Planning a Move With Your Military Family

Published: August 08, 2020

If you’re a member of our nation’s military, first of all, thank you for your service. It’s a tremendous sacrifice to be at the mercy of orders that can move you and your entire family from one location to another.

With tons of military families living around us at UNITS Moving & Portable Storage of North Virginia, we’re here to help make your military move go as smoothly as possible. To help make that a reality, we’ve created a list of tips for military families and how to make moving simple.

1. Got Orders, Get Organized

If you’ve recently received the orders that you’re going to be relocated, the best thing you can do is get organized ASAP. Put together a moving folder that contains all communications relating to the move. If you live in military or base housing, your move will likely be a whole lot easier than if you purchased a home near a base. If you did purchase a home, you’ll want to make copies of everything relating to the sale of your home and put it in this folder as well. You’ll also want to start the more enjoyable part of the process — looking for a new home! The sooner you can start getting organized with all of this information, the better. Settle on a moving solution, whether that’s using a traditional mover, a portable storage container, or some combination of the two, it’s best to be proactive about this aspect as a military move is often a time sensitive one.

2. Start Packing Early

Between finding a new place to live, looking for a new home, and continuing daily work, it’s easy for packing to get lost in the sauce of life. One simple tip to make military moves more simple is to start packing early. Most likely you’ll quickly realize that you own more than you think you do and the room that “only had a few things left in it” really has a dozen or so boxes worth. The sooner you can start packing your most valuable belongings, the sooner you can sort through the rest. Which leads us to number 3…

3. Essential v. Non-Essential

It’s easy to make believe that everything you own is something that you need to have, but you know better, you’re in the military! You know that all you need to survive are the bare essentials and moving is a great opportunity to take out the trash and clear out the unnecessary clutter. Sort your belongings and encourage your family to separate items into essential v. non-essential and within the non-essential pile you’ll probably find some things that are perfect for someone else. Just not you on a move.

4. Donate Unwanted Goods

You know that saying about one man’s trash? Clothes, furniture and other items that might not be of any use to you are items that most likely can be donated at a number of locations such as Salvation Army and Goodwill Stores. These tax deductible donations not only lighten your moving load but also go to support families in need directly in your local area. Don’t feel bad about leaving belongings behind and if you run into a situation where you need extra storage, consider a portable storage container as a flexible solution.

5. Throw Out Toiletries & Liquids

Abide by the no liquid no go rule. Anything liquid, except for vital medications, unless unopened can be left at home, given away, or replaced if you’re moving a long distance away. It’s not worth the stress or mess if liquids explode mid move.

Are you a military moving expert? Did we miss your best moving hack? Leave us your best tips in the comments below! From everyone at UNITS Moving & Portable Storage, we thank you for your service and wish you the best in your move!