Moving with a Child? Here’s How to Get Them Settled in Safely

Screaming and crying. Tantrums.

Helping kids when they’re upset is hard. It tries your patience, and if they’re little enough, they can’t even tell you what they want.

Although fewer Americans move now than in the past, it’s still a big transition. Moving with little ones doesn’t have to be the end of the world. Help them understand what a move is and how things will change.

Here are some tips to ease the transition.

Talk It Through

Prepare your kids by talking with them about the move, before and during the process. It helps them know what to expect.

Read picture books about moving with your child to help ready them as well.

Discuss the move with them openly and allow them to express their feelings about it. Your child might feel scared, sad, confused, or maybe even excited. Talk about your feelings and let them know how you are feeling. Try to approach the discussion positively.

Then on moving day, reflect on the earlier discussion you had with your child.

Pack Their Things Last

Make sure your child’s familiar things like favorite toys are set out and get loaded last. This will make the transition easier.

Explain as you pack up their room and toys that you are not throwing them away, but packing them for the move.

Loading their items last means they get to see them until the end, and that way they’re on top when you get to your destination.

Set Up Their Room First

The first thing to take care of when setting up a new home is to get your child’s room ready.

Try to arrange it similarly to his old room. If his bed had a sightline to the door, try to place it in a similar position in his new room.

Keep familiar bedding the same for now. Organize toys and books on the shelves the same way. Perhaps take a little time to hang the artwork that was on your child’s room in the previous house.

So, even if the rest of the house is in a chaotic state your child’s room is a comfortable, familiar spot. They’ll feel more calm with the same regular bedtime things all around them. They’ll forget that the rest of the house is different, at least until morning.

Establish a Routine

Even though you will have the complicated, time-consuming task of unpacking all your boxes in your new home, keep regular mealtimes and bedtimes the best you can.

It’s important to establish a routine for your child as soon as you get to your new home. Young children, in particular, thrive on routine and predictability, so getting the family back into the swing of the normal daily activities is essential.

Getting Settled

Whether you’re talking about the move, packing up your child’s room, or setting everything up in a new house, you can help your child make an easy transition. Stick to your regular routines at bedtime, and they’ll feel more at home.

If moving with a little one seems like too much to handle on your own, get the help you need today. Request a free quote from Community Moving & Storage and let us do the heavy lifting so you can focus on your family.

Saying Farewell to a Home: 4 Ways to Say Goodbye Before You Move Out

Moving is an emotional roller coaster.

On the one hand, the future and your new home await you. There’s an excitement about it.

On the other hand, however, you have to say goodbye to everything you’ve known for years. You have to say farewell to your safe haven.

With the back and forth of selling a home and moving to a new one, you don’t need any more mental or emotional stress.

Finding the right way of saying farewell to a home that commemorates your time there and allows you to walk away without regrets, is something most people don’t take the time to do.

Read on for four tips for saying farewell to a home!

1. Take Pictures

Before you move out, get family and good friends together and take plenty of pictures around the house.

If certain rooms are especially meaningful to you, try to capture the essence of why they are special. For example, if you proposed to your wife in the foyer of the house, recreate the moment and snap a picture of it!

Take pictures of every room as it is before you start packing. Get a separate photo album for all your images, so you have a designated spot for them. This is an excellent way of saying farewell to a home and creating a book full of memories!

2. Leave a Letter to the New Owners

While not everyone enjoys writing or reaching out to others, leaving a loving note for the new homeowners is a heartfelt way of saying farewell to your old home.

This is a great platform to tell them everything you love about the house and all the quirks that make it unique. If you’d like, this is also a good way of offering up tips about any special needs the house requires each year.

To make it extra special, leave the note with a gift basket and a bottle of champagne!

3. Saying Farewell to a Home with a House-Cooling Party

Everyone knows of house-warming parties. However, a house-cooling party is a fun and memorable way of saying farewell to a home.

Before you move out, invite all your friends and family over for one last hurrah!

However, don’t let things get too out of hand or you’ll find yourself with quite the cleanup job right before you leave! Of course, the house-cooling party can be followed up with a house-cleaning party the next weekend!

4. Take a Memento

Finally, if you feel like you will always miss this particular home, take a piece of it with you.

Perhaps grab some flowers from the garden and press them in a book for a remembrance. Or, maybe take a clipping from a plant or bush to start one just like it in your new place.

Helping Your Move Go Smoothly

Community Moving and Storage provides quality moving assistance to help you move your life or business as smoothly as possible.

We help people throughout the Tampa area with household moving, corporate moving, and flexible storage options.

Find out more about us here!

Florida Foodies: 4 Top Restaurants in Tampa to Try

Are you one of the over 335,000 people living in Tampa? Or are you one of the thousands who move there each year? Or perhaps one of the millions of tourists visiting the area for the fantastic beaches, activities, and weather?

Whoever you are and however you end up in Tampa, you’re lucky to be in an area that’s known for some of the best restaurants in Florida.

Let’s take a look at 4 of the best restaurants in Tampa that you should sample as soon as you arrive.

1. Best Breakfast: Daily Eats

Enjoy the most important meal of the day at one of the best restaurants in Tampa, Daily Eats.

It gives you classic diner vibes with excellent breakfast and brunch options ranging from traditional create-your-own omelets to trendy acai bowls to thick malt milkshakes and fries.

If you have a sweet tooth, try their chef’s specialty: the Captain Crunch French Toast.

2. Best Seafood: Ocean Prime

Ready to splurge on some of the freshest and most delicious seafood you’ll ever try? Head over to Ocean Prime.

Named the best seafood restaurant in Tampa by Tampa Magazine, you’ll have extensive raw bar options, award-winning sushi, and an ocean’s worth of entrees. They’re famous for their Florida grouper, crab cakes, and their surf and turf of filet mignon and lobster tails.

3. Best Fine Dining: Bern’s Steak House

More into meat than fish? Bern’s Steak House is another fine dining restaurant in Tampa worth checking out.

You’ll get the full fine-dining experience: amazing service (including trained sommeliers), full-course meals, French cooking, perfectly aged steak, wine, and a world-renowned dessert room.

4. Best American Pub Food: Datz

Are you looking for something a bit more casual? Want something you can grab after a long day at the beach or after hours of unpacking your new home?

Datz’s is an authentic American gastropub. Try their famous Cheesy Todd: a short rib and brisket burger smothered in cheese and sandwiched between two jalapeno mac and cheese “buns.”

Other indulgent sandwich options include a chicken and mashed potato sandwich, Roger’s Rockin’ Reuben, and a breakfast burrito fit for a king.

For the vegans and vegetarians among your group, they have plenty of options (beyond the overdone green salad and stuffed peppers). They have the Beyond Burger, chipotle glazed seitan sandwiches, vegan tacos, and buffalo cauliflower popcorn bites.

Best Restaurants in Tampa: Which Is the First Stop for You?

Whether you want a vegan burger or a huge chunk of prime rib or a dozen raw oysters, one of these best restaurants in Tampa is going to work for you. Obviously, this list isn’t comprehensive: Tampa is known for its foodie scene with sushi, Latin food, Cuban food, farm-to-table, and more.

Are you ready to make the move to experience all this and more? Before you do, read this article for some things you should know about moving to Tampa.

Once you’re informed, contact us, and we’ll help your move go smoothly.