Top Ten Tips Moving your Family Cross Country

When it comes to moving your family cross country, you don’t know what you don’t know. We loaded up our family of four on a cross country move 6 months ago, and we didn’t know much about a whole bunch of things. Most of all, where we were even moving to, but that’s a whole other post. Read more of our blog if you want to learn about our experience. Get an idea of what may lie ahead for you in your own journey.

We have compiled our top ten tips of: what we learned the hard way, what we did right when moving our family cross country, and what we would change if we had to do it all over again. We hope that you find the list below helpful and wish you smooth travels!

1. Choose your moving company wisely.

We researched U-boxes (through U-haul) and Pods. Not knowing our end destination, these two options made the most sense for us. They allowed for mobile storage units to be delivered right to our house. We could load on our own schedule. After we had packed all of our possessions the units were to be picked up and stored. Once we knew exactly where we would be moving we could have them shipped. This option is much better than finding a local storage unit, renting a moving truck, moving our stuff into the storage unit. Then flying back to load it up yet again and driving it to our final destination.

When we priced out both options, U-boxes were easily half the price and shipped to almost anywhere. Bingo. Exactly what we needed. To make things go as smooth as possible we arranged for their delivery weeks ahead of time. The day of their scheduled arrival came and went. We couldn’t get anyone with customer service to help us figure out where they were…it was a mess. That night I was on the phone with Pods scheduling them for delivery the following morning, on a Sunday no less. Levi single-handedly loaded all our stuff over the next two days, into two large Pods. When we arrived at our final destination and called to get a quote for our Pod delivery we learned they don’t ship to this town or anywhere relatively close.

Long story semi-short: we ended up using a moving broker to find us a moving company who would unpack our Pods and deliver its contents to our new home. It has been a mess. We still have one Pod unit in Texas. We refuse to let the moving company touch the second Pod. As when we received our first unit and everything, I mean everything, was damaged in some fashion.

We are still in mediation with the company while simultaneously paying Pods storage fees every month. A real shit show that could have been avoided had we done more research. I would shout from the rooftops to anyone moving: do your research! Find a company that will treat your childhood bedroom set like it was their own. This is one area where you will definitely want to spend the extra money. Use a reputable company and not just look for the lowest bid. Peace of mind and careful handling of your belongings is priceless. Moving your family cross country is stressful enough, this shouldn’t be a part of the move you need to worry about.

2. Supplies like boxes, packing paper, and tape can be expensive. But you can get them for free!

Nextdoor is a free social networking tool that connects you to others in your neighborhood . It lets you see and share the goings on. A great resource when you arrive in your new neighborhood and an easy way to learn about your neighbors and introduce yourself if you wish. I simply used the search box and typed in the word “boxes”. There were two people in nearby neighborhoods that had just moved to the area and were looking to get rid of boxes and packing paper. Also the Facebook marketplace had some listed boxes for free. We hit paydirt, we even had enough boxes to re-post for free and keep the giving going to the next movers.

3. You have 10x more crap than you could have ever imagined.

I pride myself on being a minimalist. I love to organize, even closets. Still we got rid of many things. Like the clothes that you think you will wear someday (but haven’t for 10 years so why would you start now?), the stuffed animals that fill the toy chest and never get loved on anymore, the collection of random kitchen gadgets that have been used once and then collect dust over the years, etc. Then there were bigger items that when we did the cost-benefit analysis simply didn’t make sense to keep. We loved our couches, patio furniture, and farmhouse table and bench, but space it would take up to store for months just didn’t make financial sense. Keeping my grandfather’s grandfather clock or my grandmother’s china hutch and buffet, of course, it was worth every penny to keep.

4. Plan an extra day (at minimum) for cushion, everything takes way longer than you would ever imagine.

Each day planned out we knew exactly what needed to be accomplished in order to hit our deadline. To be out of the house and hit the road on time we needed to follow my list. (I told you I like to organize.) Well, when the U-boxes didn’t show up on day one we started off behind the eight-ball immediately. We never caught up and actually ended up leaving three days late. One of the most time consuming aspects of moving was cleaning after packing a room, only to have to clean it again as that was then the kid play area while we were working on another room.

5. Keep out your birth certificates, social security cards, and doctor records.

When we went to enroll our little ones in school, the biggest hangup was the vaccinations. If only I went to the doctor’s office before we left and simply gotten a hard copy. We wouldn’t have had to wait and play the frustrating game of reminding the doctor’s office they hadn’t yet sent the immunization records for the third day in a row. It’s hard to explain to your little one that they cannot go to school and meet new friends yet again because the doctor’s office cannot send the fax they have assured you they sent. Get a hard copy of your child’s immunization records before you leave town.

6. Contact the Chamber of Commerce of your new hometown. We loved the connections we made with our visits.

The chamber is a great, and free, place to get accurate information for school districts, areas to live, and upcoming events. The Chamber of Commerce employees we met with were wonderful, friendly, and answer questions you may have on your new hometown.

Another piece of advice I would like to add here is to explore the area ahead of starting a new job. I know life gets crazy, but I didn’t know where anything was located. We were here for one day looking at rentals before I started my new position. Moving is stressful enough that you shouldn’t have to worry about finding the local grocery store, library, or just having a general idea of the layout of the area. Take one week or so and go try some of the locally recommended restaurants and shopping. Set aside some time to find a nice place to watch the sunset and explore after dark too. It’s funny how once the sun sets everything looks different.

7. Stash some of the kids fave toys out of sight and surprise them along the way.

I went to the post office and picked up several flat rate boxes. When the kids were preoccupied I went through their toys and stuffed as much as I possibly could into each box. Since I knew people at many of our stops along the way I was able to put them in the mail ahead of our departure. When we arrived at certain places, guests would have their toys set out waiting for them. Their little world rocked found comfort in having “their stuff” at new places along the way. Seemed to help them feel connected and kept them excited about getting to our next destination. Buy the kids new backpacks and let them fill it up with their stuff to play in the car. Don’t forget to keep out their favorite blanket and pillow along with a stuffed animal or two also.

8. Make moving your family cross country an adventure!

There is a lot of time in the car when driving your family on a move across the country. Four hours a day in the car was kind of where we hit our breaking point. Break up the driving with stops along the way. Dinosaur museums, little hikes, scenic overlooks…. quick pit stops can make all the difference. There is always a playground, picnic spot, or roadside attraction that you will probably never be back to visit but your kids will think it’s amazing simply because it is something new and exciting to them. More on this topic here!

9. Always have a stocked cooler, dry food bag, and water bottles at the ready.

We loaded the cooler with milk, yogurt, cheese, and sandwich supplies. This helped us from eating junk on the road. It was super easy to have a picnic in the car while making up ground, or even finding a cool place to stop, stretch our legs, and eat. Some of these “cool places” were even picnic tables at a gas station. But hey you make it work right? It’s not everyday you move your family cross country. You will be surprised by the interesting and friendly people you meet when you are having lunch at a picnic table outside of a truck stop in any small town.

10. Keep the whole family involved.

When I asked Claire if she would tell me her favorite part about moving, she quickly answered, “When I made that spaceship with the boxes.”

Something so simple. We had plenty of boxes and little one’s imaginations are endless. Making things with boxes is the ultimate in creativity.

She remembered one of the first days we began packing as exciting because she got to make a cool spaceship. Not traumatizing, that her house was full of boxes of her stuff not on the shelf or in her drawers anymore.

Moving your family cross country is an event, to say the least. We are so pleased we decided to take the chance and make it happen. We learned many many things and now hopefully you have as well. If we ever decide to move again, we now know at least a little more. Hindsight is always 20/20 right?

~May the journey never end!