Coronavirus and Moving Home: Fun Ideas for Kids, Positive Ideas for You

Fun and Positive. That’s what we all need right now.

The spread of Coronovirus may mean we are stuck in our homes presently and moving home might just seem like a distant dream, but there are lots of positive and fun things you can be doing right now to prepare for moving day.

There will come a time when all this is over and we can use this time productively to ensure that we are in a good position to be first off the starting line.

And right now the kids are at home and have bundles of energy that they need to use up. Getting exercise and keeping their minds occupied is really important, not only for them, but to protect your sanity too.

So let’s use that to our home moving advantage. Here are some great ideas to keep everyone active, have some fun, and get those home moving tasks completed too.

You might like to read: The Bright Side of Moving Home

Start Sorting Out Your Clutter

We all have tons of things in our homes that we no longer need or use. Now would be a great use of your time to get those things sorted out and of course, when you do move home it will mean your moving costs will be cheaper too.

Get the kids to sort their own rooms out. Broken toys or jigsaws with bits missing can be thrown out. But there will likely be toys and clothes that they have outgrown, no longer wear, or toys they no longer play with. These can be set aside and donated to local charities or sold at a later date.

Recommended reading: The Epic Guide to Decluttering

What to Do With Things You Cannot Part With

Now would be a great time too to sort out the loft. This is usually a big job so will take you a few days.

But you will likely find long-forgotten things up there that although you have no need for, you have probably even forgotten you had, you will probably be reluctant to part with. Your wedding dress, christening dress, or old photos for example.

Why not use the time now to make something for your new home out of those things? How about a collage of family photos? Pieces of fabric from christening gowns, for example, could be made into cushion covers or you could frame a swatch of fabric.

Get teenagers to scan all your old photos to the computer. Then when you do move home you can get a digital frame and have a rolling gallery of favourite photos that otherwise you would never see.

As a family it would be fun going through all the old photo albums, remembering all the fun times you have as a family, and maybe they will learn a thing or two about the family history too.

Find more inspiring ideas of what to do with unwanted things in How to Declutter Your Loft

Decorate Moving Boxes

You can have your kids pack their own moving boxes. Then when that job is finished, the kids can draw pictures and decorate their own boxes.

It will make them easily identifiable when you do move and will keep the kids occupied for hours. If a box contains toys, have them draw their favourite toys on the outside of the box. If the box contains clothes have then draw pictures of themselves in their favourite outfits.

You might like: How to Motivate Family to Help you Move Home

Fun Things to Do With Bubble Wrap

As you pack your moving boxes and wrap your fragile items in bubble wrap you may well find that you have odd scraps of bubble wrap leftover. These are great fun for kids to play with. Here are a few ideas of what to do with leftover bubble wrap.

• Have a family bubble popping contest.
• Cover your feet in bubble wrap, step in a bowl of paint and have a painting competition.
• How about making a princess’s dress or superhero cape from bubble wrap?
• Have a game of Bubble Wrap bingo. Write the numbers on the air pockets which are then popped when the number is called.
• Make stencils by cutting the bubble wrap into shapes for them to print or paint or how about scrunching up balls of bubble wrap to make abstract paintings.
• Make individual jellies by injecting liquid jelly into each bubble. Once the jelly has set just pop them out.
• Wrap an empty toiler roll tube in bubble wrap to create a stencil for creating fun abstract pictures.
• You could draw small pictures on a sheet on paper, then cover the paper in a layer of bubble wrap. Then play I-Spy or charades, just pop the bubble to reveal the object that they have to describe or that the kids have to find in the house.

For lots more ideas read: Things to do With Bubble Wrap: Fun and Practical Ideas

Fun Things to Do With Cardboard Boxes

If you got free moving boxes from local stores for example then the chances are that some of them are not as strong and sturdy or as suitable for packing as you thought.

Here are some ideas of what to do with old boxes that you cannot use for packing.

• Flatten out the box and draw roads, an airport, or train station for your children. You can then make ‘buildings’ for their new city out of odd bits of cardboard.
• Build a maze by connecting some boxes together and cutting out holes that the kids can crawl through to find their way out of the maze.
• Make a kids obstacle course by making cardboard box tunnels, a cardboard box wall to break through, make huge dice and throw a double to move on to the next obstacle, knock over a stack of boxes with balls and cut holes in a box to putt golf balls through. It will be great fun for everyone and use up a lot of the kids’ energy while giving them some fun exercise too.

You may also be interested in: Things to Do With Cardboard Boxes

Get the Kids to Help Bake Things

As you get closer to moving day you will want to use up all your half-empty packets of food. It is usually more trouble than it is worth to pack and move odd bits of food so why not have a fun day cooking with the kids? You can bake cakes or make cookies. The kids will love it and you will be using up stuff that you probably forgot you even had in the cupboards.

Don’t forget that you will need to defrost your freezer before moving home too.

Recommended reading: Can Moving Home Make you Happier?

Deciding Where to Move To

Events such as these have the positive effect that we actually stop to look at our lives and how we live. It makes us reevaluate how important our families and homes are to us.

This may just be the catalyst you need to make some really positive changes to your life.

Money, nice cars, big holidays, flash clothes, right now they are worthless. What is important is having the sanctuary of your home and being surrounded by your family and those you love.

I believe that many people will use this opportunity to look to move to places that will enhance their quality of life when all this is over. Maybe they will look to move to that idyllic county cottage, or even to move abroad to live a more tranquil, laid back and simpler life.

This would be a great time to do some research, sit as a family and discuss what their dreams of an ideal place to live would be.

Then spend time researching your options looking at exciting and inspiring places to move to.

Make a pros and cons list of where you live now versus where you would ideally like to live.

Many people will sadly lose their income now, but that may open opportunities for you to move. A cheaper part of the country, further out of the city, or even another country.

There will be great new opportunities for many when this ends and being ahead of the pack, having done your research and preparations, means you will be ready and able to grab those opportunities with both hands.

We have a whole section of guides to moving to other parts of the country or even moving overseas, guides on how to help you choose where to move to next. Take the time to read them all, they may just give you a spark of inspiration and start your life on an exciting new path.

Must read: Deciding Where to Move to Next

Get Your Removal Company Booked Now

As of now we have no idea when this current situation will change, but it will. Every day that passes is a day closer to this all being over.

Sadly though some removal firms may go out of business before this is all over and the remaining ones will be busy as people reevaluate their lives and look to make a home move that will give them a better quality of life or just to be nearer family.

It makes sense to start looking for a good removal company now.

There will be a rush when this ends to book the best removal companies so it makes sense now to reach out and start getting some estimates for your home move.

It is worth noting that if a removal company is a member of the British Association of Removers that your move is protected should the removal company go out of business. Removal Companies also have to prove their financial good standing to be a member, giving you an added layer of confidence.

You can learn all about Removal Industry Associations in this guide here.

Getting your removal cost estimate now, whether for a UK or International home move, will allow you to be able to create your home moving budget, and if the numbers add up, then go for it.

Provisionally book your home move as soon as you can. Contact the removal company once you have your quotes and see what they have in place regarding rescheduling if you need to and when they are taking bookings for.

And of course, in all likelihood you are going to get a really good price, removal companies will be hungry for your business and will do all they can to secure your custom. There could be some significant savings to be had right now.

Get your free home moving estimate in just a few minutes.

As I said earlier, each passing day is a day nearer to this all being over.

There are lots of positive things we can be doing right now so that when that day comes, we will be ready to embrace new opportunities, start a new life, to appreciate the true value of being in a place we love, and being with the people we love.

The spread of coronavirus has shown us how small this world is, it has also shown how interconnected we all are, no matter of race, country, wealth or poverty, each one of us is inextricably linked to everyone else on this planet.

 I hope we all take this opportunity to do positive things for ourselves, our family, and those around us.

Stay safe and well.

For more useful information regarding Coronavirus and how it may affect your home moving plans please read: Moving Home During the Coronavirus Outbreak