Moving into a new home is exciting, however, moving days are often always stressful. If you’re doing it yourself, it will be an exhausting day of physical labor. Even if you use a moving company, the stress of making sure all of your belongings get packed safely can turn your day into a strenuous one. When the boxes have finally been unloaded and your helpers have gone home for the night, you may be too tired to even think about unpacking any of the boxes.

Plan for this ahead of time and you can make the first evening in your home a much more pleasant experience. Instead of scrambling around to find a clean t–shirt to sleep in, you can have everything you need for a relaxing evening right in one handy container. Fill a plastic bin with first night supplies and store it in your car trunk. You’ll know right where to go to get everything you need at the end of the day.

• Flashlights and candles: Your electricity may not be on as promised on the day you move in, so pack some sort of lighting supplies, anything from candles to camping lanterns.
• Clothing: Pack one set of pajamas and one spare set of clothing for every member of your family. This will eliminate the need to search through boxes right away.
• Towels: Pack some bath towels as well as a couple of kitchen towels for all–purpose use.
• Formula and baby food: If you have infants or toddlers, pack some emergency food supplies for when the movers don’t label the kitchen boxes correctly. Bring spare bottles, bowls and utensils.
• Medication: If anyone in the family takes prescription medication, pack one day’s worth of pills in case a bottle gets lost. Also bring pain relievers, stomach remedies and other over–the–counter pills you may need.
• Games: If you have children in the family, pack handheld games or travel games to keep them occupied. Add a DVD player or netbook plus a stack of children’s movies to keep the little ones happy.
• One bottle of wine: You deserve it!

Take the stress out of moving by thinking of your first night in the new house and planning for any emergency or loss of supplies ahead of time. Consider it an indoor camping trip and pack for the family accordingly.