Give me your essential tips for moving house with small kids!

[letsmove]

After a very stressful and unnecessarily long few months we are hopefully moving house soon, from a 3 bed to a 4 bed about mins drive away. The last time we moved was from a small flat and with no kids!

Kids are 3 and baby. We're getting removal men who will pack (most stuff they will pack the day or so before then load it and the rest into vans on moving day). What can we do to help ourselves beforehand?

I've been quite strict at not accumulating unnecessary clutter and not got loads of furniture etc but we still have a fair bit of 'stuff' that we want to take.

we don't currently have a garage or much space to store boxes so wondering if there's much we can actually do... Tips welcome for getting it all done with as little stress on the day!

Declutter more!

Keep aside overnight bags, with kettle, plates, bedding, towels, favourite books and toys. Pack them in the boot of your car before the packers come, as well as Hoover and cleaning gear so you can do a swift exit clean and an entrance clean (always assume the new house will be a filthy shithole and you can't get disappointed).

The previous message sums it up perfectly!

Have you someone who can entertain the older children for the day?
The removal people are like locusts and pack everything.
In fact we were redundant, so you or partner could take the children out for an hour or two.

When we moved, I took DD to the cafe in town which was well known for being glacially slow, had tea and a toastie and let her have her morning nap on my knee, while the packers did their thing :)

Oh a packet of biscuits and a few cans of coke in the fridge always seem to go down well with the packers.

Thank you! Good tips. How do I not stand over the packers saying 'ooh be careful with that one'...