Moving to Denver--It's A Family Affair

By Julie DeLong, A-1 Freeman Moving Group 

Preschoolers

Toddlers as well as preschoolers usually are not a lot of help, but they're so fantastically amused through empty cartons, rolls of tape, and bubble wrap that you simply will not mind. Give a four-year-old free rein with packing supplies and you can now blow through their stuff prior to them getting bored and start eating the packing peanuts. In all seriousness, provide your youngest children a box a bit of tape and get to work. Inquire which playthings they wish to donate to buddies or share with different youngsters they might not know--it's a little thing which helps them feel as though they have some say in the process.

Elementary Age

For those who have kids in this age category, they're in the ideal spot--old enough to be helpful, although not so old that they've solid sentiments. Here are some tasks a third grader can certainly achieve.

· Look through their stuff and determine items to keep.

· Put boxes together, arrange packing supplies, put color-coded labels on cartons.

· Put giveaway things in bags and cartons.

· Help empty out closets and also drawers to be ready for the professional movers.

This is a good age range to talk about donating gently used games and toys to charitable groups, and to talk about the reasons you pick the ones you do. When the non-profit you choose possesses a thrift retail outlet, bring your kids in and let them check out precisely what it looks like.

Middle School

Pre-teens and teenagers are hypothetically competent at truly pitching in, but it could take some imagination to make that happen. These kids are leaving behind pals, athletics, and school, and might be more motivated in small-time sabotage rather than really entering into the swing and cleaning out the basement. If you need to use bribery to get them agreeable, it is sort of a little cost to pay.

· Offer to let them to select the paint and furniture for their new bedrooms.

· Obtain their feedback on what they would really like to obtain in a new house. Obviously, they need to be practical, yet inform them their views make a difference. Inquire about yards (trees, playhouses, room for a putting green), basements, recreation rooms, along with other items that may be on their wish lists. Whenever you look at homes online, show them which you prefer and what you don't--and express why.

· Sell old belongings and split the profits. Try various selling sites to determine which ones are the most effective. A good number of web pages require that sellers be 18 years old, so you will have to set the profile up and control the sale listings, but your teens might take the photos, upload them, and prepare the descriptions.

· Go the yard sale direction and allow them to arrange the tables and place price tags on items.

High School and College

These are the tricky years--it's hard to move at any age, but it is particularly rough for high schoolers. The great thing is that while they are fairly unhappy, they are old enough to accomplish some hard work while they pout. Here are a few things your teens can carry out to pitch in.

· Help with disassembling home furnishings.

· Smile and allow them to embellish their rooms completely like they really want. They're moving out soon enough, and you could definitely repaint.

· Go up in the attic and bring items down--teenagers are much more nimble when compared with their parents (and most professional movers won't enter the attic).

· Drive loads of things to the second hand shops or the dump. Pay for their gasoline and junk food along the way.

· Set up journeys back to see good friends or proceed to arrange for pals to come visit.

· Allow them to sell their own stuff online if they are more than 18 and keep the profits.

· If you do a garage sale, permit them to manage the cash and the internet sales.

Be truthful--if you have kids in college, it is totally likely that you've previously converted that bedroom into a fitness room or an office. Whenever your university students are home on a break before you move to Denver, make sure they're going through all their old cartons of stuff--you'll still need to move them, but possibly they can remove enough to minimize on the amount.