Moving tips and tricks for military families [make moving easier]

It’s been a while since I was a military wife, but you never forget what it felt like to pick up and move every few years. After 16 moves in total I feel like an expert on the process. While the best resource for each family is with their own ombudsman, sometimes you just need a little outside advice.

There are so many things you can do to make your move A LOT less stressful, but how would you ever know that first time? It is a BIG DEAL. My first military move was as an 18 year old that didn’t know anything about anything. I was clueless on what I needed to do. Do you feel the same?

The Real Deal on Moving

It is going to be a little stressful. It just is. There are a lot of moving parts. The best thing about living in modern times is you can use the internet to find a frillion moving companies and get quotes nearly instantly. Whether you need storage, packers, equipment, boxes or a semi, you can get all of that knowledge online.

Which leads to the next issue, there are almost too many options out there.

So how do you streamline the process and find the right fit for you? Ask your fellow service members what they’ve used. Go to your respective military branches info pages for trusted resources (the NAVY has Fleet and Family Services, the ARMY has OneSource, etc…) or use your military credit union (Navy Federal, USAA, etc…) They can all steer you in the right direction and give you info on discounts for military families. Call few places and ask for deals, sometimes they can offer you a better one than the military discount.

Moving and packing tips and hacks for Military families to make moving easier

There are a lot of ways to make moving easier for service members, or for anyone really. Here are some of the best that I’ve found.

1. Stores that sell alcohol are great resources for boxes that have compartments and thick heavy duty lining that work well for dishes and other fragile items. You can get all sorts of free moving supplies if you just ask for them. I remember calling 3 different Walmarts and local ABC stores to hold onto their boxes for me. Most businesses just flatten them out and then shove them in a corner until a truck comes and hauls them off, but if you call them they will send some to their customer service area to hold for a few hours.
2. Big merchandisers (ie. Sams, Walmart, Costco, Target) have large boxes that are good for practically everything and can be broken down further for damage control in between heavy things like tables or dressers. I mean huge boxes, the kind that refrigerators and furniture come in. These also work well to make a path on the floor to minimize damage from moving heavy items and keep the mess down. If you use movers there will be a lot of foot traffic and your floors will get filthy.
3. You don’t have to take it all: I know. I know. This sounds nuts to most people, but frequent moves means a lot of breakage and a lot of double items. It can be very freeing to let go of some of the “stuff” that accumulates in a your household. Donate it, pawn it, sell, give it away… There are all sorts of ways to get rid of the extra items that doesn’t involve tossing it in the trash.
4. Make a master list, heck, make two. One will be a list of things you can live without for a few weeks and can get packed up immediately, and another list of the items you need for daily use that should be packed up last minute. For example, do you need your sewing machine, winter clothes, guest room linens or beach toys out and available or can they go ahead and get boxed up and ready for the big move?
5. Ask your self 3 times if you need to keep something? Start somewhere small like your spice cabinet. Do you have an old bottle of oregano that you haven’t finished in 2 years? Do you think you’ll urgently need it in the near future. Even though it only takes up a very tiny bit of space, a hundred small things can add up really fast. You have to pay for that space and poundage, so really ask yourself how important it is.
6. Do one room at a time. This makes the unpacking a whole lot easier. Sometimes it can be hard to tell which sheets go to what size bed, etc… And when you get it off the moving truck you can just walk it all to its destination and then move on to the next one, instead of having to gather it all into one place, essentially having to move it twice once you figure out where it should go.
7. Label the boxes by room AND by contents. Not like a complete packing list, just a general what’s-in-it way. Dishes, towels, decorations, shoes, etc…
8. Keep your plastic bags. The grocery store gives you way too many to begin with, and you will be grateful when you need them for packaging. One thing that you may not know the first time around is that dishes, plates, and cups all need a liner in between them. If you don’t they can stick together, chip or scratch. Using a single sheet from a paper towel roll does well in between each, but the plastic bags are great for lining around them. It keeps them from chipping and scratching or just completely breaking. They also work well for padding when you need to keep objects from moving around too much in your boxes.
9. Go to the local Goodwill or to some yard sales and stock up on old blankets and sheets. Wrap them around your dressers, TVs, tables, mirrors, really anything big and made of glass or wood.
10. Stretch wrap= The kind on a stick. It’s a miracle. It costs less than tape, is easier to apply and remove and doesn’t leave that sticky residue.
11. Use bags for items containing fluid. Grocery bags, trash bags, Ziploc style bags, they all work wonders for this. So many things have been ruined over the years by boxed getting accidentally crushed, dropped, or shifting in the back of the truck causing liquid to be spilled. Imagine getting lotion all over your printer, oil on your kid’s birth certificates or shampoo on your picture albums. It is not an easy mess to clean up.
12. Take pictures of everything. If you do end up having damages or stolen items it’s hard to get make a claim to insurance or file a police report unless you have proof. The same goes for if you are moving your stuff into storage.

One final moving thought

It may seem like an unnecessary expense, but moving insurance can be worth it. Broken furniture, theft, small damages, etc… These things happen quite frequently. Side Note: Every single move that we’ve used a moving company has ended up with damages. I’ve witnessed movers step on drawers, drop furniture, trip on carpets and drop handfuls of boxes. The list can go on and on. One move, only a few of our movies and only half of our dishes showed up at the final location. (but we had no proof so nothing could be done- we didn’t take pictures like suggested above)

I’ve found that typically it’s the lesser items that are stolen, like the DVDs, shoes or kitchen items. So far nothing big like a television or jewelry has gone missing from a straight move.

But…we have had a storage unit looted and once we had one shot up with paint balls, ruining our clothes and kid’s toys. So looking into storage insurance may be good as well.