Moving to Houston--It's A Family Affair

By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group 

Preschoolers

Toddlers as well as preschoolers usually are not a lot of help, but they are so incredibly entertained through unfilled boxes, rolls of tape, and also bubble wrap that you just do not care. Offer a four-year-old free rein with packing materials and you can push through their belongings before they get uninterested and commence eating the packing peanuts. In all seriousness, offer your youngest kids a box and a little tape and get to work. Inquire which toys and games they wish to present to buddies or share with different kids they might not know--it is a little thing that enables them to feel as though they may have a little say in the proceedings.

Elementary Age

For those who have children in this age group, they are in the perfect place--old enough to be helpful, however, not so old that they've got solid points of view. Here are some jobs a 3rd grader can easily achieve.

· Go through their belongings and select what to give away.

· Put boxes together, organize packing materials, place color-coded labels on boxes.

· Put giveaway stuff in bags or cartons.

· Help empty closets as well as shelves to be ready for the professional movers.

This is a great age group to discuss donating old games and toys to charitable groups, as well as to explain why you select the ones you do. If the non-profit you choose possesses a thrift shop, take your kids in and permit them to check out what it looks like.

Middle School

Pre-teens and also teenagers are theoretically competent at truly pitching in, but it usually takes a bit of creativity to make that occur. These children are leaving behind buddies, sports activities, and school, and could be more interested in small-time sabotage compared to genuinely entering into the groove and sorting through the garage. If you wish to use bribery to get them on board, it is sort of a small cost to give.

· Offer to allow them to pick the shade and pieces of furniture for their new rooms.

· Get their feedback on what they would love to have in a new home. Definitely, they need to be reasonable, but tell them their thoughts matter. Inquire about back yards (trees, playhouses, room for a putting green), basements, rec rooms, as well as other items that might be on their wish lists. When you view homes online, show them what you like and what you do not--and explain why.

· Market gently used stuff and divide the profits. Consider several selling websites to determine which companies are the best. The majority of websites require that sellers be 18 years old, so you'll have to set the accounts up and handle the listings, but your kids can take the pictures, upload them, and write the information.

· Go the yard sale route and let them arrange the tables and put price tags on items.

High School and College

These are the challenging years--it is tough to move at any age, but it is especially difficult for high schoolers. The good thing is that while they're quite upset, they're old enough to do a little hard work whilst they sulk. Here are some things your teenagers can do to pitch in.

· Help with disassembling home furnishings.

· Smile and allow them to decorate their rooms exactly like they desire. They may be moving out soon enough, and you could always repaint.

· Get up in the attic and carry things down--teenagers are far more nimble when compared with their mother and father (and most professional movers won't go into the attic).

· Drive loads of things to the second hand outlets or the garbage dump. Pay for their gas and junk food along the way.

· Arrange trips returning to visit pals or proceed to plan for pals to come visit.

· Let them to sell their own stuff via the internet should they be more than 18 years of age and keep the earnings.

· If you do a garage sale, let them take care of the cash and the internet sales.

Be honest--if you have children attending college, it's totally possible that you have already converted that bedroom into a fitness room or even an home office. When your university students are home on a break prior to when you move to Houston, make sure they go through all their old cartons of stuff--you will still have to move them, however possibly they will remove enough to cut back on the quantity.