A big family move can feel like pure chaos. As someone who relocated from Buffalo to Rochester with my family of six, I know this firsthand. The key is organization. With meticulous planning and some practical strategies, you can transform your family moving experience into something, dare I say, enjoyable. Keep reading to learn how to stay organized when moving as a big family, and learn my secret weapon for simplifying the whole process.
Plan Ahead: You Need Pre-Move Organization
Preparing for the move makes the process so much easier. Don’t wing it.
Start Early
Begin repairing for the move at least 8–10 weeks before your moving date. Create a week-by-week checklist that breaks down tasks into manageable chunks. For my family’s move, starting early meant we could tackle one room per weekend, preventing that dreaded last-minute packing frenzy that inevitably leads to misplaced items and frayed nerves.
Create a Command Center
Designate an area in your current home as your “Moving Command Center.” This could be a corner of your kitchen or a small desk area. Keep all moving-related documents here:
- Quotes from moving companies
- School transfer papers
- Utility disconnect/connect information
- Your master inventory list
- Your moving checklist
I used a large three-ring binder with dividers for each category, plus a wall calendar marking important deadlines. This approach prevented the “Where did I put that form?” panic that wastes precious time.
Leverage Digital Tools
Big families equal a lot of stuff. To track everything, go digital. Sortly is an app that lets you inventory your belongings with photos and descriptions. Family organization apps like Cozi allow you to assign tasks to different family members and track completion. During our move, we created a shared Google Drive folder with spreadsheets for inventory, expenses, and task assignments that everyone could access from their devices.
Time Your Move
Schedule your move during school breaks to minimize disruption and complexity. The only upside to moving during the school year is that some moving companies offer lower rates. We moved during spring break, which gave our kids time to settle in before returning to a new school, while avoiding the peak summer moving season prices.
Get the Whole Family Involved
Don’t put the whole process on your shoulders. Getting the family involved creates a deeper bond, takes stress off your plate, and keeps your kids busy.
Assign Age-Appropriate Tasks
Involving every family member in the moving process creates a sense of ownership and reduces your workload. This is pretty specific to your family and how old your kids are.
- Teenagers can pack their own rooms and help with heavier items.
- Tweens can sort and organize smaller belongings.
- Even children as young as 4–5 can participate by decorating boxes or sorting toys.
During our move, my 14-year-old daughter managed the family library, while my 6-year-old son was the “Tape Master,” responsible for securing packed boxes. This division of labor lightened my load and gave everyone purpose.
Make Moving Fun for Kids
Moving with kids doesn’t have to be all stress and tears. With a little creativity, you can turn moving into an adventure rather than a chore.
We created a “Treasure Hunt” game where our younger children searched for specific items to pack, earning small prizes for completed boxes. Speed-packing competitions (with appropriate safety guidelines) turned mundane tasks into exciting challenges. My children still talk about the “Box Olympics” we held, with events like “Fastest Room Clear-Out” and “Most Organized Packing.”
Hold Family Meetings
Schedule weekly family meetings to discuss progress, address concerns, and adjust plans as needed. Keep these gatherings positive by celebrating milestones (“We’ve packed half the house!”) and solving problems collaboratively. Our Sunday evening “Move Huddles” included updates from each family member and ended with ice cream—a small tradition that provided continuity. These meetings also gave our children a forum to express anxieties about the move, allowing us to address concerns before they escalated.
How To Pack With a Large Family
After several family moves, I’ve discovered that systematic approaches work best for keeping track of everyone’s belongings while maintaining household harmony. You don’t need to (and shouldn’t try to) use all of these strategies at once. Pick and choose the ones you think will work best for your family.
Room-by-Room System
- Create a master schedule: Tackle one room at a time with a defined completion date for each space.
- Work together on common areas: Dedicate family work sessions to shared spaces such as living rooms and kitchens.
- Document room layouts: Take photos of furniture arrangements, shelf organizations, and wall hangings before disassembly to simplify setup in your new home.
Color-Coding Magic
Don’t mix color strategies or you’ll end up in a bad place. Pick one and stick to it.
- Assign colors to family members: Give each person a color for box labels so it’s easy to identify whose belongings are in which box.
- Use colored tape or stickers: We used blue for our oldest son, pink for our daughter, green for our youngest, and orange for shared items.
- Extend coding to rooms: Designate specific colors for kitchenware, bathroom supplies, and other household categories.
- Create a color key chart: Post the color system in your command center so anyone (including movers) can quickly understand the organization scheme.
Essential Boxes Strategy
- Create a “First Night” box for each family member: Pack pajamas, toiletries, change of clothes, medications, chargers, and comfort items.
- Prepare a “Kitchen Starter Box”: Include essential cookware, basic utensils, paper plates, coffee maker, and shelf-stable foods.
- Assemble a “Bathroom Starter Box”: Stock with shower curtain, towels, toilet paper, and necessary toiletries.
- Don’t forget the “Important Documents” box: Keep birth certificates, financial records, school documents, and medical information in a box you transport.
More Packing Tips for Moving With Children
Kids are sensitive about their prized possessions. Keep favorite toys, blankets, and comfort items accessible throughout the move. For our youngest, we created a special “Moving Buddy Backpack” that contained his favorite stuffed animal and activities. This stayed with him during the entire move, providing security amid change. For older children, allowing them to create a “special items” box that they seal and monitor can ease concerns about treasured possessions.
Moving Day Execution
Most people think this is the hardest part of moving with a big family. That’s only true if you didn’t plan, plan, and plan some more. With a good plan, this day should be pretty easy and predictable.
Moving Day Timeline and Checklist
Create your own, but here’s the one I used for our last move in case you want to borrow the template:
- 5:30–6:00 AM: Wake up, prepare simple breakfast, dress in comfortable clothes
- 6:00–7:00 AM: Final walkthrough of empty rooms, secure children’s “comfort items”
- 7:00–7:30 AM: Brief family meeting to review day’s plan and individual responsibilities
- 7:30–8:00 AM: Set up kid’s activity station in designated “safe zone” away from main moving paths
- 8:00 AM: Welcome moving company crew, provide home layout overview
- 8:00–12:00 PM: Loading process, alternate parent supervision between moving oversight and childcare
- 12:00–12:30 PM: Family lunch break (pre-prepared sandwiches and snacks)
- 12:30–3:00 PM: Complete loading, final checks of all spaces, including closets, attic, basement
- 3:00–3:30 PM: Clean-up of any remaining items, turn off utilities if required
- 3:30 PM: Final walkthrough with all family members
- 4:00 PM: Depart for new home, ensuring everyone has access to comfort items and activities for the journey
Keep Kids Occupied
Create a space away from the action where children can play. During our move, we designated my sister’s minivan as a “kids headquarters” in the driveway, stocked with activities, snacks, and movies. For older children, assign them as “moving supervisors” with (safe) responsibilities that make them feel important and engaged.
Meal Planning for Moving Week
The moving process disrupts normal routines, especially meals. Prepare a cooler with sandwich supplies, fruit, and snacks for moving day. Plan simple meals for the days before and after the move.
Better yet, prepare and freeze meals in advance that can be easily reheated. Stock up on paper plates and plastic utensils to minimize dishes during this transitional time.
Get Childcare
If possible, arrange for younger children to spend moving day with relatives or friends. For our move, we scheduled our youngest two children to spend the day with grandparents, which freed us to focus on the logistics without worry. If outside childcare isn’t available, hire a babysitter who can supervise children either in a designated area of your current home during peak loading hours.
My Secret Weapon: Full-Service Movers
The tips in this article will make your life easier, but the game-changer for our family was hiring Zip To Zip Moving Company. As a family-friendly moving company, they understood the challenges of relocating with four children. Their full service included packing, unpacking, transportation, and furniture disassembly/reassembly. Instead of stressing in the run-up to our move, we could spend the day at the park while the movers did the packing.
When our childcare plans fell through last minute on moving day, their crew adjusted their schedule to arrive after we’d dropped the youngest kids off with my grandparents. The moving team engaged wonderfully with our children who were present, even letting my curious 8-year-old “help” direct furniture placement from a safe distance.
Professional movers helped us enjoy moving to a new community by handling all the tough stuff while we explored our new neighborhood and helped our children navigate the transition.
If the organizational aspects of family moving seem overwhelming, visit Zip To Zip’s website for a free quote—sometimes the best organization strategy is having the right support.
