OK we are moving house tomorrow-Packing advice please? before I bin everything!!

[Wisp]

We are completing our sale tomorrow, and getting the keys to the new house at around midday.
I'm really panicking now as theres alot of things not packed into boxes/organised.
We are doing the removals ourselves with a borrowed van, and if anyone has any packing/moving advice (with three children 5 and under) I'd be so grateful.
tearing my hair out emotion

[bigknickersbigknockers]

if poss try and get someone to liik after your children for the day tomorrow, have an emergency box with all things you could possibly need eg loo rolls, kettle, tea, coffee etc.
get as much packed before tomorrow as you can and label boxes with which room they are going in and a brief description of whats inside. dont forget to do your meter readings.

[bigknickersbigknockers]

Ooops LOOK after the children

[Wisp]

Thanks, hadn't occured to make an emergency box!!
DS1 is at school, and DD at playschool, so only DS2 to look after luckily!
We have packed the major things, but it's just all the crappy stuff like mugs and ornaments, kids toys etc.
I'm just going to have to have a mass throwing stuff into boxes session tonight, and I'll have to organise it when we are settled in.
Its a nightmare!! Im trying to squeeze all the clothes into suitcases! ARgh!!!

[Kelly1978GotRunOverByAReindeer]

I moved with four aged 5 and under. when we moved we put the babies in their playpen and involved the older two, letting them bring their toys and other light bits to the van. We made sure we had an absolute ton of snacks to keep them all going.

we're going to be helping family move on sat, and the twins are too old for a playpen so we are plannign to put a stairgate on an empty room and stick them in there with a load of toys. The older two will prob help us a bit and play with the babies a bit.

[beckybrastraps]

Really, really get rid of the children if you possibly can.

We moved last week and ended up just shoving things into boxes willy-nilly at the end. Can't find much now, but it's not the end of the world. Once you're in, things seem SO much better!

And yes, keep an emergency box/bag. Keys, mobile phone, purse, cheque book, ID, numbers for solicitor/estate agent etc, paper and pen, for meter readings and BKBK's suggestions.

Good luck!

[Kelly1978GotRunOverByAReindeer]

actually we did the first load up on the van at night after the kids had gone to bed. We then backed it up against a wall so that no one could break into it and it was gated in. Then in the morning we dumped all that lot before going back to refill.

[Wisp]

Thanks so much everyone!
We are getting the van tonight, so will pack it up with the fridge, washing maching,all the big things so we can take the first load as soon as we have completed.
Its only when you come to pull things out of the cupboards you realise what junk you have!!
Im starting my emergency box right now !
Thanks alot

[cece]

the fly lady has a movuing house section with lots of top tips.

[yomellamoHelly]

We also moved ourselves. Loaded the van the night before (bit of a gamble, but we had quite good security at our last place). Got up early , went for a full English breakfast, then returned to make piles of all stuff left and boxed things that fit together. (With everything else cleared we could see what we had.) Odds and sods joined us in the car.
Dh and I divided up what we needed to do too - which worked quite well.
We only moved a 20 minute drive down the road.
FWIW we didn't manage to exchange keys at midday - it was about 5 to 3 that everything was finally sorted - so despite all the stressing we did we still ended up twiddling our thumbs.
It was MUCH easier to unpack than pack.
We had a couple of friends help us load the van, another couple of friends help us in the morning and another couple of friends in the afternoon (though that was a lot of favours to repay). Beds were the first thing to be reassembled followed by sofa and chairs in the lounge (aided by friends). Kitchen appliances were plumbed/wired in as they came into the house - so we were quite well sorted on the first evening. Had a 'spare' room which we dumped all the boxes in and shut the door on the first night. So the house appeared much more organised than it was and was easier to clean before we unpacked as a consequence.
Would keep aside a bag with the kettle, biscuits, bread, soup, pan and cleaning stuff so you can see to the basics straight away. And do some research beforehand on takeaway places and make sure your mobile phones are charged.
That said we didn't have dc at that stage (was expecting ds though).
My parents were consumate movers when I was growing up though and I hated being sent away each time - any chance you can give them their own 'jobs' in the move and involve them?
Would imagine they should each have their own activity bags to tide them over the first few days of confusion, including the key items that make their rooms theirs so they feel at home from the start.

[yomellamoHelly]

Also second bkbk's advice on meter readings - have a digi cam so we took photos. (Invaluable as the previous owner hadn't done it and then queried the readings we'd passed on - not as per his budget calculations or something.) Fortunately we'd stayed with the same suppliers to start with so the hassle was only over how much to pay.

[Steppy1]

we moved at the end of october...I'm afraid we took the soft option and got the removal company to do it all (well most of it !! We then moved when DS was still at school for the day. I travelled down with DD to meet removal company then moved DD into playroom (playroom stuff was unpacked FIRST !!!) Us unpacking th eplayroom stuff kept us both occupied for nearly two hours..... DH picked up DS from school then travelled down to new house. Hadn't realised how stressful the unpacking was...soo if you can get somevody to help you with the kids for the day (or arrange childcare for them) sure it'll make things easier for you.

Good luck...and happy Christmas {fsmile]

[MrsH34]

We moved in September. Emergency box was the best tip we were given. Just dont forget wine corkscrew and a couple of glasses to go in too. Best of luck!

[Stockingsofdinosaurs]

Draw a quick plan of the new place and decide where the big furniture is going to go. Stick a label on each piece with the room written on (be consistent with room names or just number them). Label each box with the room too so even if it doesn't get unpacked it's in the right room.

[MossletoeAndWine]

We moved loads of times but never with kids, so don't know about that side of things!

Our moves were all really stressful. Here's what we did so you do the opposite:

1. Get absolutely stinking drunk the night before
2. Pack everything into huge boxes so they are too heavy to carry
3. Forget to lable the boxes so you don't know where anything goes
4. (If you're in rented) forget to put newspaper down so the removal people trample mud all over the cream coloured carpet thus meaning the landlady takes a huge chunk out of your deposit for cleaning
5. Try to be "macho" and keep up with the big burly removal people and end up putting your back out for the next week
6. Be so disorganised that you go ten minutes into the extra hour, when you are paying the removal people by the hour

The only thing we did right is getting mil to look after the dogs so they weren't stressed out by it, and making sure the cat was kept in the night before with a litter tray to ensure he didn't freak out with all the boxes and go missing!