(PART 1) How to not lose your mind during a PCS
There's no way to avoid losing your mind altogether during a military move, but there are a few things you can do to keep it mostly intact.
There are some awesome blogs out there about PCSing - I recommend these:
So, now that you've read all of the blogs and pinned all of the pins, your mind is probably spinning out of control, right? That's ok. Grab some comfort food, a notebook and a pen. You're gonna be alright.
First of all, do you have orders yet? If yes - then get ready to get your butt in gear, because you should've started all of this already. If not, then you get to go ahead and start anyways.
You've probably heard the motto of the military, "Hurry up and wait", right? Well I cannot emphasize enough just how accurate this is. For example, we have spent the last 4 months rushing around to get things done in time, and now that we are days away from our final out, we are literally lying in the empty living room floor waiting.
So the big question - how do I start the madness that is the PCS?
Grab your notebook and make a list. You will be making lots of lists, but this first one is important.
I can't make the list for you - you have to do it. But I can help guide your stressed out brain.
What needs to get done before you CAN leave? Your significant other should have received a checklist of things to do. Find out what you can accomplish without orders and KNOCK THOSE BABIES OUT.
Sit down with your significant other and their checklist, and write down what can be done without orders on that checklist. That is the important checklist. It's the stuff that has to get done in order for you to leave.
BUT there are some other things that have to get done too, and those things aren't exactly on the military priorities checklist. Those things are things that help keep you sane....
Such as...
Sit down with your significant other and their checklist, and write down what can be done without orders on that checklist. That is the important checklist. It's the stuff that has to get done in order for you to leave.
BUT there are some other things that have to get done too, and those things aren't exactly on the military priorities checklist. Those things are things that help keep you sane....
Such as...
- The great moving purge. Add that to your list. What big furniture can you part with? What needs to be listed on Craigslist and what can just go to goodwill? The purge is an extremely important step. Especially if you have a lot of crap. PURGE. Trust me. Even if you hate cleaning and organizing, DO IT. You WILL feel better after the house is clean and clear, and you will have a sense of productive fulfillment during this waiting phase.
- Do you have a pet? If you do, and this is an overseas move, you better start this process six months ago. Not even kidding. There are some great blog posts about how to move overseas with your pet, (Like this one) but honestly, what you need to do is just schedule a visit with your military veterinarian. Add that to the list. The vet knows exactly what it takes to move your dog wherever you are going and will provide you with a very in depth checklist of what needs to be done. Our final out is July, but because we are headed to Hawaii, we had to start this process for our dog back in December.
- Medical stuff. You can absolutely guarantee that you will need to have everyone in the family's medical records. You don't need orders for this step. Just add some doctors appointments to your list. Make sure everyone is up to date on everything they need medically, and then grab a copy of those records. Medical stuff is such. A. Pain. For example, I needed a full dental work up, which meant I also needed X-rays - but I was 8 months pregnant at the time (no X-rays with a baby inside!), and our medical deadline wasn't going to wait for this baby to be born. So, I had to get a cleaning and then convince the dentist to sign off anyways, even though I didn't get an X-ray - all in the span of a few days to make sure we met our deadline. So seriously, don't make the mistake we did by waiting to do medical stuff - DO IT ASAP.
- ORDERS. Let's say you've gotten them now, and you have somewhere between 2 weeks and 3 months to cram everything else that you have to do in before your head explodes and you have to uproot your family. It's cool. Eat some ice cream. You'll work off the pounds while your scrubbing the 2 year stain out of your rental home carpet. Speaking of, now that you have orders, contact all the people you have to contact about housing. If you are in base housing or renting, give them your notice and one of the billion copies of orders that you will be leaving. ADD THIS TO YOUR LIST. A lot of properties don't like it if you neglect to give them 30 days notice, HOWEVER if you do get into that pickle, show them your orders. There is a military clause that all military families should be aware of that states any contract can be broken if you have orders sending you elsewhere.
- Next is still housing - if you are going to be living on base, you want to get on the waiting list the day you get your orders. Seriously. That day. Email them. Call them. Get yourself on that waiting list, because if you are moving at peak season (June-August), you do NOT want to end up stuck in a hotel or temporary lodging for months while you wait on a house. If you are going to be renting or buying a place off base, start hunting NOW. Get things planned and squared away. Waiting for the last minute is NEVER a good idea.
- Car shipment. Transportation office on base. They know what's what. Make an appointment. Add this to your list. Also, I should remind you that as you make appointments, you should put them in your phone calendar with a one day before alert. Because there will be so many, you will forget at least one of them.
- Services. You need to add this to your list for sure if you don't want a lot of extra charges and lost stuff. Cancel service plans (or reassign them to the new location) like TV, subscriptions, phone (if it's a foreign country your going to), etc.. also MAIL. make sure you change your address on all accounts and set up a forwarding address.
- Important documents. Round up all of the important things. A billon copies of orders. Passports. Birth certificates. This list you're making. Other checklists. Your pets records and THEIR checklist. Vehicle documents. Make copies of it all. Some things may need to be notarized, so go ahead and get that done. Put it all together into a zipable binder. This is what we like to call "The Important Folder". This is your lifeline. Keep this by your side at all times.
- Time for another appointment (all of these appointments should be getting made as soon as you've written this list). TMO. The one you are most anxious about. The office that will provide you with the cheapest moving company they can find to come and pack your things, steal a few things, and break some more things. TAKE INVENTORY. An easy way of doing this is taking pictures of each room at a few different angles, and then individual pictures of things that are sentimental or expensive. Also, you could write stuff down, but that's super annoying and takes forever. Take the photos. Then take the SD card out of your camera and stick it in the important folder. Next you should check up on your insurance. USAA is usually pretty great about things getting lost or stolen. They will work with you to figure out what you need. As for the jewelry or other expensive things that you may not want stolen, I recommend packing it yourself in something that hides it from view, or packing it to travel with you.
- Finally, booking tickets, making budgets and concreting plans! Once you have your arrive no later than date, you can book tickets through your travel office. Another necessary step is making a budget. A lot of people don't realize that you can get a government travel card. It's a nifty little card that you can use for all of your travel related expenses on the governments dime! Just make sure you keep all of your receipts. If they deem something wasn't worthy as a travel expense, you will be footing that bill. Fast food totally counts, FYI. As does gas if you are driving to your final destination, hotels, and airline tickets. Budget for the moving expenses, but also know that this card is available. Contact your finances office on base for more information.
It feels really good once all of the things on that list have been checked off. I've never been a list maker, but I definitely became one. It's extremely helpful and almost necessary to keep your sanity. So, what to take away from this long post?
Organize. Make lists. Make more lists. Make appointments way in advance. Do things BEFORE someone tells you they need to be done.
This will help you keep your sanity.
Eat some cookies.
