Many of you will know of our recent house move saga. In short, we moved from Devon to Lincolnshire, only to find out the day after moving that our house sale has fallen through. After a lot of discussion and heartache, we packed up 10 days later and moved back to Devon. It was a horrific, and terrifyingly expensive, couple of weeks, but we are now settled back into our home, the children are back at their school, and we feel a bit more normal again. We made a big mistake by moving prior to completion, and it is a mistake we learnt from – we certainly wouldn’t do that again!
We now know that if we move house again, we will be looking for a property for sale in Devon – we would stay much closer to home this time. We do love the area we live in – the Devon countryside is glorious in all seasons, and the coastline is just perfect for summer day trips and winter walks by the sea.
During our experience, I picked up a few tips for moving house with 3 small children – and I thought I would share these with you in case anyone else is about to up sticks and move into a new place.
1. If you can, and especially if you have a long journey, plan travel times to coincide with children’s nap times. It may be worth getting up that little bit earlier and setting off at the crack of dawn, just so you can get a decent chunk of travelling done before the children wake for breakfast.
2. Stack up on heaps of different activities – children get bored very quickly, especially on moving day when everyone is distracted. Try wrapping up small party bag type gifts and pulling out a new one every half an hour or so – think colouring books and crayons, small cars, books and travel games.
3. Think about the snacks you provide carefully. I don’t mean rule out sweets entirely, as everyone loves a sweet treat on a challenging journey, but do limit them. There is nothing worse than sugar fuelled children bouncing off the car seats. Pack alternatives that won’t spoil in a hot car – dried fruit, cereal bars, fruit pouches and malt loaf all make ideal travel nibbles.
4. Pack a change of clothes too. There is bound to be at least one toilet accident, spilled drink or travel sickness incident. It is worth having a spare t-shirt and pair of jogging bottoms for this sort of eventuality!
Do you have any other tips for moving house with little ones in tow? We would recommend using an estate agent with lots of experience in your local area so that they can make the process easier and smoother for you – this real estate absolutely does. It’s definitely not an easy process, but there are things to make life easier – please do share your experiences!
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I am NEVER, EVER moving house again. Aside from the fact both babies were born in our lounge, I NEVER, EVER want to have to pack everything up, change my address everywhere, physically move everything and try and find all the money involved. Nope, I’m staying right where I am! x