Moving?  Want Tips on How to Do It Without Losing Your Mind?

This comes from a mother of 3 young children who has moved 8 times in 9 years and we are not in the military!  Since I am a stay-at-home mom, I've managed the family activities for 7 years, since our first child was born.  This also means that during moving times I was responsible for transferring and re-coordinating doctors, dentists, preschools, schools, etc.

1.  The first thing to do is cancel everything at the current address.  Cancel, or set up cancellation of electric, phone, cable, etc.  Give them a cell phone number in case they need to reach you after the phone is shut off. 

2.   Once you have your new address, you'll want to make arrangements for utilities at that address.

3.  Once you have a new address and phone give it to everyone important!  That means filling out a change of address form at the post office, also give your current utility companies your new address for that final bill and make sure you get any security deposits back!

4. Check your calendar to see if the children have any medical appointments that need to be rescheduled to your new location.  If so, find a provider in your new area and contact them to verify that they take your insurance and are accepting new patients.  One rule of thumb in selecting doctors is to go with a practice of more than one doctor.  They usually will be a good choice especially since the doctors can advise one another on treatments.  Once you have done this, be sure to cancel the appointments with the current medical professionals so you are not taking up a time slot you don't intend to keep and could possibly incur charges if you don't show.

5.  Now that you have canceled appointments with your medical providers you hopefully have informed them of your move and should ask them to either copy your records for you to pick up or stop by and fill out a records release form and put the new doctors name and address on the form.  If your doctor copies your records for you to pick up you can go ahead and put them in an envelope and mail them straight to your new doctor.  This way, they cannot get lost in the move and your doctor will be very impressed that he/she has records on your very first visit!

6.  If your child is in preschool this can be difficult.  The internet is a great resource for this but if you are moving mid-school-year, you may have difficulty finding a spot for your child somewhere.  If a preschool or church does not have space I would ask them if they know of any place that may have space for your child.  I've found out about some new places this way and also less advertised churches. 

7.  If you have a child in public school ask to be mailed a new student packet.

8.  Change the billing address for any and all credit cards.

9.  I think I've gotten all the critical stuff, now onto the not so critical stuff.  If you have any special concerns or special needs, contact the appropriate agencies and/or support groups ahead of time to advise them of your move and coordinate necessary meetings or memberships, etc.  Ask if there is any paperwork that can be mailed to you and filled out ahead of time.

10.  I have some special advice for all you ladies out there.  I know how hard it is to find a hair stylist you like.  For me, every time I find someone I like, it's time to move again!  My advice on this is to use the internet or yellow pages.  Usually a salon that has a website is going to be a good salon and usually I pick a handful that sound sophisticated enough and start calling and asking what they charge for a haircut.  The salon who charges the most within my budget, is the winner!  Let's face it, you get what you pay for when it comes to salons.  This has always been a successful method for me.

11.  Our last move was from Maryland to Texas.  We drove 2 cars with 3 kids for 3 days.  My advice as far as packing is to make a pile of everything that needs to go in the car.  Don't forget the pack-n-play (I've heard bad things about hotel cribs) and everyone's favorite blankets or stuffed animals and 1 or 2 small toys for any really little ones.  Pack clothes for everyone for a week -- everything else goes on the moving truck!!   I kept all my baby equipment in a laundry basket and just carried it in and out of the hotel room every night.

11.  As far as dealing with the kids.  This is common sense but some ideas to keeping the kids' stress level low.  Don't talk about moving!!  Depending on the age of your children is how much information they receive.   Don't talk about leaving their friends.  Focus on the positive things about the move.  A better opportunity, a chance to make new friends, a better school, they get to pick out their own room in the new house!  Are there new experiences they will have at the new house?  Your kids will also feed off of their parents so, be positive!  Be sure to take your kids to visit their new schools a day or two before they actually go and possibly even meet teachers.

It's a lot of work but as much as you can do before you actually pack up, the better.  It's okay if you forget something.

Happy packing and good luck!