Let's face it. As much as kids can really fulfil your life, teach you the meaning of love and tolerance, help you appreciate the beauty of the human mind and give you a reason to get up in the morning … they make life hard! They make moving even harder, and if you pride yourself on your calm and mature attitude to your kids, you might be dreading an upcoming move. Today we are looking at several moving and storage tips to help make moving with kids a much easier proposition. Some involve planning, some involve ingenuity, but all are achievable for most of us.

1. Storage units and outsourcing loading

Unless your children are named Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, Shiloh or Suri, being a parent probably puts a dint in your finances :-). Many parents are surprised to learn that for moves where short term storage is required, utilizing a facility with module storage units (rather than floor space) can reduce costs to the point where it is quite reasonable to have the company actually do the loading for you. And not having to load the truck means more time and more sanity for all! It is an incredibly sensible business option, but few moving and storage companies offer it ... call around to find the services in your area.

2. Excitement as a tool

Having your kids in a positive frame of mind at moving time will be of immeasurable value. Kids aren't always so keen on changes - but if you can get them excited about the change, there'll be less room in their little brains for fear of the unknown. That means little arms will spend far less time wrapped around your legs! Simply talk to them in an excited tone about what will happen once you are at your new house, and the different things you'll do, rather than making the move seem like a stress.

3. The power of the toy

Never underestimate the power of novelty in keeping your kids occupied and away from your feet. Even cheap toys, saved for the day of the move, can be a sanity-saver. If you don’t want to spend the money, look through their toyboxes and find some that they haven’t seen in a while to bring out on moving and storage day.

4. Childminding ... aaahhh!

There's no better way to ensure your kids don’t slow you down, than to have them minded during critical times like the loading for your short term storage, house cleaning, and moving truck loading.

5. Get by with a little help from your kids

Giving your kids tasks to do probably won’t actually reduce your moving and storage workload by much. But if they have nowhere else to go, letting them in on the action will at least keep them happy. Are they old enough to clean walls, stickytape boxes, move things around, or run to the other side of the house to get things?

6. The electronic babysitter

Moving often means driving, for the family. See if you can borrow an in-car DVD player, or if any of your local DVD hire stores will rent them out. Failing these options, you might be able to load movies onto an iPod or media player - with the price of kids' media players at the moment, buying one might even be a cost-effective option. Otherwise you might wish you were packed up with your clothes and cutlery inside the storage unit, rather than in your car!