My little camp style pour over coffee maker has been pulled out so that I will still be able to make fresh coffee after my coffee pot is packed up and gone. We have all gone through our closets and pulled out the clothes that we no longer wear or no longer fit and they have been donated to the Thrift Shop. I have started isolating our 220 volt appliances to be redistributed to friends or donated away. The last to go will be my blow dryer - and it's so awesome that it may not go at all, but just stay stashed away until my dreams of returning for future vacations come to pass.
The movers come in thirteen days. Between now and then I will have my last day of work and a last trip to Italy to see our best-good friends and visit the last of our Bucket List cities for this tour. We didn't make it all the way through the list, but we sure had fun trying! I also have appointments for the pets to get their travel certificate, appointments at the doctor for me and the Boy to get sports physicals and medication refills because it is always a pain in the butt trying to get in at the new duty station and communication with my established provider is usually easier than with a new one. We have to get treats for out realtors, friends, and my future co-workers from the local area to take with us. Plus, make those last minute purchases from the local area for ourselves, too. Top of that list for us is a few more pillow covers and duvet covers for the German bedding that we purchased. The sizes are different so we won't be able to get them in the States.
Some lessons that I have learned over the past seven PCS (permanent change of station) moves is that it is better to get rid of big items at the place your going than the place you are because you never know what you may need, and PSCing is expensive, and you might not have money to buy that new couch or dining room table when you first arrive. Or you could be rushed into making a purchase and end up with expensive furniture that you don't love just because you were in dire need. So, I take what I have, even if it is half broken and falling apart, and get rid of it at the new place if it doesn't fit or isn't needed or after I find just the right piece to replace it. Also, baggies. Big baggies, small baggies, baggies, baggies, baggies. I invested in some giant Ziplock baggies when we left North Carolina and I use them for our bedding - to both protect and organize it all. I use them for our junk drawer items, kitchen utensils big and small, for the hardware on items that come apart (beds, standing mirror, lamps, etc) and they get taped to the item in question, for the nails and hangers that come out of the wall - they get taped to the art, too. I use them for clothes, and spices, and just about everything. I bag it up and that way I don't have to individually unwrap twenty forks and twenty knives, and my bedding doesn't come out of the box smelling like cardboard and exhaust, but like the dryer sheet that I put in the bag before sealing it up.
I would love to read the tips and tricks of other military families for a smooth PCS!
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