Moving stinks. And we’re going to do it again this year, albeit to a very nice place. The thing is, this time it’ll be different. We probably won’t be able to do a DITY move because we’re going overseas, so I’ll have to watch other people pack my stuff, and probably yell at them half the time.
If you don’t have a job and you want to ensure all your stuff is safe, the do-it-yourself (DITY, in the weird acronym of the military) is a good way to make some extra money too. Instead of the government paying contractors for transportation, equipment, and labor, they give you 95% of the money they’d have spent on your move. Out of that 95%, you pay for all your own expenses – moving truck or shipping, gas, boxes, travel expenses, and damages.
(If you’re thinking DITY might not be worth it because of the damage insurance offered by government movers, think again: hardly anything that will actually break in transport is covered! For instance, they will not guarantee anything made of pressboard, which knocks out an awful lot of shelf and utility type furniture. When you do have something break that is covered, you need to submit a chit for it justifying your claim, and then you almost certainly won’t get enough to repurchase the item. Government mover damage insurance is worth about the same as dirt.)
A do-it-yourself isn’t for everyone. You should be healthy and fit enough to get all your own stuff into the moving vehicle, or you should have an adequate pool of young military members around who can be bribed with pizza and/or beer. My trick is the home-cooked meal; you can’t get proper Southern fried chicken up here in Connecticut! And they don’t know what a grit is.
Provided you’re certain you can get all that stuff moved yourself without stressing your family, you need to have a certain amount of organization. If you use government movers, they put all your stuff in labeled boxes for you, but if you do it yourself you’ll need to buy your own boxes and supplies and be organized enough to pack and label things appropriately. You’ll also want to try to start about a month before you move so you don’t overdo it.
And in a do-it-yourself move, get a receipt for everything and keep it in your personal luggage. The DITY pay is taxed (that’s why they so willingly give 95% out) at a 27% rate, but every expense directly related to moving is not taxed. Get a list from your PCS (Permanent Change of Station) coordinator for everything that’s exempt.
This is not a guide to moving. This is only designed to help you decide if you want to make your move a DITY or let the government move you. Later I’ll talk about moving. At length. Griping.