We are in that weird pre-PCS phase (brain dump)

[nsl]

H's leave has begun (he had a ton of use or lose, so he's taking like two months off between duty stations), we have a house rented at our new duty station, our house here is under contract, we have our route planned out, our cars are going in for tune-ups next week, and we're starting to mock-pack them this weekend to make sure everything we want to bring ourselves will fit.  All of which is to say that we've been incredibly busy preparing for the move, but people keep commenting that we must be up to our ears with packing and it's felt very strange to tell them that, no, the movers will do it when they arrive next week.  Our realtor came over yesterday to discuss some paperwork and did a double take when she walked in the living room because everything was still in its place.  In some ways it doesn't even feel like we're moving, just like we're prepping for a road trip.

I'd forgotten how much I hate this phase of the PCS.  I'm already mentally in the space to start the drive, but we have around two weeks left before that's going to happen.  The packers start next week, and the movers a few days after they leave, so I'm sure things will start to feel real soon. 

[Ashsmash]

It really does suck! That's where we just were, the movers just delivered our stuff to the new house this morning. I thought it would be a relief to have it all here, but now I just don't want to deal with unpacking and figuring out where I want everything lol

[dcn]

Ugh yes I hate the lead up! We are still in the middle if out never ending pcs. Packers started June 8 and we may not get our hhg until 21 July. I cannot wait for this to just be over already!

Hope it all goes smoothly!

[killercupcake]

The anticipation was always the worst part. Just waiting to get the whole process started always drove me nuts. Once it was rolling, it was cake.

[nsl]

Jul 3, 2015 22:38:55 GMT -5 dcn said:

Ugh yes I hate the lead up! We are still in the middle if out never ending pcs. Packers started June 8 and we may not get our hhg until 21 July. I cannot wait for this to just be over already!

Hope it all goes smoothly!

This is going to be our situation too.  Packers start the 8th, movers arrive the 13th, and we won't get our HHG until August 14 because our rental won't be ready when we first arrive at our new duty station.  I think the hardest part about figuring out what to pack in the cars is that we'll need to rely on just those things for whole month.

[brandienee]

I am impressed that you've got so much under control though. (Selling your house and having a place to live at your next duty station is huge!) You are pretty much ready to go. That's awesome. The anticipation sucks, I am sure, but you've so got this. I hope our move goes as smoothly.

[dcn]

Jul 4, 2015 10:37:58 GMT -5 nsl said:

Jul 3, 2015 22:38:55 GMT -5 dcn said:

Ugh yes I hate the lead up! We are still in the middle if out never ending pcs. Packers started June 8 and we may not get our hhg until 21 July. I cannot wait for this to just be over already!

Hope it all goes smoothly!

This is going to be our situation too.  Packers start the 8th, movers arrive the 13th, and we won't get our HHG until August 14 because our rental won't be ready when we first arrive at our new duty station.  I think the hardest part about figuring out what to pack in the cars is that we'll need to rely on just those things for whole month.

Yes! We only had one car, plus we were coming from Alaska do needed two wardrobes plus camping stuff for Yellowstone. The frustrating part is that our things are here but the movers claim we refused delivery.

[nsl]

I hope you get your things really soon, dcn!

[VillainV]

I hate that phase. As soon as we start "pre-packing" (organizing, purging, taking pictures off the walls, etc) it starts feeling real to me, and it's very unsettling. Makes me feel like a nomad until we're into our new house with household goods mostly unpacked, pictures hung again, etc.

[WOT?*]

Just out of curiosity but DD and her family are in Japan and most of their stuff is in Japan. Their car is stored here and can be shipped there, but I think everything else was already taken overseas from storage when they moved. Is there a way that they will move additional stuff that we want to give them to furnish their house when they are relocated back here? They're moving to the other coast and we want to give them GD2's bedroom furniture for GD3 and some other stuff. I can't imagine shipping such a small amount unless it's shipped with other stuff going to the same base (Norfolk).

[amaristella]

Jul 7, 2015 13:01:58 GMT -5 WOT?* said:

Just out of curiosity but DD and her family are in Japan and most of their stuff is in Japan. Their car is stored here and can be shipped there, but I think everything else was already taken overseas from storage when they moved. Is there a way that they will move additional stuff that we want to give them to furnish their house when they are relocated back here? They're moving to the other coast and we want to give them GD2's bedroom furniture for GD3 and some other stuff. I can't imagine shipping such a small amount unless it's shipped with other stuff going to the same base (Norfolk).

I honestly don't think that the military will. As far as I know there isn't any official way to have things added in like that. You would need to be local to them at the departing end and give the stuff to them there. But maybe look into one of those Relocube (or PODS?) type services. See who has the smallest/cheapest unit. I looked into them before but what jacked my prices way up was the ocean shipping. It made it cheaper to hire a local company to do the whole thing start to finish for me. But if there's no ocean involved one of those services might serve you well.

[amaristella]

Jul 3, 2015 17:06:29 GMT -5 nsl said:

 All of which is to say that we've been incredibly busy preparing for the move, but people keep commenting that we must be up to our ears with packing and it's felt very strange to tell them that, no, the movers will do it when they arrive next week. 

Whatever you do don't beat yourself up about that. I think that military moves are already super complicated affairs even if you are not the person doing the actual pack out. A lot of the prep work you have to do to get yourself cleaned up, organized and ready for the packers isn't as necessary if you pack your own things. Not to mention having to "test" pack your vehicle(s) before the movers get there just to be sure that you don't have one odd item that just doesn't fit but is majorly important.

If it helps you to do this, I did this last time. Use Excel or something to create an itinerary for the next couple of weeks. Put everything that needs to be done, with appointment times, contact information, etc. Find some painters tape and put it up on the wall. Then every day cross things off or make notes. And you'll be able to see how close you are to the finish line. Heck, if you want you can even include the driving days and how many miles you want to accomplish. I found it helpful to keep all my plans in one central spot and also to be able to refer DH to the chart on the wall whenever necessary. Hell. You can even use it to plan your last few meals while trying to get all of your food consumed. The very best part, imho, is that you can see where your blank spots are to plan fun activities and date nights to bring down the stress levels.