Anyone who knows me knows I always need to be prepared and I love to be organized. News flash, having OCD personality is not helpful when moving. Especially when you have a toddler and newborn. I hope by sharing my experience and some tips I may be able to help someone else going through a similar experience.
I'm not sure which part was harder. Packing and selling the old house or moving into and unpacking in the new house. Selling the house was difficult because it was not easy keeping the house clean for showings with 2 kids. I tried my best to tidy up after every meal, not let dishes linger and pick up all Lily's toys at the end of every night so we weren't rushing when there were showings. But I am sure you can guess how that went. There was a lot of last minute scrambling to pull the house together but thankfully our house sold pretty quickly that we did not have to worry too much about showings. One thing I tried to do was have the kids backpacks packed and ready to go so all I had to do was get them dressed and out the door. I tried to do this every night before I went to bed so I didn't forget and everything was ready for the morning. Seeing as people can call anytime to come see your home I found it important to have everything prepared the night before in case there was an early showing. Thankfully most of the showings on our house happened while I was pregnant so I only had to worry about getting one kiddo out the door. One good thing was that having to get out of the house for an hour for showings gave me lots of excuses to go to the mall! When it came to packing up everything in the house we had to declutter for the showings. The hardest part about that was choosing what we could put away and know we could live without for a bit. It also gave me anxiety not knowing where everything was. Lily had a lot of fun throwing things into boxes and helping us move the boxes out of the house. She is at that stage where she is a little helper and while at times it made the process longer, seeing the smile on her face knowing she helped made it worth it. We let her colour on the boxes after the were packed to help prevent her from unpacking them. And she helped Daddy carry some boxes out of the rooms as well. There was also a lot of Netflix and Paw Patrol on demand when we needed the added distraction.
When it came time to move into the new home I made plans for Lily to stay at my parents house. This way Lily wasn't confused or upset about the change happening and I could focus on getting as much done as possible. It was definitely stressing me out thinking about watching both kids and getting everything done. I set up Mason's baby swing in the house and took advantage of his 3 hour naps. But I looked forward to when he woke up because it was a good reminder to sit and take a break in between all the chaos. One thing I loved about unpacking everything was going through all of our stuff and purging!! We donated about 5-6 boxes of clothes to charity and purged a lot of household stuff we just didn't need. It felt good to get rid of stuff and give to those in need. The thing I found the most helpful when unpacking was trying to focus on one room at a time. When we moved all the boxes to the house I set up a spot in the family room for each location of the house (i.e. bedroom, Lily's room, kitchen etc.) and all the boxes labelled went to that area. Then after everything was organized I moved all those boxes into the appropriate room and started unpacking. I found it overwhelming if I tried to do too much at once so by focusing on one room at a time I was able to get more done. Labelling the boxes while packing was key because then I knew where everything had to go. It was also helpful for my friends that I had helping me unpack because they could just grab boxes and go without me having to explain where things went. Before Lily came home I made sure all her toys were setup & all her cups and bowls were in a special drawer in the kitchen. She was excited to explore and make a mess of her new space. I tried to keep everything as familiar for her as possible so she wasn't disrupted by the change. We even let her pick which room she wanted in hopes maybe she would start sleeping in it...ill keep you updated on how that goes.
What I was most excited about and kept me motivated was designing Mason and Lily's rooms! I'm so excited to share them with you. Each room is so different and unique to each of their personalities. You'll have to stay tuned to see how they turned out.
After day 1 of moving we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Our first night sleeping in the house was kind of fun. We all snuggled up on mine and Chris mattress and slept together. The previous owners of the home left glow in the dark stars on the wall in our room. While I thought they were an eye sore and couldn't wait to get rid of them (yes they are still on the wall) they actually added some fun to our night. While lying in bed with no TV to watch Lily was being a bit restless. So my imagination kicked in and we decided to wish upon the stars. It was the cutest thing. Lily looked up at me and wished for a hug and kiss. It was the sweetest thing and exactly what I needed after a long day. Of course I wished to wake up and all the boxes were unpacked and everything was organized. Spoiler alert my wish did not come true.
One thing you can see from my photos is that you have to be okay with being a mess. Not just your house being a mess, but you and your kids looking like a mess! Most days it meant we spent a lot of time in our pajamas, with our hair a mess and eating fast food. But that is okay! It only lasts a short time and you have to do what you have to do to get things done. You don't need to add extra pressure to yourself to make sure you and your kids look perfect and that you have the perfect meals prepared. Embrace the chaos and make the most of it!
Most importantly, at the end of the day stop what you are doing and take some time for family! Within all the chaos you will probably yell at your spouse, roll your eyes and get frustrated with your children so be sure at the end of the night to sit down together and have some family time. Take breaks and be silly! It is refreshing and will keep you motivated. At the end of the night we would all sit down and watch a movie together. We didn't have internet or cable for 2 weeks so we went old school and watched some DVD's. It was fun! Try to make a sticky situation into something fun and exciting. Every moment is a new adventure that you and your family are on together and in the end it is so worth it!
Before I share some tips with you I need to give a shoutout to my best friend @katermarina for coming over and helping me move! I honestly couldn't have done it without you. And a shoutout to my brothers @tdecoste @austinkat for helping Chris and I get everything moved. We are so thankful to have good friends/family like you that we can count on.
Here are some tips about what I learned from moving: • Accept help when offered!! I am probably the last person to ask or accept help. But honestly you have to! • Be patient - everything will not get done in 1 day and in the order you want. I found it helpful to focus on one room at a time. You can easily get sidetracked by all there is to do. I found by focusing on one room I got more accomplished. • Prepare activities for the kids. If you are moving with a toddler prepare a few activities that require little help and are mess free so they are occupied while you unpack. For example some stickers and a piece of paper, colouring, memory match games. • When we were packing up our old house we let lily draw on all the boxes to help prevent her from unpacking them.
• Hit up the grocery story and get some quick and easy meals and snacks. That way you aren't spending
Get yourself a good baby carrier. That way you can give your babe lots of cuddles and still get stuff done. I recommend the Potter & Pehar ring sling. Its lightweight and comfortable! • Download their favourite Netflix shows to your phone/iPad. I didn't do this and we didn't have WiFi setup at the house for over a week. We went old school and watched DVDs but boy did the same 5 paw patrol episodes get annoying! • Give your kids jobs. Carrying small boxes, unpacking clothes etc. Lily liked helping build Mason's crib and put things back together. • Try to make things familiar in new house so kids aren't disrupted by the move. Put their toys in familiar areas as the other house, if they had a special drawer in the kitchen at the old house designated a special spot in the new kitchen.
• I found it helpful using my @tayneandashley address stamp to make sure everyone knew our new mailing address. This way I didn't have to write it out a bunch of times & it was a fun way to tell everyone!!
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