The Pack Out

I know that I am waaaaayyyy behind in documenting this process. I'm going to try to be diligent and report it all - and to do so in digestible pieces...but y'all know I can get a good head of steam when I'm trying to tell a story!!!

The pack out/move process was interesting at times, boring at others and somehow both exhilarating and exhausting. It was also TERRIBLE for a diet conscious couple (more on that later)...

Day 1 of a 4 Day process - this was a day for packing. Two folks from the moving company arrived, armed with boxes and tape and a ton of newsprint (which, we have learned, will haunt us when we get to the UN-packing part of the equation). This, the first day, was the day with the highest risk of confusion about what stuff will go in which shipment - so Hubz and I were vigilant and smiling and available at all times for clarification. On the night before, we made our best attempts to store everything that wasn't to be packed up into two closets and our office - thus giving us "no pack zones" in the house that the movers wouldn't even enter! It worked like a charm :)

Military lore dictates that you must feed and tip your movers to ensure careful handling and storage of your stuff. Hubz and I love an opportunity to be good hosts, so our packers and movers were greeted with doughnuts and coffee upon arrival. We filled the fridge with sodas and bottled water, and bought some single serving bags of chips for snacking. We encouraged the movers to help themselves. We also provided lunch each day. This is probably a little over the top - but we figure every little bit helps. The downside is that Hubz and I sat, mostly bored, surrounded by doughnuts and chips and sodas. Breaking up the boredom was the pizza, or hamburgers that the movers requested each day for lunch.... I can say with 100% certainty that the majority of chips, doughnuts and sodas were consumed by us each day....sigh...what can you do?!?

After the packers had bundled, boxed and numbered all of our stuff, a new crew showed up on Day 2 to pack it all up into a truck - which would take our items to a yard - where they would be placed in a crate - which will go into a big shipping crate (think a boxcar on a train) and placed on a huge cargo ship en route to our new home continent. Yes, folks, as I type this - 80% of our worldly possessions could be sinking to the bottom of the sea. It's a nice perspective to be able to look around this tiny hotel room where I sit in Germany, and realize that I have absolutely everything I need to live. :)

At the end of Day 2, Hubbz and I re-organized our "no packer zones". We pulled a few items out of the closets and office to be held over for the quick shipment, and made sure all of the luggage items would fit in our suitcases, and unpacked every box and china keeper so that each item about to be packed would get wrapping and cushioning by the professional hand (thus ensuring it was covered for full replacement value by the moving company's insurance).

By now, all of our linens, our shower curtain, our dishes and even our bed was out of our Norfolk home. This meant, it was time for us to pull up stakes and find a new place to sleep. The remainder of our Virginia lodging was provided by our dear friends, the Johnsons. Yet another fantastic friendship that Hubz made years ago, and I have gleefully climbed aboard his coat-tails to enjoy. The Johnsons provided us with the ability to end each day with a hot shower and a visit (and sometimes a beer) with friends, and to talk about our adventures in moving, and to laugh with their super-cute kiddos about what Sponge Bob did today. I can't think of a better way to wind up our long days.

By Day 3, we had moved into pack AND move days. Day 3 was "Storage Day" during which we said goodbye to items that would stay in storage in the US while we went overseas. (The cost of this is also covered by the Navy). All of our 110 volt appliances, my china and fancy stemware, and the majority of our holiday decorations made up the bulk of this pack out. By now, there was really little else to be done, and the day dragged. Hubbz went to work to tie up the loose ends from his job. I cleaned a few rooms, but really most of the rooms in our house still had random items in them for the movers (like, a dresser we deemed too big for German housing) or - had all of my china laid out across the floor... So, in the end, I spent many hours sitting on the floor of my almost empty bedroom and changing the address on our accounts online...(and eating chips and doughnuts....)

Waking up on Day 4 felt a little like Groundhog Day. We were tired but grateful that we had only one more day of moving left. We cleaned the house as we waited for the movers to pack our express shipment. We also dropped off my Honda for shipping to Germany. The Navy will pay for one car to be shipped overseas. We decided that the Explorer would be too big for European streets, so our plan is to ship one car and while we wait the 6-12 weeks for its arrival, to buy a "commuter car" on the cheap from a family leaving the base.

Day 4 was the day they packed up and moved our express shipment. The express shipment arrives in your new home country while you are still in temporary housing - usually 2-3 weeks after you have arrived. What to include in this delivery was the source of much head scratching for me....what could I possibly need in 2-3 weeks that I could live without upon arrival? By design, this package arrives and gives you the ability to live a bit more comfortably in your temporary base housing - and perhaps in your first week in a new place, as you bridge the time until your big household goods shipment arrives. As I understand it, some families include more toys for the kids, a few pots and pans for cooking in your kitchenette in temp housing and air mattresses and linens so you can sleep in your new empty house. However, Hubbz and I already knew that we'd be staying in a hotel in town when we arrived (no kitchenette) - and figured we'd wake up there on moving day - so the question of what to bring was puzzling.

Ultimately, our express shipment was pretty non-traditional. Hubbz pared down his uniforms and shipped a few of those. We included all of our dvd collection (my experience has been that tv in German hotels have very few, if any, English language channels), a laundry basket and some extra hangers to make the hotel living a little easier, and lots of books. We also included my printer - which happened to be dual voltage and would allow me to work more affordably from our hotel room.

The end of Day 4 (which was the Friday before Memorial Day Weekend) found us tired, homeless and down to one car - which was for sale. It was a little eerie, a little freeing - and it felt like progress!!!