PCSing season is upon us yet again! Some of us are moving to new states, new timezones and even new countries.
This time can be both exciting and scary for many of us!
We recently made our trip from Colorado down to Arizona for our next post and it was.....an experience. I won't say everything went perfect because it absolutely did not but I learned A LOT along the way.
1. Save yourself time and stress by researching packing hacks
I am a terrible packer. My journey toward minimalism has made me a slightly better packer, but I still loathe it. I turned to Pinterest for packing ideas and inspiration. I found a ton of great ideas but my favorite had to be the garbage bag hack.
If you hate having to put clothes back on hangers after a big move. THIS HACK is amazing! It probably saved me about two hours since almost all my clothes are on hangers.
2. Your air mattress will feel more comfortable after a few days
After a week and a half on an air mattress I think I actually began to sleep okay...either that or a severe case of Stockholm syndrome. Honestly though, our air mattress was a life saver. We bought it at Walmart and we have had all of our visitors (over ten people) use it and it hasn't popped!
3. Prepare for the worst
I know that this sounds extremely negative and a bit dramatic...but you seriously need to be ready for anything.
This is my car on the side of the road right outside of a town in New Mexico. My car was full of our belongings and was now completely dead on the side of the road. This lead to a wild journey in our other car through Las Cruces to find a U-haul truck. By the time I got the truck and got back to my husband who was waiting for the tow truck....we had twenty minutes of daylight left to move everything from my car to the uhaul.
What happened to me is an extreme situation of course, but always be prepared the best way you can. On long road trips anything can happen. If anything else, make sure you have a first aid kit, water bottles, food, flashlight, jumper cables, and all items needed to fix a flat tire.
We are very lucky to live in a day in age where cell phones exist but in many parts of country (including our new house) the reception is not good. It is not going to help relying on a phone especially late at night.
4. Something will break in the move
We were lucky to have great movers despite some of the horror stories I've heard. However, we did have a few casualties break in the move. My biggest piece of advice is to wrap anything that you feel to be very valuable and irreplaceable yourself. I was a control freak who wrapped all our wedding china like it was a newborn.
We lost a couple serving platters and have a claim in process with the moving company. So far it has been an easy process. But after driving a uhaul through a border patrol checkpoint in New Mexico to pick up my stranded husband...almost everything was easy.
RIP Watermelon Shaped Serving Bowl 2015-2017
5. Take this new journey as an opportunity
I was not super excited to leave Colorado at all. I had dreamt of living in Colorado since I was a kid. The best piece of advice about new duty stations I ever got was "It is what you make of it that will make the difference."
The great and sometimes no so great thing about the military, is that we get to experience new places. I would not have visited most of the places I've seen in the last few years had it not been for the Army.
New towns, new foods and new journeys are all waiting no matter if you're going to a new state or a new continent!
sounds super exciting and some great tips here!
ReplyDeleteBecca
www.QueenBeeBecca.com
Thank you!
DeleteWhat is PCSing? I haven't ever heard of it! I'm moving to the beach in a month! Happy adventures
ReplyDeleteKilah
mindovermetcon.com
PCSing stands for Permanent Change of Station. Basically when the army moves you to a different place. I miss the beach!! Hope you enjoy it!
DeleteI wish you the best of luck on your new adventure!
ReplyDeleteMuch love,
Ashley from Dear Ash
Best of luck on your new adventure! Along with prepare for the worst, I try to keep my expectations in check. If I think about how a drive should take 9 hours, it can stress me out if it doesn't, even when I'm not on a tight schedule. Keeping my expectations flexible is really helpful for me in situations like this! -Emmi, www.scoutandwiles.com
ReplyDelete