PCSing is something that most military families will experience at one point or another. I do not have any personal experience with DITY-moves, but we have had our fair share of PPM moves across the country. Here are some of my best tips to help your PCS prep go as smoothly as possible.
Initial PCS Prep
The Transportation Office will become your best friend.
They will have all the information from weight limits, packing limitations and timelines. They will also be the ones who will manage any problems along the way during the move. Visit Move.mil for the information for your Transportation Office.
Someone will come to “inspect” your home before the move.
They are coming to see how much stuff you have, how many rooms you have, what type of furniture you have, etc. Be sure to show this person each room and any extra storage you have such as a garage, basement, or attic. This is the best time to ask any questions you have. If this is your first time doing a non-DITY move, let this person know and ask for tips. They will be happy to give you the information you need while you are going through the PCS prep process.
Photograph your belongings
Basically anything valuable or easily damaged. Make sure you take pictures or videos of these items working and include the date on the photograph. You may also want to write down serial numbers for valuables. If you do, be sure you keep all of that documentation with you during the move. Don’t let the movers pack it. This is a very good thing to have included in your PCS binder!
Use up all your groceries
Especially those frozen or refrigerated items. You can’t take these with you, so stop buying groceries and instead use as much as you can from what you already have. This may make for some creative meals, but it will be worth it later when you are not wasting food.
Before Moving Day
PURGE.
Get rid of anything you don’t use anymore. This is a great time to get rid of clutter and do some simplifying. Do you really need 4 spatulas? What about those clothes you have been hanging on to for months in hopes they will fit again? Gone!
Take all your wall decor off the walls and curtains down from the windows.
Your packers will not take things off the walls, so you need to do this. For the wall decor, I just set them on the floor up against the wall. I have switched back ad forth from keeping all my wall décor in their rooms so they could be packed by room or moving them to the main living area to be packed all together. It has just depended on our next living situation. I have changed up where my decor goes so many times depending on my mood.
For curtains, drapes, etc, you can pack them in large plastic bags to keep them from getting torn or stained during the move. Pack up all the hardware as well – place them in Ziplock bags and mark them. I then usually will place them with the linens. Again, all that changes depending on your living situation, so you may not want to keep them in the same room as before.
Designate a “DO NOT PACK” zone.
Pack your suitcases or things you’ll need while moving and put them in your car or in a cleaned out closet or bathroom. Pack things you’ll want at your hotel or for your first few days at your new place. Be sure your purse, wallet, and car keys are in the “Do Not Pack”zone.
Ziplock bags are your friends.
The packers tend to dump smaller items into the large boxes with other things and everything gets mixed up. I have even lost some smaller items in the packing paper in the bottom of the box. If you have a junk drawer or containers with loose items inside, you may want to group those items together in bags. I also like to use the 2 gallon bags in my kitchen for all those utensils and kitchen supplies in the drawers. The packers will just simply put the smaller bags in the larger box. It will make unpacking much easier!
I also pack up my clothes in the dressers with the giant ziplock bags.
Did you know that you can get 1, 2, 5 and 10 gallon bags these days?? Some people might not mind this, but I felt weird having strangers touch my underwear. I packed all of those type of things myself and put them back into the drawers so the packers would just place the bags into the larger boxes.
Group like items together
Especially if you want them to be in the same box. For instance, if you want all your photo frames in one box rather than split up based on room, group them all together in one spot in your house. I group all the breakable figurines/art together so it will all get packed in the most study boxes.
Keep some cleaning supplies
Most of the time you will need to clean your apartment or house after everything is moved out. Don’t forget to schedule your move-out inspection with your landlord if you need to.
Make sure you separate your spouse’s military gear
This is also known as pro gear. This is weighed separately. Keep this stuff in a separate pile because it will not be counted toward your household goods weight.
Moving Day
Empty your dishwasher and take out your trash!
I’ve heard from lots of military spouses that they forgot to take out their trash and it was packed! Yuck! And I myself have accidentally left items in the dishwasher (small items thank goodness, but still) and had to shove them in my suitcase.
Get a babysitter during moving day.
People are running around boxing things up and moving furniture out, so children or pets could get in the way. Having them stay with a friend or neighbor could be a great idea. On the same note, is you are PCSing alone, try to get someone to hang out with you (and watch the packing/loading). You can’t be multiple places at once, so ask for help from your tribe!
Man your “DO NOT PACK” zone.
Remember when you stored stuff you would be taking on your person in the “do not pack” zone? Well make sure that room is secure and the packers are well aware of the expectations. Once again, be sure your purse, wallet, and car keys are in the “Do Not Pack” zone as well as your PCS Binder.
Feed the movers.
Not everyone does this, but we wanted to. For each move, we buy pizza and had bottles of water and gatorade for our packers and movers. When we arrived at our new house, we made sure we had donuts and bottles of water for those moving our stuff off the truck and into our new place. Your movers will appreciate it! DO NOT TIP. Feeding is a much better option and it won’t go against their contract.
Lastly – Report/ask questions about anything you are unsure of.
Moving is hard enough as it is. Watching everything you own and love being packed by strangers can be harder. Even with all the best prep in the world, somethings things happen. If you notice anything that doesn’t sound/feel right, call your transportation office representative immediately.
