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Moving with kids, help from storage units

November 5, 2010 by

Ever move with kids? It’s hard. This past summer we rented a portable moving and storage unit and it was the only thing that saved us. We were able to organize and pack early. The things that they could do without for a couple weeks were put into the mobile storage unit out of the way of our living space.

Using a portable storage unit allowed us to live normally while slowly and efficiently clearing out the house of out of season clothing, DVDs, books and extra everything else. The excess kid gear took up most of the room. We had wagons, scooters, beach gear, balls, a basketball net and containers and containers filled to the brim with craft and art supplies. With 5 kids we had a lot to move so besides our storage unit we also had to rent a truck; a rather large truck. A family of 5 can really accumulate a lot of stuff over the years. The unit made things a lot smoother on moving day. With half of the house already packed it made for a less stressful day. The idea of a portable storage unit seemed unnecessary at first. I thought a truck was all we needed but I will never go back to that all in one day packing and moving process again.

Zippy Shell Mobile Storage and Moving

This is a sponsored post but the opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Your experiences and reactions may differ from ours.




We Are Finally Making The Move!!!!

October 30, 2010 by
After noticing a few problems on our blog Thursday night we decided enough is enough and we are now in the process of moving to WordPress. I have paid for hosting, bought a theme and paid someone to do the work for us. If all goes well we should be on WordPress tomorrow which will be a good thing.

We have been wanting to move to WP for a long time but never wanted to spend the money but we finally had enough and it is final. We are looking forward to the move but not so much to the changes like in the dashboard, etc but I am sure we will figure it out just fine.




Tips for Moving with Kids

October 6, 2010 by

Our move a couple months back was tougher on the kids than we anticipated.  Sabreena and Shaun are really missing their friends and old school.  Shae has been asking to “go home” to her old room.  While everyone has adjusted well there are moments when they are reminded that things have changed.  1-800-PackRat has put together a great guide to getting your kids prepped for the big move.

Moving can be a challenge for your family, and 1-800-PackRat understands that comforting your kids is particularly important during this time. Here are a few tips that might make the transition a smoother one.:

1. Keep an open dialog: Speak with your kids about what moving will be like and what they should expect. Listen carefully and address their concerns. You might be surprised what children find bothersome. For example, where will the family dog sleep in the new place?

2. Be supportive: Kids are well-tuned to the stress of a family and moving often heightens these types of feelings. Remind them that things will settle back down following the move. Reassure them of the things that won’t change: their toys, activities, etc.

3. Let your kids be part of the action: Get the children involved in the moving process, whether it’s marking boxes or wrapping their toys in paper. Something to occupy their minds keeps them feeling a part of the transition.

Nothing will guarantee your child won’t be upset by the move, but minimizing their anxiety over such a big change will go a long way.

This is a sponsored post but the opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Your experiences and reactions may differ from ours.




Moving Tips from some ole’ pros

August 20, 2010 by

You’re sick of hearing about it I know, I’m sick of talking about it but I want to share some info to make your next move easier.

The more organized you are before the move the better the outcome. But that is much easier said than done. Moving can throw even the most organized household into chaos. Getting organized before you take on moving is a commitment, but is well worth the effort in the long run. Here are some tips to help you on the road to an organized move:

Start planning as soon as you find out you have to move. The more time you have, the more organized you can be. Come up with a storage and moving to do list that you can follow and amend from now until moving day. Put everything you can think of on that list, no matter how trivial it seems now. When things get busy and hectic as you dismantle your house and get closer to your moving day, your very detailed to do list will assure that you will not forget anything.

Get rid of things you do not need. Go through everything in your house and put aside those items to either donate or sell. Most charities will send a truck to pick-up donated items but don’t give someone else your trash.

It is never too early to pack. Begin packing non essential items EARLY. Start with out of season items, decorations, the coat closet, garage tools and kids gear that is outgrown but being saved.  If you plan to put a stuff in storage, pack those items first and move them as soon as possible.

Label everything. Have loads of permanent markers, tape and labels handy while you pack. Label the contents of every box and in what room the box belongs. I even labeled something “Random Box of Sh!t” then listed everything that was in it.

Leave a few open and empty boxes for last minute items. You will want things like bed linens, toiletries and cleaning supplies readily available when you are unpacking. Label them clearly with “open first” so you can spot them and put them on the truck last or in the car with you.

Happy moving vibes to anyone going through it!

This is a sponsored post but the opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Your experiences and reactions may differ from ours.




PackRat Makes Moving Easier

July 16, 2010 by

I know you’re all tired of hearing about the move; I just have one last post. This one is to tell you about the actual process of packing, organizing and moving. With a month left to move and house to paint and rugs to clean we knew we needed help. We shopped around for a storage pod; we needed immediate availability, large size and competitive pricing and 1 800-Pack-Rat fit all those requirements.

We needed to get furniture out of the house in order to complete the task of painting and cleaning. 1-800-Pack-Rat came through the day after calling with a 16ft portable storage unit placed in our driveway. The timing was perfect; no one else was able to come through so quickly. If you’ve never seen the un-load of one of these it’s pretty cool, not once does it tilt or tip or even shake; a good indication that your belongings are secure. The process took about 15 minutes. We were ready to start loading it up with boxes. Seasonal clothes, toys, seldom used appliances and dishes and some furniture were the 1st to go. This freed up tons of space in the house to do what we needed to do.


Over the month we continued to pack and rearrange and organize the things in the pod. On move day they showed up and hauled it away, a couple hours later it was in the driveway of the new house. It took just a couple days to unload and it was gone again in just a few minutes. The highlight of working with 1-800-Pack-Rat was dealing with the delivery/pick-up drivers. They were super nice, friendly, answered questions and didn’t get mad when Shaun got in the way.

Arranging the actual move was a little different than I had expected. The company assures pick-up and delivery at OUR convenience but it wasn’t entirely that smooth. I wanted the unit moved 5 days prior to our move date then placed in on-site storage for a short time then delivered when we moved in. We were told that wasn’t going to happen, it was going to be picked up on move day. For some this wouldn’t be a problem but we needed to fit a moving truck in front of our house too. This was impossible. We were left playing musical cars with the neighbors, begging for extra space, blocking people in and saving space that was meant for overflow.
We did receive the MOVE of the unit for free but paid for the storage/delivery for the prior month so I’m guessing that is why we didn’t receive the same service a “paying” customer would have gotten. I understand the costs involved with the move and storage but we were reviewing the service also, not just the use of the unit. I’m hoping we were just the exception when it came to the moving aspect of the process.

Would I use 1-800-Pack-Rat again? Yes! Would I recommend 1-800-Pack-Rat to friends and family? Yes!
Visit 1-800-Pack-Rat for a quote for an upcoming remodeling project or move or visit their Facebook page for tips on organization, packing and storage

This is a sponsored post but the opinions and descriptions presented belong solely to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! Your experiences and reactions may differ from ours.




It feels good to be home

July 2, 2010 by

We are in the new house and getting settled in!  My parents have been here twice, my sister twice and our friend Tim came over too.  This means we are actually close enough to see friends and family on a regular basis.  This is the reason we moved back to Delaware.

The kids are loving it so far I think.  The playground is about 100 yards away, I can see them from the deck.  Shaun found kids to play with. Shae likes the hardwood floors for the Hess trucks.  Sabreena, well she’s at that weird teenage stage, hopefully her summer doesn’t suck because I haven’t seen any other teens in the area.  Me, well I’m wondering why I agreed to a townhouse where the living space is in the 2nd floor.  I’m going to have fabulous legs by the end of summer!  Rob is just wanting to be done so he can sit and relax!

We still have some unpacking and rearranging and organizing to do but that’s not going to stop us from having some friends over on the 4th.  If you’re in the area (Newark, DE) you’re invited!

thanks everyone for putting up with the lack of posting this week.  We’ll be back in full swing next week!




We Are In The Home Stretch

June 22, 2010 by

So after a month or two of hard work we are in the home stretch. We move in about a week back to Delaware and are almost done packing and painting. Don’t get me wrong we still have a TON of stuff to do but are in a very good position right now.

Melinda and the kids are leaving today to go to the Ocean City, NJ with my mom for two days which means tonight I will finish painting the kitchen and pantry. After that all that needs to be painting is my room and our two walk in closets which we will do next Monday after we get our bedroom furniture loaded into the moving truck this Sunday. I loaded the last few items that would fit into the moving pod last night so that can now be picked up and moved to the new place in Delaware. The last thing that we will need to do is steam clean the carpets in my room, Shaun’s room and the living room. I did Shae’s room last night and it only took about 45 minutes. Thanks goodness we own our own steamer and don’t have to rent one.

So we are almost ready to leave Maryland behind and be closer to family in DE, PA and NJ. I am really looking forward to being back in Delaware where we belong.




Wordless Wednesday – I Bet Your TV Stand Doesn’t Have Foil In It!!

June 16, 2010 by
We are moving at the end of this month and we gave our entertainment center away today but we needed something to put our TV on so we moved our microwave to make room for our TV.



Sorry I Have Not Been Around!!!!

June 12, 2010 by

I wanted to write a quick post to apologize for my absence from our blog as well as yours. I have not written a post in about a week and I have not visited other blogs either. Thank goodness for Melinda or else our blog would be in bad shape right now.

I have been absent due to our move and my constant need to get something done. Every single day I have been doing something even if I pack one or two boxes. We have been making some great progress and it started last weekend with Melinda and I getting the whole basement painted which took about 7.5 hours.

During the week we packed up most of Shae and Shaun’s room and Thursday we taped Shaun and Shae’s room along with the hallway and stairwell so Melinda and I can paint again this weekend. The good thing is the kids went to my in laws last night for the weekend so Melinda and I can paint and not have to worry about the kids.

So I am sorry I haven’t been around but I am hoping to stop by your blog soon and get back into a routine of writing. I will soooooooooo happy once this move is over!

Have A Great Weekend!!!!




I Am Very Lucky!!!

June 3, 2010 by

I wanted to write a quick post to tell everyone how lucky I am to have Melinda.

So we are in the midst of a move from MD to DE and I am excited to move back to DE but not excited to pack. For about 2 weeks now we have been trying to pack a few boxes everyday so that at the end of June we won’t be scrambling to get everything done. On Tuesday we had a container delivered from 1800RATPACK so we could start storing our belongings because before we move we need to paint our entire house (this is going to suck).

Needless to say I am tired and stressed. I am driving everyday from MD to DE and DE back to MD for work so that I can continue to pack during the week. All of the driving and packing is making me a grouchy PITA and the person who bares the brunt of my bad moods is Melinda which isn’t fair to her. I get annoyed with packing and tired and sweaty from carrying boxes from the house to the container outside and when Melinda asks a question I snap for no reason. I don’t ask for help I demand it which is wrong on so many levels. Melinda is my equal and I have been treating her like total crap for no reason what so ever.

I want to tell Melinda I am so sorry for being an a$$ and I will not be suck a jerk. Thank you for all of your help because I wouldn’t be able to do this without you. I need you and I Love You so much. I am soooo sorry! Please forgive me!




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