This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of CORT. All opinions are 100% mine.
Last November, our family moved to our little farmhouse that we remodeled from head to toe. It was our fourth move as a married couple but the first one we’d done with 4 kids. Let me tell you, that changes everything! From finding help with the kids so I could actually get some packing done to the sheer amount of stuff that we had, the move was a LOT of work.
{The family in our old living room the day before we moved.}
I have a few ideas that will help if you should ever find yourself moving a large family.
1.) Start early on purging and organizing
Even before we had closed on our new house, I began going through closets and books and other items that we didn’t use all the time. I went through every single piece of baby and kids’ clothing that we owned- it was a ton!- and gave a lot away to friends having babies, sold even more in a garage sale, donated some, and then just tossed the stuff that wasn’t wearable. I knew that even if the sale of the house didn’t go through, I would be glad I had pared down our belongings.
2.) Speaking of purging- purge, and then purge some more
We downsized from a 2500 square foot house to an 1800 square foot house. I got rid of probably half our belongings and it felt GREAT. Even now I’m constantly getting rid of things we don’t need. I’ve seen that we can live with less and it’s just so nice having fewer things to clean up. Don’t get me wrong, my kids still have plenty of toys that sometimes get out of hand, but I feel much more in control of the chaos than I did in our larger home with more stuff.
{Our new living room}
3.) Recruit help
So many of the ladies in our church were so sweet to come help me when they could. My mom came for a few days and my sister came for a weekend. Packing is much more fun when you have people you love around! You can also hire a young teenager to come help entertain your kids while you’re working in another room.
4.) Look for unconventional ways to make things easier
Sometimes, you gotta think outside of the box! We knew that moving to this home was a long-term decision, but when we first moved to Houston we moved to a rent house and knew that we probably wouldn’t be there more than a year. If I’d known that you could rent furniture back then, I would have jumped on board immediately!
I recently was browsing CORT Furniture Rental’s website (they’re the national industry leader in the furniture rental space) and loved the (many) options they have, like this beautiful living room set.
If you’re only going to be somewhere a few months, furniture rental is definitely the way to go. One reason I love CORT’s model- they deliver and set up the furniture for you! That way you walk right into a home that’s ready to go rather than having to piece things together for a short-term lease.
Moving is not fun no matter how you slice it, but CORT can make your short-term transition so much easier. Check out CORT Furniture Rental here.
About Kelli Hays
