Move day is stressful for adults who understand what's happening. For a four-year-old or a cat, it's the house being disassembled by strangers with the front door wide open.
Pets: one closed room, or off-site
The single biggest risk on move day is an open door. Pick one room, close it, tape a sign on it, and put the pet, its food, water, and litter box in there until the truck is loaded.
Better yet, board them or leave them with a friend for the day. Most Madison-area boarding fills up around the first and fifteenth of August, so book early if you're moving then.
Kids: give them a job or give them a day out
- Under five: arrange care off-site. There's no version of this that goes well otherwise.
- Five to ten: give them their own tote to pack with their things and let them label it. Ownership beats supervision.
- Older: they can genuinely help, and being useful is better than being bored.
- Everyone: pack one bag of comfort items that never goes in the truck
Set up the kids' room first
Before you unpack the kitchen, get one bedroom fully functional — bed made, familiar things out, lamp working. It gives everyone a place to retreat when the rest of the house is a maze of containers.
Why latched containers help here
Open cardboard boxes are irresistible to both kids and cats, and they tip. Latched lids stay closed, stack stably, and don't create a climbing structure in the middle of the living room.
Fewer trips, fewer open doors
A dolly and stackable totes cut the number of runs in and out of the house.
