Although many an interstate moving company will provide packing and unpacking services, these come at a cost – a steep one, in many instances. Instead of paying for something that you as well as your family and friends can accomplish as a do-it-yourself project, you can plan for effective and efficient packing. And it all starts with buying the right quantity and quality of packing supplies before the planned interstate moves.

Identify the Items

Your first step is to identify which of the household goods will be moved and which ones will be discarded, donated and sold as part of a garage sale. Keep in mind that the lesser amount of items to be moved, the lesser their weight and, thus, the lower the moving fees charged by the interstate moving company.

When you have identified the items to be moved, your next step is to classify these items according to their size, shape and fragility, among other categories. List down these items according to their classification, take their measurements, and then you can go shopping for the supplies.

Make a Shopping List

But be sure to make a shopping list so that you can save on time, effort and money on repeated purchases. It may be easy to identify the best places for buying the packing supplies for interstate moves – moving retailers, office supply outlets and mail service stores as well as online sites are the best places – but buying without a list can lead to unnecessary impulsive purchases.

Although each move will require specific packing items, the most common items are as follows:

* Supplies used for wrapping, protecting and cushioning breakable items including:

* Plain newsprint or brown paper for glasses and similar items. Old newspapers should be avoided for items with sensitive surfaces like crystals and lampshades.

* Foam provides extra protection through its soft yet firm cushion.

* Stretch wrap keeps items with awkward shapes (i.e., skis) organized while also protecting their surfaces.

* Inflatable bags obviously inflate so as to accommodate items.

* Peanuts are plastic foam pieces that can fill in empty spaces and prevent several items from scratching against each other.

* Labels are used to identify items according to their fragility or their places in the new house. Go for blank labels in various sizes to cover your bases. These are especially important in interstate moves where the boxes will cross state lines and, thus, must be properly identified.

* Miscellaneous items include box cutter and scissors, markers, tape and tape dispenser, and mattress covers.

The better prepared you are with your packing supplies, the higher your chances of making your interstate moves successful.

Consider Moving Kits

You can also skip on part or all of the abovementioned steps by buying packing kits or moving kits, which contain all the necessary supplies for packing, say, a house with 5 to 6 rooms of up to 2,800 square feet. Check the kit’s contents before buying so that you can ensure that you have everything you will require in your purchases.

And don't forget to ask for free boxes from your local stores. You can save money, not to mention save the environment another addition to the landfills, on your interstate moves with these freebies.

Relocation can be disruptive for adults but more so for kids for several reasons – their young lives including their circle of friends, their social activities, and their reputation are deeply rooted in the old place, for example. Parents should then take the responsibility of lessening the adverse impact of their planned interstate moves on their children and, in so doing, ease the transition in the physical and psychological aspects. Here’s how.

Maintain an Upbeat Attitude

Think of kids as sponges that can absorb the vibes of adults around them. Even when you are unhappy about the move yourself, say, you must do so as part of your job, you must adopt an upbeat attitude about the entire process. Your attitude can directly and considerably affect your kids’ attitude toward the move, too.

Tip: Show the kids photos of your new house. Get them to research on the nearby parks, malls and restaurants in your new place. Reassure them that, indeed, their new house, school and neighborhood will be just as great as their old ones.

Discuss the Move as Necessary

Interstate moves can be doubly upsetting to kids because of their concept that everything they know in their home state will be different than in their new state, say, from Philadelphia to New York. Your willingness to discuss the move according to their perspective, answer their questions, and assuage their fears will go a long way toward their acceptance.

        * Gather your family for a family meeting so that questions, reactions and concerns can be addressed with the entire family participating in the discussions.

        * Answer the kids’ questions as honestly and completely as possible while also being receptive to both negative and positive reactions. Keep your explanations as simple as possible especially for toddlers and young kids.

        * Involve the kids in certain aspects of the move like packing their rooms, identifying the stuff they can bring with them, and perhaps identifying their schools.

Just be there for your kids on all of your interstate moves and you can ease their transition – yours, too, if you are honest about it. Adults have their fears, too, about moving away from home!

Take Care of All the Important Details

Your kids should be sheltered, so to speak, from the details of the relocation especially when it involves long-distance moves, as is the case with interstate moves. Kids already have their share of anxieties about the relocation without burdening them with things like coordinating with the Pennsylvania moving company, packing the contents of the entire house, and paying for the fees, among others.

Even teenagers should be largely spared such details. They will want to spend the time saying goodbye to their friends, attending to school documents, and other stuff that will ease their anxieties about the move. They can, nonetheless, be asked to lend a helping hand in other matters like packing their rooms and attending to their younger siblings while the movers of the Pennsylvania moving company are doing their job.

Indeed, interstate moves can be pleasant experiences for kids – you as their parent must make it so.