Moving with Relative Ease with a Toddler

Edited with permission, CC. 

    We moved to a different city a few months back... and I thought I'd share our experiences with a successful, relatively easy move with a toddler in tow. 

First off, Buy quality boxes and tape:
   I love saving money, but you do not want to cheap out on boxes and tape when it comes to your precious belongings. We purchased tape and boxes from Walmart and unfortunately found out that the quality was not there. So we went with Home Depot boxes/tape and it was so much sturdier and not a single one of our items broke. 

Buy packing materials:
   I preferred the packing bubbles from Home Depot to Walmart, but they both seemed to do the job. I just noticed that Home Depot's items were far sturdier. But you can utilize other items to protect your breakable things, such as newspaper as a filler, towels, pillows... The packing bubbles are great to use for things like plates and cups that you don't want to have to wash as soon as you unpack them. Newspaper tends to get those items dirty. 

Edited with permission CC.

Properly label your boxes:
   I made sure that with each box I labeled it thoroughly (it really paid off in the end). For fragile items, those boxes were extra labeled. I made sure to list the items thoroughly as well with sticky notes and tape. Anything that were last minute things to pack, was labeled "last minute" so I knew those things needed to be unpacked first. The "last minute items" were usually essentials like plates, dry goods and so on...

Consider hiring movers:
   Mr. Picturesque and I have always moved ourselves. We have been through two to three moves since we have been married and just always managed to do it, but this was prior to children. One friend suggested we at least price out movers, and when I did, I realized it was worth the extra cost. I did go through Angie's list (which you can gain access with a free account). Angie's list gave me the security in knowing how a moving company was truly rated, and if they could be trusted. We ended up spending $700 for 7 hours and weren't completely exhausted at the end of the day. 
   We did have everything packed up prior to the movers coming, and organized, but the movers did everything. I was even able to get Toddler P. down for her nap that day with a house that was pretty much already set-up! It was totally worth the extra money.

Keep children entertained:
   I packed when Toddler P. was eating and/or watching her cartoons. I also packed when she was napping. I started packing about two months in advance, which helped with my stress level. On moving day, Mr. P. stayed with the movers... while I took Toddler P. and we went to our new place to prepare while she played with some toys I had brought over the day before. 

What have you found helpful with moving?

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