Packing toys is a minefield, especially when young children are ‘helping’ with the process.

So here are our ten tips to working towards a successful and tantrum free move.

1.       Start well in advance – whatever anyone says about leaving toys out til the last minutem give the toys some priority in packing so you have plenty of time to clean and pack, declutter and deal with confused or upset children. Obviously you’ll have their favourite toys in the last minute ‘hand luggage’. Everything else needs a plan, if not on paper at least in your head!

2.       Involve your child as much as is appropriate for them. They don’t know what’s happening and giving them age-appropriate tasks will both involve them and give them a sense of control – as well, of course, as keeping them busy for a few minutes. (For children’s attention span, work on three minutes for every year of their age plus or minus five minutes.) Whether it’s packing, sorting or both, don’t let anyone else tell you what’s right – barring the odd  lucky few who have a fabulous nanny, you know your own child/children better than anyone else.

3.       Declutter. You knew we were going to say it! Decide what to discard or donate in plenty of time and put it to one side, out of sight. Then if your child really wants something, you can get it back, no tears. Just try and avoid letting them know where you’ve got the ‘discard’ pile if you can, or you may have the whole lot moved to the ‘keep’ pile!

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4.       Group what you’re keeping: soft toys together, things like puzzles together, plastic toys together, wood things grouped together – it will be easier for cleaning and for packing. You’ll also immediately spot duplicates and may even identify further things to discard.

5.        Clean toys before packing. REsearch by disinfectant supplier Dettol revealed that 80% of soft toys harbour potentially dangerous bacteria. (and - yeuch - 25% are contaminated with faecal matter). Children’s toys get chewed, sucked,and  left on, or fall to, the floor. 90% of children drop their toys on the floor, where there are an estimated 750 bacteria per square inch.Given that you may not be able to give priority to unpacking the children’s things, these are perfect conditions for mould to take hold. Everything you pack should be clean and properly dried.

6.       Where the original packing is available, try and reuse this for packing – it’s been designed to make the item easier to stack and to protect it from bumps.

7.       Remember that you can always use existing toy trunks and toy bins to move toys in – just make sure they are sealed and protected. This will not only save on packing boxes, but will also be familiar to your child at the other end and be quick and easy to put ‘in situ’.

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8.       Remove any batteries prior to packing/moving toys.  where appropriate put them in a plastic bag attached to the toy it came from – this will save a lot of heartache.

9.       Don’t forget to mark things ‘fragile’ as appropriate, and indicate which way is the top when needed.

10.   It’s OK to keep things for you – if that first teddy no longer gets hugs, or the mobile that was over their cot brings you joy, don’t part with these things until you’re ready.

For further tips on preparing for packing when the children are around, you may also  find our article Packing Toys for Moving Storage https://easystorageboxes.com/blogs/news/packing-toys-for-moving-or-for-storage useful.

easyStorage is here to help you with any storage needs during your move, and may even be able to help you with the moving. (It never hurts to ask.)