Moving is stressful. Family lives are stressful. We’ve got some tips for you and your family to minimize your stresses while moving. Maybe you’re moving with your spouse and four kids, or maybe it’s just you and your elderly grandmother. There’s the search for a new home, the packing and moving process, and then getting settled into your new place. Find a real estate agent who can identify your most important needs and if you can, speak with residents of the neighborhoods you’d like to move into. This process is less stressful when you begin it far in advance, such as four to eight months. If you’re a parent, you’ll probably research schools, daycare facilities and babysitters. If your children are older, ask for their input! The better they feel about the move, the less stress you’ll feel yourself. If you’re moving an elderly family member, you’ll probably want to be close to healthcare facilities, their new primary care physician and a reliable pharmacy. If the move must be made in the months with the coldest winters or the hottest summers, you will certainly want to hire a moving company to do the lifting for you, ensuring that your family does not experience any accidents such as slipping on ice or becoming exhausted from the heat. Even if the weather isn’t extreme, hiring movers is the best way to reduce stress over a move. Make sure that you have packed your household with the proper packing materials. The process of boxing up your whole house can be made into fun for the whole family!

Add the person’s name who packed each box to the outside of the boxes with a marker, and as a family agree that whoever has a damaged item in one of their boxes on the other side of the move has to do laps around the new house! As you’re settling into your new place, understand that your family members are missing many friends and loved ones left behind due to the move. You may want to plan a trip back to the old neighborhood around a year after the move. Explore all of the attractions of the new place with the ages and tastes of your family members in mind. Encourage yourself and others to get out and meet friends. Maybe you’ll like it so much there that it will be your very last move!