TIPS ON MOVING

Start going through everything you have in the house and have a garage sale or donate to Goodwill.

After you have sorted out what you need to take with you, start packing the neccesities.

Take pictures or video of all things important to you and keep them in a file that you can easily find. In this file, are item numbers, serial numbers, and description.

Empty out your junk drawer and sort out the paperwork in there that you need and throw away the ones that you don't need.

If you have children, try to see if you can have them babysat during pack out days. It is a lot easier when the kids are not around. Same with your pets.

Watch your packers carefully. But do not be rude to them. Remember, they now have complete control of all your belongings.

They will not take any aerosol, cleaning stuff, and food items that have been opened. But they will take trash if you let them. It is not their job to sort out what is trash and isn't. They would pack an ashtray with cigarette butts in it you are not carefull.

Some bases have "pay and go" available to all families. This is if you decide to have a cleaning service clean your house for you. Housing has a list of cleaning services that they recommend. Then all you have to do is sign up with one. You will pay housing in money order and you leave the base. You will not have to stand inspection. The service, is who stands inspection, and housing will give them the payment if they pass. You are not responsible anymore. You signed a contract and all your responsibilities to that house is relinquished to the cleaning service. This is a good idea if you are willing to pay and not willing to put up with the hassles of cleaning and inspection.

When the packers are putting stickers on your boxes, make sure that you are checking them and that the numbered stickers match what is says on their record exactly. The numbers are coordinated with the description on the paper work that you would have to sign. Make sure that their records match before you sign.

Pack clothes and neccesities enough to last 5 days. This will make traveling easier.

I should have probably put this on top of the page and it is very important. When you receive orders, go to Family Service Center and fill out a "Sponsorhip Request" form. This will be sent out to the new command. The other option is to have your husband request a sponsor by contacting the gaining command. Once you have a sponsor, contact this person and start asking questions. Have them make you a reservation at the military lodge or Hostess House there. You can also do it yourself just to be on the safe side. This will ensure that you have a place to stay until you find a permanent residence. It is also very cost effective. Price will be about $35.00 a day.

If you are contemplating on purchasing a home at your destination, my advice is do not do it until you get there. Family Service Center and Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society have Financial Advisors that can give you sound financial advice on buying anything. Do not commit yourself to something you before you speak with these professionals.

So you have finally made it to your new house. You have cleaned the house and ready to accept your household goods. There's a few suggestions to make un-packing less misserable.

Call TMO and make an appointment for them to unpack you. This is especially helpful if you have young children that need looking after. The unpacking appointment will not necessarily happen during delivery. You will have to schedule that.

During the delivery, you would want to start unpacking boxes, as many as you can possibly do. The moving people will take all packing material with them before they go. I was 85% unpacked by the time they left, at my last move.

Tell the movers exactly where you want your things to go. They will place them where you tell them to.

The first thing that I always put together is the bedroom. It is lot easier to function when you've had a good night's rest. Can you guess what my husband's first on the to do list? Yup, the computer.

I hope that I have helped in some way. I can only go by my experiences and others that I know. If there is anything else that I did not cover, please feel free to E-mail me and I will add it to the list. Or if you have anymore questions, please let me know. Remember that I compile my information based on experiences and questions.

"Semper Gumby" is an e-mail discussion group I have created to further assist you. It is exclusively for information and support for Marine spouses, and mothers of Marines. It will answer your military related issues and concerns. Please click on the image to find out more.