Moving Toys & Stuffed Animals

Family moves include moving all of your children’s things. This includes their toys and stuffed animals – items that they may value more than anything else they own. It’s important that toys and stuffed animals are packed carefully. That way, they will survive the move in good condition and family harmony will be maintained. Here’s what you need to know about how to pack toys and stuffed animals for moving:

Stuffed Animals Need Boxes

While it’s tempting and super easy to toss all of the stuffed animals into a trash bag for moving purposes, the fact is that trash bags offer little to no protection to anything inside them. Trash bags snag, tear, and rip, which leaves the contents vulnerable to getting wet or stained. If your little one will freak out because their teddy bear gets ruined, use boxes to pack stuffed animals.

Extra Special Stuffed Animals Need to go With the Child

Children form intense emotional attachments to their favorite stuffed animals. If at all possible, these stuffed animals should travel with the child. This is especially true for cross country or long distance moves, where the stuffed animal will be inside a box inside a truck for many days. Some children have other sorts of toys they care about just as intently – same principal applies.

Zip Closure Plastic Bags & Plastic Storage Containers for Small Toys

Lots of kids’ toys are small or have lots of small parts. Pack these items in zip closure plastic bags and plastic storage containers. Pack the filled plastic bags and containers inside a cardboard moving box. Save time by skipping the time consuming sorting process – your kids mix them up when they play with them anyway! Make sure the box is taped securely and labelled with your child’s name – they may actually have fun unpacking their toys.

Electronics and Fragile Toys Need Extra TLC

Tablets, computers, gaming consoles, televisions, and any other electronics your children have in their room need to be packed with special care, using the proper sized moving boxes and packing materials. Treat fragile toys, including drones, remote control vehicles, robots, and similar items, the same way. Figurines, collectibles and knick knack decorative items should be wrapped in paper and packed much the same way you’d pack glassware.

Color Coding, Labels & Inventory

Sometimes children get anxious about what’s going to happen to their stuff during the move. One way to make everything easier for them is to help them understand exactly what’s going on. For example, using a color code system and labels makes it easier for kids to see which boxes are theirs – they just have to look for the stickers with their names on it! Older kids may want to inventory their own things, or a copy of the household inventory that’s relevant to them.