Moving Tips?

I am a Relocation Counselor for a moving company so I do have some helpful advice. If you have any other questions, let me know. I'm not sure if you're moving yourself or if you've hired a moving company but these are some of the things I tell my customers. When packing, make sure that you keep the boxes organized, like one of the other suggestions said. This will make unloading and unpacking much easier. I've had customers who have packed, labeled the boxes with (1 of 4/kids bedroom) and then wrote out an inventory on notebook paper with the carton number and the inventory of each carton. Staying organized is key!
High value items (extraordinary value items) should be packed, labeled and inventoried seperately.
Plan to keep your utilities on for moving day...having a working phone and working water is definitely a good thing.
Make a final walk through once the house is unloaded before the truck leaves. Check all cabinets, drawers, closets, attics, crawlspaces, garages, sheds, patios and yards to make sure that everything that is going has been taken. Especially with a moving company, it's hard to get the truck back there once it leaves.
Check for damages as items are being unloaded at destination.
Boxes containing High Value items should be unpacked immediately.
Good luck.

Label each box by room, by number of boxes for that room (4 of 4, kitchen") and put a quick, general note on the outside as to what is in the box "canned goods" "small appliances" "pictures" so when you are unpacking it will be so much easier to find things and prioritize. Take extra time to note the unusual things that are going to the basement/garage, etc so when you are ready to tackle them, you can do it by priority and find things as you need them.

Have the movers put the boxes in each room.

make sure you don't lose track of those boxes keep them separate

We moved 3 weeks ago with our 23 month old -- everything went smoothly but it wasn't a pleasurable experience. Just remember to take lots of deep breaths! We had all of our boxes completely organized and labeled. The first thing we did was put together our son's room so when he needed to sleep, everything was ready for him. We brought in our own car the pack and play (just in case the crib wasn't put together in time), crib sheets, monitor, favorite crib toys, etc. so we knew exactly where they were when we needed them. One thing that really helped us was to have tools ready for the movers. My son's crib wouldn't fit through the door from where we were moving from, so we had to take it apart. I had the toolbox as well as the crib assembly instructions on hand, and they came in handy. If you're using movers and they have to disassemble items to be moved, as soon as they're off the truck have them start assembling those items. The last thing you want is to pay hourly movers to assemble a crib or a bed while the others are done unloading the truck and just sitting around.

I would also have snacks/water/etc. for you, the kids and the movers. After unpacking my son's room, we did the kitchen. I've always felt that if my kitchen was organized, everything else would fall into place, and it did.

Good luck!

We just moved with our 4 year old and 19 month old. We made sure the first thing we did was walk through with the kids with only Mom and Dad to get them used to it and also make it fun for them. After that we moved their beds 1st and got them setup along with some special items. That way when they got tired, they were all settled in and felt comfortable with their own things.

The best thing I did when we moved, was to have my mom take the kids over to the new house first thing with their special stuff. They got to run around in the empty house and play while the movers were emptying the old place. I think once the moving truck came to the new place, they were calm enough to stay in one place and stay out of the way, and they went on a neighborhood walk to check it all out.