What I've learned so far....

... in trying to coordinate moving a family of FIVE across the country.... or rather ... packing with THREE babes under the age of THREE at our feet!

No problemo!

#1. TEAM work is key! As in .. the whole team -- all five of us.  Over the past several weekends ... we all pitch in and help pack boxes.  The hubs and I dismantle a closet, for example, and the girls entertain themselves by playing with things like hangers and bed sheets and mama's undies.  They help by putting things in boxes for us and they particularly enjoy when it's time to tape the boxes shut.  Each box is a little victory in itself!

#2. PLANNING AHEAD - the hubs and I worked hard to inventory the whole house prior to starting the packing process.  We went room by room, closet by closet and tried to get a sense of what we have and more importantly what we want to get rid of.

#3. DOWNSIZE, DONATE and DUMP - what a great feeling it is to donate things to people who truly need them.  A neighbor of our's is a recent college graduate. She's starting a new job and moving into a new apartment on her own.  She basically has -- NOTHING.  She's been so sweet to help out with watching our girls this year and so we are giving her much of our furniture as she begins her new journey in life.  What a great feeling! We've also downsized by donating to the Good Will - anything we just don't need anymore, but is too good to toss.  And, finally .. DUMPING junk.  We all have it -- and it feels like a toxic cleanse to get rid of it.

#4. ONE BOX (or two) @ a time -- we made a goal early on to pack at least a few boxes per day.  We've done really well.  Each day we've gone through something -- even a drawer, a toy bin, etc. to try and pick away at a big job.  This way we are confident by the actual "move week" we will be down to minimal packing and more deep cleaning.  I'll let you know how this pans out. :)

#5. HUMOR and FLEXIBILITY - we've had days where we've had big plans of what we'd like to accomplish ... and let's face it -- when you have three little kiddos ... sometimes plans are derailed.  And, you have to just be able to laugh it off -- be flexible and roll with it.  Starting early has allowed us the ability to set aside "packing plans" for more important things like kids with pink eye, babies who won't nap and more recently -- SICK kids all around.

So - that's what I've learned SO FAR ... we've got a mountain yet to climb and I'm sure there will be more lessons along the way.

In the midst of sick kids - we made significant packing and cleaning progress this weekend.

Daddy rigged up a genius barricade in an effort to keep the big girls contained.

Worked like a charm!

And, box by box we are slowly filling up the garage!  What a great feeling!

As mentioned above -- we've made this process a family affair (like we have a choice???).  The girls are SO MUCH HELP.  ;)

And - just when it was time for the big sisters to take their afternoon nap -- we enlisted the help our another sweet girl.  And - boy was she quite the worker bee!

So - there you have it ... our packing progress report from the sunny northwest.

With love,
Cuz I'm the mama!