How to Pack Children’s Items For a Move

The professional packers at All My Sons Moving & Storage offer advice for how to pack your children’s items. When moving with kids, you can follow this 5-step guide for getting everything your child needs to the new home.

Your next big move could be an emotional time for your children. Beyond checking in with their feelings and taking adequate time to say goodbye to the old place, you have all the logistics of packing up their belongings to worry about. 

Get everything your child needs from the toys and the stuffed animals to the kitchenware and crafty memorabilia all packed up for the move with this guide.

Every move is a chance to evaluate what you really need, and with growing children who phase out of clothes, toys, and their small silverware sets often, you should take some time before your move to check in and mindfully declutter. As you’re packing your household inventory, make five distinct piles for your children’s items.

• Sell: Children’s items in good condition like toys, clothes, books, games, and furniture can be sold online at OfferUp, Mercari, or Facebook Marketplace. High-ticket items could do well on ebay. The children’s store Once Upon a Child offers cash for acceptable children’s items on the spot. You might also try a local consignment store in your area.

• Donate: Items in good condition that you don’t want to bother trying to sell can be donated. National charities Goodwill and The Salvation Army have thrift-stores that accept children’s items nationwide. You can also check for local organizations that accept children’s items like homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, day cares, schools, and churches. 

• Discard: Items that are in bad shape, permanently soiled, broken, torn, or otherwise dysfunctional are candidates for disposal. Sort out recyclable materials or use a service like Terracycle’s Zero Waste Box to cut down on landfill waste. Everything else should be responsibly trashed according to your local regulations. 

• Keep:  These beloved items are making the move with you and getting set up in the new home with everything in the moving truck.

• Store: Some children’s items will hold a special place in your heart. When you’re not quite ready to part with an item yet  but you also know you won’t be using it for a while, consider putting the item in storage. Items in storage can go into a designated space in your new home like a closet or to a unit in a storage facility.

Once the dust of the decluttering has cleared and you’ve made your big donation run or called for junk removal from Junk.com, it will be time to start packing in earnest.

Every household has essential items that make happy, functional family-living possible. Your children have items they will probably use up until the morning of your move and then need again when you arrive at your destination. To make your first week in the new home an easy transition for you and the kiddos, separate these items to be packed last and unloaded first.

If your child is older than 5, they can probably carry their own essentials and emergencies bag on their person during the move with some of these items tucked inside.

• Children’s Bedsheets: Make your child’s bed at the new home with their favorite princess, dinosaur, or western sheets and your child will sleep better.

• Children’s Pillows: At least one pillow for each child should go in the essentials boxes.

• Favorite Toys: Pack your children’s favorite toys in their essentials box so playtime at the new home is possible in the first week. Extra special VIP toys like favorite teddy bears, dolls, or action heroes can go in the child’s personal bag.

• Children’s Clothing: Weather-appropriate clothes to last until the rest of the wardrobe can get unpacked.

• Children’s Kitchenware: If your child has special plates or silverware, put them in with the essential dishes for your kitchen.

• Children’s Medications: Daily and emergency medications for your child should be on either your person or in your child’s bag at all times.

• Book or Tablet: Keep your child entertained during the move by having them carry a favorite book or kids’ tablet to play games on.

• Diaper Bag: For infants and toddlers, always keep your diaper bag with diapers, baby wipes, and bottles on your person.

Prior to putting anything into boxes, give items a quick scrub. Run your children’s clothes through the laundry, disinfect toys, and make sure children’s dishes are clean and free of food particles.

This step is especially important if you are moving long-distance or putting any items into storage for any length of time. An essential part of preparing items for storage is making sure everything is clean and dry. Funky smells fester in dark storage units and dirt or food can attract pests.

You can start packing with the non-essentials which includes items like off-season clothing, closet storage bins, extra blankets and sheets, and your child’s books.

Pack room by room starting with the back-closets and ending with the essentials boxes. Always put heavy items in the bottoms of boxes and lighter items toward the top. Fill all empty space in boxes with packing material or soft household items to keep stuff from shifting around in transit.

Pack your children’s essentials for the bathroom, bedroom, and kitchen LAST to be unloaded from the truck FIRST when you reach your new home.

Tape those boxes shut and label them with a black permanent marker. Boxes should be marked with the room they belong to and whether or not they contain essentials. If you have extra money for moving supplies then purchase brightly colored tape for each of your rooms or your essentials boxes so that you can see at a glance where a box needs to go. Color-coding moving boxes will also make your move easy and fun for the kiddos and tweens, because they’ll easily identify boxes. 

Don’t forget which box the extra pacifiers went into! In lieu of a full moving inventory, always label your boxes with as much detail as possible.

Your children’s items are fully packed for the move and you’re free to worry about other things, like how your little angel is going to get settled into the new neighborhood. Play some unpacking games with your children at the destination, and this could be the start of a beautiful next chapter for the whole family.

Moving your family into a new home? Get the experts in residential moving to handle everything from the packing to the heavy lifting and trust All My Sons Moving & Storage with your move. Click the quote button below to get started on your next family adventure.