Tips servicemembers, and their families, can use for a successful move

By Mitch Chandran, Hq. SDDC Public AffairsJune 13, 2011

The Surface Deployment and Distribution Command’s Personal Property Directorate has compiled a list of moving tips for you to use in preparing for a Permanent Change of Station or move. These tips are even more relevant during this busy peak season.

Whether you are moving less than 5,000 pounds or more than 18,000 pounds worth of personal belongings, the below tips can be worth their weight in gold and possibly save you from aggravation, time or money.

- Once you get your orders and know the dates you want to move, IMMEDIATELY start your moving process. The sooner you start this process, the better chance you have to lock in the dates you want. The early bird gets the worm. Contact your local Transportation Office / Personal Property Shipping Office / Joint Personal Property Shipping Office for assistance as soon as possible to learn all the moving options available to you, including a Personally Procured Move, formerly known as DITY (do it yourself).

- Create a personal moving calendar with checklists, phone lists, to-do lists and links to critical moving processes and information.

- Your Transportation Office / Personal Property Shipping Office / Joint Personal Property Shipping Office is your primary point of contact for customer service. It is never too early to ask questions.

- A good estimated weight of your personal property is very important. An easy and dependable method for making this estimate is to figure approximately 1,000 pounds per room. Keep in mind this is ONLY an estimate and each individual shipment will vary.

- Pack, pickup and delivery dates are scheduled on weekdays. You or your designated representative needs to be available between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. You don’t want to miss your moving dates as this will cause unnecessary hardship on everyone.

- Once you request your moving dates, don’t assume they are set. Your moving dates are not confirmed until you coordinate with your Transportation Service Provider.

- Moving between May and August is extremely busy with June being the busiest moving month of the year. Your requested dates may not be available during this time. You will need to be flexible and always leave some time in your schedule for unforeseen circumstances.

- Moving is a good time to dispose of unnecessary items. This will help avoid excess weight charges if your shipment is over the authorized weight allowance. You don’t want to ship and pay for something you didn’t want anyway.

- The Transportation Office / Personal Property Shipping Office / Joint Personal Property Shipping Office at origin / destination, or you, can request a reweigh of your personal property shipment at no cost to you. This is usually done when you are near or over your weight allowance.

- Make sure if you are having multiple shipments that you clearly separate them at your residence. Multiple shipments should be scheduled on separate days to avoid confusion.

- The Defense Personal Property System (at www.move.mil) places you in direct contact with your carrier to manage the movement of your personal property. It is extremely important to keep your phone number, e-mail address and contact information updated and current at MOVE.MIL.

- If you have a delivery address for your personal property and want a direct delivery, it is important to work closely with your carrier to arrange delivery and avoid your personal property being placed in temporary storage.

- You can find the “It’s Your Move” pamphlet on the move.mil website. The pamphlet provides allowances and responsibilities involving personal property shipments and is a great source for additional moving tips to help you prepare for a PCS move.