Guest Blogger #6: You Had Me From Hello

More great guest blogging coming to you again today!  I hope you have enjoyed the past post from all the awesome ladies who have been so sweet to help me out.  I have been excited this whole week because of these ladies and I hope you have too.  Today is another great post, Michelle is so sweet to talk about something we will all go through at some point in this crazy Military world we live in...the good ole PCS.  I know that for myself I havent had to go through this yet, but this has been really helpful if I ever do.  I hope this also helps out some of you other ladies who hasnt been through the craziness yet.  Have a great day yall!!


Hey guys!  I’m Michelle, over at You Had me From Hello , and I’m a newly married Marine wife.  I wanted to share my personal experiences with PCSing, since it can be tricky!

Ok, so the first time I was involved in a PCS move was when I was nannying for a couple who were both USAF pilots.  They were being stationed in Okinawa (my favorite place EVER), and asked me to join them for a few months while they got settled and found someone to watch their little daughter.  Because they were moving overseas, the family had to do a Full Government move and was not allowed to bring their cars.  H, the mom, took a few days off work to oversee the movers’ come in and pack up the house.  Here is what I learned from helping them:
Lesson 1: The movers who are sent to pack your house will literally dump drawers in to boxes and tape it up.  Pre-baggie small items to keep them together.
Lesson 2: Although the movers aren’t supposed to pack food items, they might.  Dump out/ pass on to friends all dried goods (flour in the flour canister just might get left in and appear 3 months later in Japan).
Lesson 3:  The movers can’t accept tips.  However, they still want incentives to do their job.  If you can afford it, offer to buy them lunch the days they are there, and possibly give them all the booze you can’t bring with anyways.  It gets them excited to do their job right!
Lesson 4: Keep a numbered checklist of what is being packed in which box (this will help you make sure you received all your goods in your new home), then go behind the movers and label and number where each box will belong in then new house.  Example, Box 17 of 162, Kitchen.
Lesson 5:  The movers provide all of the packing supplies-No running out of tape or boxes!

The next PCS I was involved in was my own!  My husband and I moved cross-country from Florida to California and did a Full DITY (Do It Yourself)-which is now called a PPM (personally procured move). We got married on June 12th and began our drive two weeks later.  We packed up the entire house on our own, rented a U-Haul, and had my car shipped out.
Lesson 1:  Make sure yall get an advance!  Your husband will fill out the forms needed at Admin.
Lesson 2:  Shop around for the best truck rental rate. Some give online discounts, some you have to call, and some give military rates.
Lesson 3: Packing always takes longer than expected.  Don’t try and load the truck the on morning you want to be on the road.
Lesson 4:  Keep all your receipts.  Gas, food, EVERYTHING.  Once we got to California, I sorted the receipts into labels envelopes and gave them to my Marine to take to the DMO (formally called TMO).
Lesson 5:  Make sure your husband goes to the DMO within 45 days after the START of your move, not when he checks in (we made this error!).

There is a third type of move, called a partial-DITY (PPM).  While I have no experience with it, my husband has done a number of these moves.  He said it is the best of both worlds. You get to keep your valuables with you, while having the government movers take your bulkier items.

I hope this has helped you with your future moves!  And remember, as a wife YOU can call your husband’s FRO and ask her/him all kinds of questions.  Going to www.militaryonesource.com is a HUGELY awesome resource, too.  They have great printables, check lists, and short articles to help you out!