Military Wife Morgan Shares Her Favorite PCSing Tips
Well once again, it’s that time of year, PCS season. From getting orders, to telling family and friends your moving once again isn’t always the easiest thing to do. It can always cause tension in the house due to things being very stressful. This maybe your first PCS move or your fifth, no matter what it is still hard. With that being said, I am going to give you some of my tips that I have enjoyed using throughout our PCS moves.
When getting orders for moving I always check to see what season it will be or even the location we are going to be moving too. It can be a whole different season change from the east coast to moving overseas to Japan.
My first and favorite thing to do is to get organized, if you have kids this helps a lot, especially with me. Have everything color coded if you can and the easiest way to color code is going to the Dollar Tree. Dollar Tree is the way to go no matter what; it is my second home! I always like to make sure that everyone has at least a bookbag/ carry on if you are going overseas for travel or even an activity bag for the car. This will include snacks, games, coloring books, crayons, chargers for electronics and so on. I always make sure that we have at least three outfits to go with us for each day, just in case your belongings will not be to your new location for a few days; maybe weeks. Also, if you have pets make sure you bring enough food, toys and treats with you so that you have when you arrive to your destination.
How I always make sure that I have everything I need is a check list and I also have a PCS binder which is easy to keep everything organized in one spot. The reason is because if you are doing a military move, the movers come in and pack everything so if you do not have things packed and put to the side of things you need you will not see anything until you get your belongings back, to your new duty station.
My PCS Binder:
- First thing when I open up my binder: Important dates, house inspection, TMO coming to pack, TMO pick up, when we should arrive to our new station; TMO drop off date (never the actually date when they will drop off so don’t always go by it)
- The front of my binder I have a small pencil case with pens, sharpies, pencils, scissors, and some tape. Once again, the Dollar Tree is your best friend!
- When starting the foundation of your binder I always like to get the binder dividers with pockets so that you don’t have to hole punch anything. I always have everything labeled in each divider: Housing, Orders, TMO movers , hotels along the way ( if needed), and Medical Records (if you want ). I always try to have the kids birth certificates and socials with us when we move just in case.
- Do research on the area that you will be moving to and print out all information about the area, so you are not totally lost when you first arrive it will make things flow easier.
- Make sure to checkout of the housing office if living on base and let them know that you have received orders, also if you are living out in town and renting make sure you let your rental office know that you have received orders. Make sure you change your address if you have a new address before arriving, so all mail goes to your new address, this also includes with tv and internet services. You can find a complete checklist for address changes here
- I also have a pencil case at the end of my binder for receipts that you use for gas and hotels rooms and food for reimbursement if you are using your own debit/ credit card. Now they require a military credit card but always make sure I keep the receipts.
When moving carry a first aid kit. Sometimes things can happen, and you will not have anything with you and that’s the worst part. Things can get very very stressful when you have to move so quickly but with just some easy tips it can help out a lot. My best tip is that you have to try and stay as calm as possible due to what you are having to go through so quickly. It is not an easy thing having to move all the time and leave family and friends behind but you have to be strong and you have to realize that it could be worse, and this is just the beginning of something new that you are going to experience with your family.
The best thing to do is BREATHE BREATHE BREATHE. If all else fails grab some wine and a red solo cup order take out and enjoy the last few days/weeks you have at the duty station you have been living and enjoy the memories that you have embraced .
Blog courtesy of Morgan Powell
