U. S. ArmyLove


Tips for Army Wives


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Moving
Orders



Moving

Plastic storage containers are your best friend. You can store hobby supplies, kids toys, books, all kinds of stuff in plastic.

In the bathroom, I had cabinets in Texas, but I don’t here… when we unpacked our bathroom stuff (toiletries, washcloths), I just took the containers out of the moving boxes and set them right into the cabinets… didn’t need to rewash the washcloths… they were already nice and clean! It helps keep stuff organized too.

In the kitchen, dishcloths didn’t have room to be stored in the drawers… so I stored them under the sink in plastic containers. I kept cleaning supplies in an old one that was damaged from the move so that if they leaked, they didn’t destroy the bottom of the cabinet. I keep those packets of seasonings or salad dressing mix or even taco seasoning stuff in a storage container - keeps them neat in the pantry. Spices are good to store in containers too. I don’t have expensive Tupperware containers for these. Just the cheap ones. Doing this really makes moving easier. It simplifies packing and unpacking.

In the office, I store pens and pencils in containers… the kids know where to go to find them. I store crayons and markers for school (buy extra when they sell off all the stuff they stocked up on for the beginning of school supply sales!). I store school paper and coloring paper, cards, card games, pieces of games (those game boxes get crushed with all of the moves), printer ink refills and other supplies like that… if you have a junk drawer, store that stuff in a container that either fits in the drawer, or find a cabinet to store it in. Easier to sort through… and easier to move.

Videos… they have all sizes of clear containers that you can store these in. we took all of our DVD’s and put them in one of those books that you put the individual discs in. we kept the cases in… a larger plastic container to store in the basement. We are limited on space in housing in germany. It makes things easier to access and organize this way… and unpack! We did this with cd’s too. we put them into smaller little ‘books’ according to type… classical, classic rock, heavy metal… and new age. We store our college books in containers. They fill those book boxes too full and you can’t move them. If you have books in storage boxes, they are smaller and easier to move, and they don’t destroy your books when they pack them. And when you store them in containers… they don’t get so dusty.

Kids rooms… toys. My daughter has ADD, she pulls out toys and they never go back in their ‘assigned’ places. So I put all her doll stuff in one container. All of her little creatures in another, Barbie’s in another… computer games, in another. And on her desk she has her gel pens and sketch books and stuff like that all in containers. All of her stuffed animals that she doesn’t play with all of the time or have sitting on her bed are in containers. Again… they have bigger ones for these so you can fit a bunch in there and not worry about it being too heavy. You can put off season clothes in these too… they stack nicely.

Which brings me to MY room. I have sweaters in there for storage (with little bags of cedar chips to keep moths away), and I have one for my summer clothes. You can also store lingerie that doesn’t get worn much in those… (easier to move too… and the movers aren’t TOUCHING your unmentionables)

I store my craft supplies in containers, it makes it easier to get my stuff out. I don’t have a lot of furniture for storing my craft stuff, this way it can go in the back room in the closet or down in storage in the basement… and stuff doesn’t get dirty or water damaged.

Here’s something we’ve found useful… create a ‘moving’ box. Ours has stuff we need when we are without all of our stuff… below are some ideas…
Air mattresses and a pump
Sheets
Pillows
Towels
Old or plastic dishes (like picnic stuff)
Cups
Pots and pans, or just a sauce and a frying pan
Anything else you might need before you get your stuff
We have this and sometimes mail it ahead since we have done three tours overseas and it takes about a month to get your stuff.

We always make what we call the moving food box with
Cereal (little boxes)
roman noodles (instant noodles)
crackers
instant cocoa or coffee
snack bags
napkins
plates
cups
20 dollars ( for milk and cheese or for fats food)
I would always put in bread and peanut butter the day before we moved or a storm would hit .

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Orders

First they put in something called an RFO, that gets the orders processed. Make sure it has the family included and says concurrent travel… when the orders are processed, make sure that they say you are on there… if you’re supposed to be.

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