How To Move Toys And Kids Play Rooms

How do you move toys and kids’ rooms? You may be surprised to hear this, but there are children in this world who will throw a fit if they lose their toys. And moving day is asking for toy losses.

Take this boy, on the popular blog-turned-book, Reasons My Son Is Crying: He is mad because he threw his toys out of his pen, and now he has no more toys to play with.

Imagine the tantrum and heartbreak that will ensue if, during a move, you lose your child’s favourite bunny or blanket! Disaster! And no, buying a replacement probably won’t work (them little munchkins are so smart!).

But I mean, realistically, toy-moving is going to mean purging at some level, right? You know the clean-up is coming. So there must be some decent and reasonable ways to do this with your kid.

Ok, so, how do parents safely, carefully and with caution move their child’s toys and play rooms?

As professional movers (some of whom are parents too), we will advise below!

Before moving day, ask your child to organize their toys and decide what they don’t want anymore.

We hear your giggles. You think this won’t work. But you’d be surprised. There are kids who can understand that they don’t want old stuff anymore (like toys that are actually for ‘babies’). And, if you show them that their toys may help another kid be happy, they may want to donate them. There are also children who will help you pack!

If you’re having a hard time with this, you could go the desperate-parent route and incentivize them with newer (but fewer!), better toys after they move. Or a new bunk bed.

But first, you need to organize the toys.

First things first: we are guessing that while toys may be sprawled everywhere around the house, they probably do have a spot. Or so the theory goes.

Try to clean up, so that toys are in their bins and boxes and on their proper shelves.

Next, go through the picks of keeps and throw-aways.

You’re going to find broken pieces and mysterious pieces of toys that look like they belong to other toys. Ask what they are if you’re not sure (in case you render a Transformer or train set useless by accident). But if they’re truly garbage, start a recycling bin.

Bundle the small piece toys – like legos blocks, or beads – into zip lock bags or small plastic containers with lids.

Now, your toy room should be sort-of-good-enough organized for packing.

Moving day, here we come!

Well…not so fast.

Go on a cleaning binge before moving toys.

Remember when Sophie the Giraffe was found with mould on the inside, in homes across North America? Gross.

Ok, now imagine how dirty your child’s other toys. Maybe there is mould on the inside. Maybe there are just gross germs on the outside. Or maybe you’ll be bringing sick germs with you to your new home after you move – and no one wants that. HealthLink BC has an article on cleaning toys, because it’s that important. If you don’t like the idea of using bleach or chemicals, there are natural cleaning solutions available online. The DIY mom bloggers can help you with that.

Now, you could argue that toys will get dirty during the move. That’s fine. You can clean them after you arrive at your new home. But chances are, the kids will want to play with their toys right away, and you’ll have a lot of other things on your mind too.

Try picking up plastic bins with sealable lids that you can place all the clean toys in. Remember to keep the contents of these ‘toy moving bins’ completely dry, to avoid a mould situation like that mentioned above. This is especially so if you are doing a long-distance move.

Identify toys that can sell as antiques before packing them for a move, or throwing them away.

We’re not talking about Beanie Babies. There are toys that are actually worth money.

First off, check out this article we wrote on our blog, for more on the topic of antiques and moving: Moving Antique Furniture or Selling for Cash?

Next, it’s time to read up on how to spot the toys that could be valuable for some extra change in your pocket.

Don’t forget: the kid has to be ok with this. Or you will have bigger problems to deal with. Like a heartbroken child. Recall when Woody accidentally ended up in the garage sale in Toy Story 2? So sad.

If you think you’ve got an old toy that has been passed down, that you don’t have an emotional attachment to, you may want to call some professionals in for an appraisal. Or, you can start of by doing some reading. For example, these articles:

https://www.collectorsweekly.com/toys/overview

https://www.antique-antiques.com/evaluating-old-toys.shtml

And, as the article above notes, please don’t offend antique toy collectors by calling action figures, “dolls.” You might make less money that way. Just joking.

Here is the site for the Antique Toy Collectors of America: https://atca-club.org/

And here is where you can find auction listings for Canadian antique fanatics: https://antiquetoys.ca/auction/

Now, if you’re feeling a bit amused that there are die-hard toy collectors out there. Don’t be. You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. People sell antique jeans for thousands of dollars too.

Get the right packing material for toys.

Toys can break in transit, especially if they are tossed around a lot. Do not crush Barbie heads due to bad packing. Somebody will get upset.

If you have it, you can use original packing of toys. But you likely won’t have thought to keep these around. It’s ok. You can use bubble wrap, or wrap them in clothes or cloths. Or, pack the plastics with the plush toys.

You also want to avoid toys getting wet – especially stuffed animals. That can be hard to clean. So again – consider plastic bins. The bins can be re-used as toy organizers when you arrive at your new home after your move.

To conclude: packing and moving toys is no small feat!

As you can see, toys need a lot of consideration. They may be meaningless to you, but they have a lot of meaning to your child. Or to an antique collector (let’s hope so, right?!).

When you pack toys to move, be sure to do so in a way that will ensure the longevity of the toys, which will help your wallet in the future. We know that must be motivating to do it right.

See our related posts:

• How to pack and move a craft room
• Moving in Vancouver with young children: what to do before moving day
• Moving to Metro Vancouver: 5 great reasons to move to a suburb in the Metro Vancouver area
• 5 Steps To Help You Pack For Your Vancouver Move
• Avoiding stressful surprises on moving day: tips you probably never thought of before
• Tips for moving a household far away from ‘home’: International Moving and Long Distance Tips