3 Tips for Organizing For Your Next PCS

Whether it’s your first PCS or your eighth, it doesn’t make it less stressful. Even if you’re using military movers, you want to be sure that you can find everything when you reach your new destination–and you know the importance of unpacking and having your household up and running as soon as possible. By preparing an inventory system in the days and weeks leading up to your move, you can help make the entire moving process smoother.

System 1: A Paper and Folder System

For many traditionalists, this is the easiest way to keep track of your possessions. Make sure to take pictures of expensive furniture, antiques, or other valuable items as you go so that if they’re damaged during the moving process, you’ll have proof of their original condition. Keep copies of pictures in the folder with your lists. While you’re taking inventory, be sure to set aside any items that you would prefer to move yourself to ensure their safety. If you prefer to take inventory, try to organize and label your inventory in a logical way. You can choose to do it by room, by type of item (furniture, jewelry, small appliances), or in another way that makes sense to you. It’s best, however, to label each inventory sheet clearly to make it easier to check off all those important items again when you reach your destination.

PCS time is also an excellent time to sort out all the clutter and other items that you don’t use anymore. Take the time to get rid of possessions that are worn out, never used, or not useful for some other reason. Do you really need two bread machines? What about your extensive cookware collection? Now is the time to get rid of the items you don’t use on a regular basis. Just remember, if you remove it from your home now, you don’t have to unpack it later!

System 2: There’s An App for That

There are plenty of apps that make life easier for military families, but nothing is quite so convenient for a PCS than moving apps. Sortly, for example, is an excellent home inventory system that divides inventory by rooms or by boxes. MoveMatch will store your inventory by rooms or by boxes. MoveMatch will store your inventory by box as well as letting movers know which room those important boxes should go in. Moving Van, on the other hand, doesn’t just make an exact list of each box’s contents. It also lets you search by item so that when you arrive at your new home, you can quickly determine which box has the critical item you’re missing.

The downside to a digital inventory, of course, is that most of these apps don’t allow space for comprehensive pictures of their items. Make sure that you’re taking those pictures. Storing them on your smart phone or flash drive will make them easily accessible when you need them.

System 3: A Little of Both

Some people prefer to use pen and paper for all of their important moving information. Others prefer a digital solution. Here’s the good news: you don’t have to pick just one! You might, for example, keep a paper inventory of your goods, but store pictures of your furniture and other valuables on your smart phone. You could also choose to take a picture or scan in a copy of your paper inventory so that you’ll have a digital backup just in case something happens during the move.

It’s also useful to keep a digital copy of any important papers and other documents. While you’ll need the real paper, paper copies for most important activities–enrolling the kids in school, for example–having that digital copy could come in handy if you need social security numbers, information from a birth certificate, or other information in a hurry and can’t find your emergency binder or folder. A copy of your insurance card will work just as well as the real thing if you happen to need it while you’re on the road!

When you have a clear, comprehensive household inventory, it becomes easier than every to keep up with important items. You’ll be able to easily determine where things have been packed, where they need to be, and whether or not anything is missing. This organization is a critical part of streamlining your PCS for yourself and your family.

Ready to get started looking for housing in San Diego? Our Relobase Realtors are happy to assist you!

(Article originally appeared on Relobase.com)

3 Things to Know When PCSing Alone as a Military Spouse

A PCS without the assistance of the service member isn’t at all unusual in military life. Sometimes a PCS take place prior to the end of deployment, in the midst of deployment, during a time the service member is attending school, or simply in the field.

While these occurrences are not unusual, that doesn’t negate the stress a spouse experiences during a solo PCS.

In this situation, organization is imperative. Here are three things that can help your PCS run smoothly if you’re flying solo!

Create a Comprehensive PCS Moving List

Create a PCS list or binder outlining all upcoming tasks. If at all possible, it’s best to start a month or two in advance to get a leg up on the biggest tasks.

Using a calendar to monitor tasks is a great way to organize the PCS binder. Daily tasks help keep the process moving forward and focused. It is important to note that the Department of Defense (DoD) funds are allotted only for DoD instigated PCS moves. When the PCS is DoD required, typically house-hunting travel expenses for up to ten days are compensated. If the PCS orders are executed and there is no on-base housing available, DoD covers the cost of a hotel until on-base housing becomes available.

The government can reimburse some real estate expenses, notably 10% on sale price, and 5% on purchase price. This only applies to civilian spouses. A home marketing program is available through the DoD that reimburses 1% to 5% of the residence selling price.
You can get extensions on selling your home and purchasing a new residence.
If you live in a mobile home, the DoD reimburses the costs of moving it with a commercial transporter.

Ensure the Power of Attorney (POA) is Up to Date

It is always a good practice to have a general POA on hand. Regardless, it’s possibly out of date by now and needs updating. As you attempt to make a move on your own, you can’t do any of the paperwork unless you have a legal POA.

If you have your POA in a safe deposit box, go check it to make sure it hasn’t expired. The worst thing that could happen is having legal snags as you attempt the move without your spouse. Scrambling to get a new POA at the last second could also take weeks of time.

Be sure to look over other types of powers of attorney you may need before the move takes place. These are all major security blankets if something unforeseen happens.

Checking and Obtaining Insurance

It’s essential to make sure you have your household items insured during a move so you don’t have to pay out-of-pocket for any damage occurring. Even if you get eventual government compensation for a move, they won’t pay for any damage occurring to your furniture.

One thing that many overlook is obtaining renters insurance if you’re renting an apartment until finding a new house. If you have more than $35,000 worth of possessions, you’ll definitely want to protect yourself until your spouse rejoins you.

Ready to get started looking for housing? Our Relobase Realtors are happy to assist you!

(Article originally appeared on Relobase.com)

Navigating a New Town After a Military PCS

Whether you’re going through first PCS or your tenth, there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to navigating a new town. Our advice? Do it the old fashioned way and just start exploring your new stomping grounds. The question is, where do you start?

Step One: Decide What’s Important to Your Family

Do you have children who will be enrolled in a local school or daycare? Or are you and your spouse seeking fun night life spots? Outdoors enthusiasts? Or more gym focused? Priorities will vary depending on interests and activities. Of course, if littles are a part of life, finding their new school and a good route will serve the family well. That way, when pressed for time on their first morning, mom or dad won’t be desperately trying to enter the school address into the GPS while in early morning traffic or struggling to find the charging cable for the cell phone, which will, of course, be dead. The next task will be finding the places you visit regularly. Getting to know the base, of course, is important. Equally important, however, is finding the interesting, exciting and essential places in this new duty station. Explore, poke around, sniff out the hidden gems, and have fun.

Step 2: Develop a Ritual

Whether PCSing alone or with a spouse and kids, developing a ritual will make it easier to settle into each new place along the way. Make it a point to go out for ice cream your first night in a new town, check out a new pizza delivery service every Friday night until you find your favorite, or go hunting for the best bookstore in town as soon as you’ve unpacked the contents of your shelves. This ritual will help create a sense of continuity between your old city and your new one as well as increase a sense of family connection.

Step 3: Ask for Recommendations

As you meet your new neighbors, make friends with other military families, and get to know the new community, take the time to ask for recommendations from families who have been here for a while. Ask about the best grocery store, both in terms of budget and in terms of selection. Everyone will have an opinion about the best pediatrician in the area. Don’t forget to listen for information about the places you don’t want to go; it’s just as important to know which sandwich shop has terrible customer service or which sushi bar makes people sick a couple times a month as it is to know where to find the best burger in town. If you don’t have the connections or are too shy to ask for personal recommendations, go online! Many bases have groups for military spouses that can be found on Facebook. There, helpful individuals will be delighted to assist new arrivals. There are also websites and apps dedicated specifically to helping military families learn their way around a new duty station. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of those resources!

Step 4: Get Lost

Once you’ve been in town for awhile, it’s time to, as one writer put it, “wean yourself off your GPS dependency.” Some people–those with a great sense of direction, in particular–will do this somewhat automatically, one they get their feet under them. Others have to work up to that point. When you have some free time, go for a drive and turn off the GPS. Don’t panic if you’re outside your comfort zone. Try driving around until you locating something familiar, then backtrack from there. If you simply can’t work your way out of the snarl, you can always turn the GPS back on. Navigating a new duty station can be stressful for everyone: the service member, their spouse, and their kids. Sticking together and treating it as an adventure, however, can help everyone adapt faster to the new location. Before you know it, this new station will be home!

Ready to get started looking for housing? Our Relobase Realtors are happy to assist you!

(Article originally appeared on Relobase.com)

How to Pack and Move in 30 days: The Reality of a Military PCS

A quick Google of military moving and stress will generate tips on how to organize your household goods as if keeping organized will eliminate the stress. But managing the physical move is only one aspect of dealing with PCS.

The second, and perhaps more important aspect, is the emotional side of moving. Moving is more than just packing up boxes; it’s packing up a life.

Military families move often and after a few times, become pretty efficient at it. But let’s be honest, fear of the unknown, the dread of saying goodbye, the worry over finding a new home, and wondering if the kids will find new friends never goes away.

Every member of the family experiences the stress of moving and at some point it’s bound to erupt. Whether it’s the unavoidable “moving spat” between spouses or a teenager yelling at a younger sibling for seemingly no reason, there will be drama.

Here are some tips on how to face the reality of a military PCS and survive it with your sanity intact!

Put On Your Oxygen Mask First

If you’ve ever been on an airplane you’re familiar with the flight attendant’s emergency instructions to put on your oxygen mask before assisting others. This isn’t being selfish. It’s because if you are oxygen deprived, you can’t help someone else. The same principle applies to handling the stress of a move. As the physical part of the move fills the calendar, be sure to take some time to destress as a couple and as an individual. If you are overwhelmed with stress you can’t help the rest of the family deal with their emotions surrounding the move.

Acknowledge that the stress of leaving the familiar behind is real. It can be easy to ignore it in all the rush of packing and making arrangements, but that doesn’t make it disappear. Go to dinner and talk about anything other than the move. See a movie or let the kids stay the night with friends and have an evening home alone.

Take advantage of CDC (Child Development Center) to let the kids have some fun and to give you some time to pack uninterrupted.

Reach out to the relocation manager at your new base. Make this person your best friend so you and your family can get assistance throughout the moving process.

Download the free Relobase app here. It provides you with invaluable resources to organize and take control of your PCS.

Kids Need Special Care

Children who move a lot can experience what Freudian analysts call “repetition compulsion,” or a Goldilocks complex, when they become adults because they are always looking for just the right place. Helping your kids cope emotionally with a move is as important as making sure all their belongings get to the new home.

Tell them as soon as you know you’re moving so they have time to mentally prepare. One military mom suggested talking to the kids about possible locations even before you find out where you’ll be deployed. Have regular family meetings to talk about their role and check in on how they are doing. Make time for a special evening out. Visit their favorite ice cream place or playground or let them have a party with their friends. They need to have closure as much and maybe even more than adults do. If your kids are older, give them the job of head researcher. They probably know how to do research on the internet better than you do anyway, so let them find out the history of the new place, what kinds of things there are to do, what the weather’s like and so on.  This will help them feel involved and help them connect to the new place.

While the move can be stressful, it can actually be a great bonding time for the family. If you do it as a team and involve every family member at the level appropriate for them, lessons will be learned and you’ll grow stronger as a family.

(Article originally appeared on Relobase.com)

9 Things To Do Before Your Military PCS to San Diego

Living in San Diego is a strong possibility for military families; particular Navy and Marine Corps. A little planning can make the transition easier. Here are 9 Things To Do Before Your Military PCS to San Diego!

Make a Plan For The Children:

The organizational tasks of a military PCS scatter themselves in a variety of ways and often, they fall entirely on the military spouse. If there are older kids in your family, consider engaging them in the organizational and planning tasks to help them feel more involved with the PCS process.

The local school liaison will be a valuable resource before, during, and after the move. If your family requires daycare or a pre-school enrichment program for children under 5, we recommend researching and designating several centers for drop-in visits.

You may be able to network with other military families for recommendations. Make sure to utilize the free Relobase network.

Arrange New Medical Care:

You never know what can happen during a military relocation. For potential emergencies we recommend locating the closest urgent care and ER. Procuring a new family doctor, dentist, and veterinarian will also be necessary.

Create an Emergency Contact List:

Create an emergency contact list for use during the PCS. This is especially important while medical and dental contacts are pending.

Update Vehicle Registration and Driver’s License

Many military families choose to register their vehicles in their home state or the state in which they have their home of record as well as retain their home state licenses. States have varying rules regarding these practices. Most DMV websites have information specific to military families on their pages.

Register to Vote:

This is an important detail that depends entirely on your current address. Service members and their families should not be left out of the voting process!

Update Financial Accounts:

Ensure your financial institutions have your new address. Set up new accounts.

Update Military Car Insurance:

When PCSing ensure you verify that your current auto insurance offers plans in your new location. Not all insurance companies offer auto insurance in all states. Also, if you’re shipping a vehicle, find out if the company offers a military car insurance option of suspension during periods of disuse.

Make Personal Connections:

San Diego Military Family Collaborative provides social opportunities through support groups, parenting classes, and even exercise classes specifically designed to accommodate the needs of military families. They also have a newsletter you can sign up for.

Download the Relobase App

Click here to download the Relobase app to help you plan your PCS to San Diego! Relobase helps you pack, plan every step of the trip, and even saves you money! Relobase is the only app by and for military service members.

(This article originally appeared on Relobase.com)

6 Reasons to Use Relobase For Your Next PCS

San Diego is home to the nation’s largest concentration of military personnel–nearly 100,000 in total. What you may not know is that more than 45,000 military personnel predictably relocate to or from San Diego every year, like clockwork. In 2015, San Diego’s military population purchased more than 35,000 VA-home loan properties totaling more than $13B sales outstanding. Unfortunately military personnel and their families are given a fragmented network of information, resources and tools to navigate the process.

Relobase is the nation’s first fully comprehensive relocation management tool assisting active duty service members and their families relocate from military installation to installation. With the mobile app, users now easily manage tasks and timelines with confidence and convenience. One of the many challenges service members and families encounter is housing and Relobase is here to assist.

Relobase was designed with you, the military service member, in mind. Here are the 6 Reasons You Should Use Relobase to Plan and Manage Your Next PCS!

One Stop Shop

Relobase not only automatically helps create and manage your PCS schedule and structure, it even embeds solutions. That means checking off a to do item is just a click away.

Task Management

Just tell Relobase where you are, where you are going, and when you need to be there. They will put together a schedule and task list for you.

Total Coverage

Relobase covers over 150 bases in the US and they are constantly adding more. Chances are, if you are PCS-ing to or from a US installation, they’ve got you covered.

Confidently Pack

Use the Relobase Inventory tool to track, record, and itemize your possessions and valuables. Your personal inventory is like a resume, it should be a living document. Relobase makes that easy!

Cut Costs and Save Money

Relobase has lots of tools and resources to make sure you aren’t wasting time and money. Not to mention, they’ve got killer deals for you too!

Force Protection

Relobase knows your data is sensitive. They enforce strict security measures to keep that data secure.

Military relocation isn’t easy. Relobase helps you manage tasks, budgets, and life.

Coastal Premier Properties Partners With Relobase

Coastal Premier Properties is proud to announce their partnership with Relobase! Relobase assists our many military service members with their relocations from base to base. Before starting Relobase, founder Jack Somers, himself a retired military service member, saw a void in the way these Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves are handled. Service members often have thirty days or less to pack up and move themselves and their families across country to an unfamiliar location. Relobase provides the support that military service members need from tools and resources to save money on the move, to task management to make sure nothing gets forgotten, to tons of great information about the new installation they are headed to. This partnership between Relobase and Coastal Premier Properties was a natural fit as owners Amy Green and Susan Meyers-Pyke were looking for a way to give back to a community who sacrifices so much for their country. Whether a military service member is looking to rent a property at their installation or buy a new home and sell their old one, Relobase and Coastal Premier Properties are there to help. Go to Relobase.com to learn more about their services and to download their free app!