Life out of a suitcase - how to make home from home

.... well.... no.... infact... life out of a suitcase, a holdall, 5 plastic storage boxes, 2 wicker baskets 2 bin-bags and my handbag.... 

As some of you may know we have been living away from our house for quite some time now. Sometimes it feels like every few weeks we are packing up everything and moving on again.

Through every move and new bed we try to keep things as stable as possible and I thought I would share with you how I have become a specialist at making us feel at home where ever we go.

• Familiar food - we are trying to keep at least 2 meals a week the same as we would have at home.
• Your own laundry powder so even after using someone else's washing machine the clothes and bed-sheets smell like your own, it makes you feel much more at home. Familiar soap, toothpaste, shampoo, etc will have the same effect.
• The same bedtime routine - just as important for adults as it is for children.
• The same familiar books, toys, games 

* * *

Included in all the stuff we cram into the car every few weeks... you can see who takes priority...

• Clothes, bedding and towels for  a family of 3 
• All my business supplies and paperwork - my business has been fully functioning throughout.
• All the paperwork relating to the build (several bags worth)
• 2 laptops
• 3 boxes of E's toys
• and her colouring-in things
• and a stack of her DVDs
• and her sketch pad
• and her 2 sets of fairy wings (yes... 2 sets.... *sigh*)
• and her Snow White dress that infects everything it touches with irremovable glitter

to explain: we have been on the move since before Christmas and although Santa remembered that we have to travel light, I'm afraid that fact escaped the attention of E's plethora of Aunts and Grandparents...






Keeping E comfortable during all the moving is our top priority. We try to make it an adventure for her but still allow her the old home comforts that every young child deserves... and of course routine plays an important role in keeping her settled.

We have gone through various stages of home-sickness and seem to have found ourselves a balance.... we still desperately want to get back home but at least we can sleep at night and function during the day.

Of course probably the single biggest thing that makes us feel most at home is the generosity of others, and how they make us feel welcome to share their homes.

Have you got any tips on how to make a home-from-home? 
or
Or maybe you have idea on how to travel light with a Small in tow?


Let us know in the comments below.