Being part of a military family means you have to move a lot. Whether you plan to let the government find and hire a professional moving company to pack and move you or do some or all of it yourself via a DITY move, you will need to be organized and plan ahead.
Military Moving Tips:
1. Start early
It's never too early to start organizing and packing. Even if you are still awaiting your military moving orders, it never hurts to start weeding through the stuff you no longer need and prepare for packing.
2. Get authorization
As soon as you have your military moving orders, contact the transportation or personal property office on base. You will need to schedule an appointment to go over all the requirements for your move. Regardless of how you choose to move, you will need to make sure you submit the appropriate paperwork and are authorized for a partial or full DITY move.
3. Take care of personal paperwork
One of the most important military moving tasks is to assure that you have all your family's personal documentation in order before your move. Plan ahead to renew passports, update vaccination records, get powers of attorney, etc. You want to make sure you have birth certificates and other documentation to enroll your kids in school, seek medical care and travel. Put one person in charge of the personal paperwork file and decide how it will move with you.
4. Take pictures
Before you pack, take digital photos or video of all your belongings. This will come in handy should you need to make a claim for lost or damaged items.
5. Update insurance
Contact your insurance companies and make any necessary changes to automobile, homeowners, renters and other personal insurance policies so you are covered during and after you have crossed everything off your military moving checklist.