How to Prepare for Military Moving

Getting ready to move is usually different for military families compared to those who are not in the military. For one thing, these can be more technical, but also, military moving often consists of one person handling everything due to the deployment of a spouse. If you have a loved one serving in the military or you are in the military yourself and need help with moving, it is important to choose the right company and know how to prepare.

Depending on your personal situation, you may have little time to get things in order. Not only can this increase your stress load, but it can also put you at risk for discarding items that you mean to keep. Obviously, this is already a stressful situation, so you want to do whatever you can to make the process easier. As you will discover with the information provided, there are some simple steps to follow even when you have little time to prepare.

• Get several boxes and clearly mark them for trash, recycle, donate, and storage. That way, as you begin to go through things and pack, you can quickly toss items into the appropriate box. Being organized goes a long way for military moving.
• Although you will need boxes, also be sure to take advantage of open spaces. For instance, you can pack things inside of suitcases. For more fragile or heavier items, as long as your belongings are carefully wrapped, putting them in a suitcase with rolling wheels will make things easier.
• You might also consider having a packing party. In exchange for lunch and beverages, have trusted friends come to your home to help go through things. When strategically organized, a packing party will save time and effort on your part while still getting the job done.
• Always use a good labeling system. Especially with military moving where things can easily get disorganized, use a system that involves placing different colored stickers on boxes according to the designated room. That means you could put red stickers on boxes going to your new kitchen, blue for master bedroom boxes, green for the bathroom, and so on. Once everything gets delivered to your new address, the movers will know exactly where each box goes.
• You want to identify moving and storage companies that have expertise specific to military moving. Typically, those companies offer discount rates to military families, thereby reducing your stress further. In fact, with May being Military Appreciation Month, moving this month would save you even more.