soon as possible.
• Maintain your detectors: Replace the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
• Find shut-off valves: Locate your home's water and gas shut-off valves and circuit breaker box. If your kids are old enough, it can be helpful to show them where these are, in case of an emergency.
• Sanitize your new home: Give your house a thorough cleaning before unpacking boxes, or hire a cleaning service that specializes in move-ins. Have the kids take on small cleaning tasks to participate in the process.
• Deep clean carpets: If possible, schedule a professional cleaning to get rid of dust and mites and any spots and stains left by previous owners and their pets. Once-a-year carpet cleaning after that is a good idea.
• Replace HVAC filters: Keep your HVAC systems running efficiently with new filters. Let the kids help change the heating and cooling filters — it’s easy and a good lesson in how their new home works!

You May Need to Use Your Home Warranty

As you unpack and settle in, you'll also begin using many appliances and systems in your new home. Maybe you will run your first load of dishes through the dishwasher or make your first hot meal in the oven. When you have a First American home warranty and discover a problem with a covered item like the dishwasher or oven, you’ll have peace of mind and a convenient repair/replacement solution. It's easy to request service and a home warranty can help protect your budget when covered items unexpectedly fail. Plus, you can purchase coverage for up to 60 days after your closing. Get a free quote today.

The contents of this article are provided for general guidance only. First American Home Warranty does not assume any responsibility for losses or damages as a result of using this information.