For those affiliated with the military you are given a few move options when it comes to a PCS move (Permanent Change of Station). I consider us very lucky that we are given these resources.
~You can opt to the have the military move you completely.
~Partial DITY (Partial Do it Yourself), which means the military would move most of your stuff but you can load your vehicles with necessities and move those items. You will be paid accordingly for the weight you move.
~Full DITY (Or as I call it, a move that there is simply not enough alcohol in the world to make me do). This is when you move all of your belongings to your new duty station (unless it's OCONUS). You have the potential to make a good amount of money this way but as of late those numbers have been going down.
Kyle and I have always been in agreement, Partial DITY moves are the way
to go. Of course everyone is different, but this has always
worked for us. Since we are only 52 days away from move #4 I thought I would share why we choose the Partial DITY option.
* I have ZERO desire to pack my belongings. Kyle and I both are control freaks. We know that we each have our own ways of packing, it is bound to cause some sort of disagreement. I will prep some things before the packers arrive but that's it.
*I don't want to drive a uhaul and neither does he. I would rather someone else take on that responsibility.
*As I said earlier some people focus on the money you can make on a full DITY move, but it has been slowly decreasing over the years. With a Partial you can still make a little bit and not have the stress.
*I don't want to have to worry about finding people to help load our stuff into a truck or off load it at our new home.
*If we don't have a home at our new duty station secured prior to arriving, the military will put our belongings in storage free of charge for 90 days. This is a HUGE help.
*This may sound silly but the movers will come back and take all of the broken down boxes and packing paper when you are done. Yes please!
*The packers/movers are professionals and they know what they are doing. Of course, we have heard some horror stories about moving companies but they have been few and far between. We have never had more than a few small items broken. Heck, that could happen if we packed our stuff but we wouldn't be reimbursed for it.
*Now that we have E, packing would be incredibly difficult. I want our moves to be simple.
*I actually like the idea of living simply for a bit. Since we take household items with us like a coffeemaker, tv, air mattress, gaming system, camping chairs we are able to "camp out" until our stuff arrives. We have had to do that a few times and it's actually fun. With the addition of E, she will still have toys and her pack n play.
As I said earlier everyone is different and some choose to move themselves. Do whatever makes sense for you and your family. Kyle and I would like to get through a move with our marriage intact haha.
I am 100% with you! Before I met Nick, he used do do full DITY moves all the time. But he just had a few things. He didn't even own a couch. Now that we are married and have accumulated a lot of stuff, there is no way I would do a full DITY move. I can't imagine packing up every dish, every fork, all of my picture frames! I also think I would be very stressed about driving the U-Haul. But I understand why some people want to do it themselves!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know they did that. That sure is helpful I'm sure
ReplyDeleteIt really is helpful! We are so thankful.
DeleteToo funny! I was just writing a post about why we are choosing to do a full DITY this time (and why it will probably be our last!!). I hope your move goes smoothly!!
ReplyDeleteWe did it ourselves last time so we could control it...we were driving to the next location so we made a couple of trips and were able to fit our schedule. Next time, the military is doing it because now we have waaaay too much stuff.
ReplyDeleteOmfg. Yes. We did a DITY here to Boston. It was kind of a "we had to unless we wanted to wait" because orders took forever. I could write an entire post on how bad it was...we got the wrong size truck, loading the truck like Tetris (who knew we had that much stuff), driving a uhaul and me driving a car so we were basically alone on the road for hours, driving a uhaul and oopsie! this road doesn't allow trucks because of low overpasses, staying at upscale hotels because you can't just park the uhaul at Bobs NoTell Motel unless you want you stuff taken, etc etc etc etc!!! I'm not going to lie that we didn't make money off it (we made a good bit), but was it worth it?? NO. Such a mess!!
ReplyDeleteFor anyone reading this, if you move to a big city, list your empty boxes on Craigslist. I had all ours picked up within 48 hours by others.
I've heard so MANY horror stories about DITY moves. Like you said it just does not seem worth it.
DeleteWhen we sold our old house and bought our new house, I thought that Chris and I were going to kill each other just having to box everything up! We moved most of our valuables ourselves, and then the movers did everything else. I can't even imagine having to box everything up, break it all down, pack it into a UHaul and then drive cross country with all of your belongings! I think that I'd do what y'all do with a partial DITY, especially when you add kids into the mix!
ReplyDeleteIf I were in your position I'd do the same thing you guys do. There is no way I'd do it myself.
ReplyDeleteGirl, yes!! I will always do partial DITY! I hate packing so much, so I would much rather have someone else do it. We only had 2 things broken this time and we were actually able to fix one of them, the other was a cheapy wal-mart bookshelf. We are usually able to fit a good bit of stuff in our vehicles between my car and Josh's SUV, so we have no issue fitting the important stuff. I agree 10000% with everything you said here, haha!
ReplyDeleteHaving movers is now a necessity for me. Driving a uhaul is terrible and loading it is worse. Good choice!
ReplyDeleteThat's so great that you have the option of movers! It must make life SO much easier!
ReplyDeleteHaha at the last sentence! I love reading your reasoning for doing partial DITYs as opposed to a full DITY. We're thankful Andy's family will let us store some things with them (between 3 different family members' garages, it should all fit!) in case we can't get a house ASAP.
ReplyDeleteI've never had the desire to do a full move. We haven't had horrible experiences; however, the movers always try to get out of doing things they are contracted to do. So, you have to be firm with them. Like unpacking you or coming back to get the broken down boxes.
ReplyDeleteDITY is the way to go! I completely agree about them taking the boxes and paper, especially because our guys always use a TON of paper on every single item (which I do appreciate) but it's so much to get rid of.
ReplyDeleteWe will never do a full DITY move, lol. Perfectly happy with the money we get and the stress of not having to do everything ourselves!
ReplyDeleteI just moved house and I did a "partial DITY" and that was stressful enough! Next time I will just let them do it all! I also need someone to then unpack everything haha.
ReplyDeleteWe will continue to have the Army move us as long as the Army continues to pay for anything they break.
ReplyDeleteWe've lived simply after a couple of moves, and I also thought it was fun. Sort of like indoor camping. It also gives you new appreciation for a lot of little things.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that there were all of these options! Sounds like you made a smart choice!!
ReplyDeleteI am the same way. I don't have the patience to pack so we've always let the movers do it. Much easier. I mean yes, sometimes they break stuff, but it's never a lot.
ReplyDeleteI agree!! :) It's too much of a pain to do it myself.
DeleteI always let them move us. I grew up having the Army move us so it's just natural and like you said, I have no time or desire to. I feel like people build it up as terrible bc the "Army doesn't do anything right" 🤷🏻♀️
ReplyDeleteHECK YES. My sister has done two DITY moves, and while they did pocket a couple extra grand more than they would have with a partial, the stress and frustration was HIGH. I like simplicity ALL THE WAY!!
ReplyDeleteYES. Our next PCS will be a partial DITY. Too much stuff and I don't want to have to worry about it.
ReplyDelete