How to Pack with the Military

Now, that I'm sitting in a house amid a world of boxes and brown-paper-wrapped everything else, I'm thinking back on my packing prep and mulling over what I would have done differently. Here goes:

Think about what you want to ship, carry with you, ship ahead, and get rid of... but not too much! I thought about it a lot and realize I wasted some brain space doing so. It all gets somewhere eventually. Still learning. Maybe you set it aside and remember to take something, maybe you don't. Chances are, it's not something you can't live without.

Don't prepare too far in advance. Rob kept holding me back, "No, McKay, you shouldn't put things in piles in the living room yet. You don't need to take the pictures off the walls the weekend before. Wait until closer to when the movers come." He is right. If I'd had my way, we'd be camping in our living room a week before and the movers would only be sealing already packed boxes. Rob keeps me saner than I would be. He is great.

Movers are FAST! Seriously, it is unbelievable! It's like you blink and your closets are empty and they've already moved to the next room! Shay packed half my kitchen before I could count to ten! (okay, maybe not THAT fast, but fast!)

Learn your movers' names. That way, if you have to ask them something or you want them to do something nice for you by repacking your shabbily-packed Christmas decorations, you can say, "Terrence" rather than "Hey You There, with the roll of tape."

Umm, they WILL pack your food. All of it. I had kind of planned on taking most of our food in the kitchen to the hotel on base and using it for the rest of our time here. I mean, it's open containers and the moving handouts say they'll only pack unopened non-perishable food. So, I didn't sort what I wanted to keep or anything... and now it's going to Japan and I shall be going to the grocery store. See above paragraph about how fast they are when you ask yourself - why didn't I just stop them. They are wicked fast! And now I have three huge boxes that read "small kitchen appliances, dishes, and dry goods". It's really very impressive.

Have friends come over on the day the packers come! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Katy, Heidi, Lynn, and Sarah!!!!! I would not have had nearly so nice a day without you!! Friends can help you watch the movers pack, urging more padding where needed, making sure they don't pack your "do not pack" piles, going to get everyone lunch, bringing waters through the house for refreshment, and basically just hanging out, making the house a happy place filled with conversation rather than saturated with sounds of packing tape and worry. THANK YOU!