Moving with children

(This is the third post for Bailey's Moving and Storage ipad 2 Giveaway.  Click here to learn more about the contest.)

The only thing worse than a screaming child is a screaming child in a confined space...like the car.

Nothing is worse than a long car trip with bored children!  With the added stress of moving to a new town, state, or country, sometimes it can feel like you just can't bear it.  This is why I've decided to come up with a list (if you haven't figured it out yet, I love lists) of ways to make the car trip more bearable for you and your children.  I've used a few other blogs, websites, and my own brain for these ideas, but I will include my sources in case you want to see exactly where the originals came from.  

Trinkets/prizes for good behavior at different intervals during the trip:  I know of a mom that used to take her two young daughters on 8-12 hour road trips.  She successfully kept them happy by promising them that, every hour if they listened to mom and kept whining to a minimum, they would get a small prize.  Before the trip she went to The Dollar Store and Target's Dollar Spot.  She bought all sorts of games, treats, and trinkets for the girls.  One hour they might get their own pair of sunglasses, silly putty, coloring books, crayons, stickers, or their favorite snack.  You can do this too!  Set the interval you want to give prizes at and the rules for earning the prizes!  Anything that will keep a child's attention will do.

These magnetic travel games from Oriental Trading Company would be AMAZING--$14.00 for  a dozen.

Mini White Boards:  I LOVE this idea.  As a kid, I was OBSESSED with my dad's old white board.  It was who knows how many years old, covered in scratches, and TOTALLY AWESOME!  That thing kept my little sister and I entertained for hours.  This version I'm going to show you is from Quirky Momma Kids Activities Blog.  She's got some great activities for kids, so go check her blog out!  

Basically, the white board is made with a peice of paper slipped inside of a CD case, and a baby wipe inside as the eraser.  I will have pictures and a tutorial on this soon, so STAY TUNED TO THE BLOG!  Your children can use this as a quiet, play-by-yourself activity, or you can make games out of it.  If you have two children, help them play "Pictionary"...or "Guess What I Drew!"  Have them draw things that you see on the road as you drive by, or portraits of each other.  The possibilities are endless.

Books on CD:  I've been doing some research lately, and EVERYONE is raving about this suggestion when you move with your children.  Order some books on CD and have them in the car!  This truly keeps little minds busy and little mouths quiet...the perfect combination.  Places like Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and audible.com have these in stock.

This book (obviously from Amazon) comes with a CD.

ipad 2 Contest: Post 1: How to Load your Truck on Moving Day

(This is the first post for Bailey's Moving and Storage ipad 2 Giveaway.  Click here to learn more about the contest.)

Not everybody likes to move; in fact, very few people do.  It seems to be  a universal stressor common to all man.  Whether you're moving to be closer to family, start a new job, or to build your dream house, everyone moves.  Coming from the wife of a professional mover (and along with his help), here are life saving instructions on packing your moving truck in the mst efficient way:

These poor guys!  Don't let this be you...pack efficiently!

1. Pick the right sized truck!  I cannot stress this point enough.  When Paul and I made the move from Idaho to Colorado, we were able to fit all of our possessions (which filled a 1200 sq ft home), AND a car into the back of our moving truck.  You want to be as effiecient with your space as you can.  So here's how you do it:  Measure your largest piece of furniture (legth-wize).  This will usually be your couch.  For space reasons, it works best to load your couch first, and standing up on it's side.  One arm rest should be on the ground while the other should be at the ceiling of the truck.  If, when you measure the couch, it will be too tall for the truck you're renting, you want a bigger truck.  Now, you also need to know how long the truck has to be to accomodate all of your belongings.  The best way to do this, as a non pro, is to contact your moving truck company.  Most likely, they will ask you how many rooms you are packing up and will give you an estimate as to how big of truck you will need.  Some companies have this information convienently located on their websites.  Having a truck that is too small will KILL your move, but a truck that is too big will kill your wallet.  Make sure you get the right size!
2. Have a game plan.  You know... a good one.  Professional movers aren't accidentally good at finding ways to fit everything in.  They are organized.  They have a system, a plan, and they stick to it.  In order to load like the pros do, you need to know the following terms---they will seriously save you time, money, and, oh yeah, a whole lot of time.   Ha.  Terms:  
1. Base:  The heaviest and strongest items you have.  This should be made up of things that you cannot take apart or condense.  Your couches, entertainment center, or dressers make a great base.  Leave out things like tables and bed frames.  They seem big, but once you take them apart, they are easily condesnable and are packed later on.  
2. Mid-load:  This is made up of things that weigh less than your base.  Small bookshelves, boxes,  and chairs.
3. Top-load:  Your top-load should be made up of lighter boxes (i.e your box of bedsheets, not books or canned goods).  This would also include laundry baskets, yard tools, and lamps, etc.
4. Tier:  One tier is made up of a row of Base, Mid-load, and Top-load and should go from the floor of your truck to the cieling.  
3. Build your Base.  Load your most awkward item first--usually your couch.  Fill in around the couch to keep the tier even.  Remember to keep an eye on the tier you are building.  Paul imagines he's building a brick wall; he doesn't want any of the bricks sticking out past any of the others.  
4. Add your Mid-load.  Don't try to use just boxes in the beginning tiers.  Use more of your awkward mid-load items, and then as you run out of those, use your boxes.  This will help to
1. ensure you fit your awkward sized possessions in, and
2. keep your load snug.
5. Layer your Top-load:  Find anything in the house that is light and layer it to the top of the ceiling. 
6. Lather, Rinse, REPEAT:  That was tier one people.  Continue to load your truck in a similar fashion, remembering to load the most awkward items first. 
7. That was AWKWARD:  Once you run out of those awkward items, just use boxes.  They are easy to load and will stay tight together in the truck.  This will actually help to protect your awkward items from being damaged.
8. Lastly:  Once EVERYTHING is loaded, use your matress and box spring as a type of bulk head.  This will, again, keep everything tight and take up some unused space.  

Shut that door and go have yourself a break--you just loaded your truck like a pro!