Moving day tips ease stress for military families

If you’re part of a military family, moving is a way of life. Whether this is your first move or your tenth, you can use some tips to make moving day go smoothly and start making your new home feel like your own. Our tips will help.
Traditionally, military members making a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move have help from a commercial contractor hired by the government. Of course, the move is free up to the military member’s authorized weight limit, which is affected by your rank and the number of dependents you have. But, you may not want to spend your entire allocation on a full-service moving company, especially if you’ve had trouble with the commercial contractors failing to handle your belongings carefully and correctly.
That’s where the Personally Procured Move Program (PPM), formerly known as the Do-It-Yourself (DITY move) comes in. This program gives you the option of moving your household goods on your own.
Many military members choose to move their own property and then hire moving labor to provide some muscle and a truck in order to save money and have more control over the move. You can rent a truck or storage container, hire local help with the move and save moving costs when you choose to go the PPM route. When hiring help with the move, decide exactly what you want the movers to do to help you determine your budget.
Prepare for Moving Day in Advance
Military families become pros at moving. To make the process go smoothly and quickly, there are a few things you can do in advance to be even more prepared. Once you get moving orders, start decluttering. The less you move, the cheaper it is, after all. Go through each room and get rid of 10 items, throw away items that are broken, collect items to donate or sell, and drop off gently used clothing at the base thrift store.
Military.com also recommends creating a moving binder. Expect excessive paperwork during your move and be prepared for it by putting together a binder with sleeve protectors for your most important documents including your orders, birth certificates, social security cards, and mortgage documents. Include agreements with your moving help and keys in the binder, too, so you are as organized as possible.
Focus on Making Your New Place Feel Like Home
When you move frequently, it’s hard to make each place feel like home. That’s why you should keep a box of your most frequently used items and sentimental pieces handy on moving day. This box of special items becomes even more important if you have children who dread moving. When you get to your new place, unpack your special items first.
For example, you may hang pictures on the wall as soon as you arrive to make the place feel like home. Or, your children may put their special stuffed animals on their bed or artwork on the refrigerator as soon as possible. The sooner you put your favorite items in their new places, the sooner your new place will feel like home to everyone.
Good Housekeeping offers other tips, such as asking the movers to prioritize kids’ rooms, so they can start unpacking and making their rooms their own first, or hanging a clock that sounds like home as soon as you arrive.
Finding a place for each item as you unpack is another way to make your new place feel like your own. It’s tempting to make the garage, basement, or an extra room become the dumping ground for items that you won’t use right away or that you aren’t sure where to store. But, these cluttered areas will stress you out and make you feel like you aren’t home. Try putting up shelves in the garage or basement or storing seasonal items in marked containers to organize all your belongings.
You have some options for hiring moving help even if you’re a military family. After you hire help, prepare for moving day by decluttering and making a moving binder. Then, focus on making the new place feel like home.