writer's block : the beginnings of the dream

Weighing In, Part Four of Four

Trying to balance PCS weight allowances with a happy household

Please note, I originally wrote this article to be one all-inclusive document, but realized it was entirely too long. I’m posting this in four parts to make it easier to follow. Links to the other pieces are at the end of this post.

Even after you are moved and settled in your new area, it is easy to forget that another transfer will be looming somewhere in your military future. As with most anything, consolidating your possessions is easier done in small projects and over a longer period of time, working slowly and steadily.

Here are some ideas about how to continually “trim the fat” during your entire tour:
• Keep a tub for donations. Put it in a place the whole family can access and add to as needed. When it is time to run errands, grab the tub and make the drop-off. Note that some organizations will not accept stuffed animals or pillows. Call to find out their policy beforehand. Also, try the local animal shelter which may need old blankets to make their occupants more comfortable.
• Keep a box for family members. We always have items we don’t care to keep personally, but want to give to someone we know will enjoy it. When family comes to visit, we have them pick their favorites from the box—the rest gets donated.
• Sell the excess. With the ease and convenience of the internet, you don’t even need to leave home to make a little money from your unwanted stash. Check out eBay and craigslist to reach thousands of buyers with a few clicks.
• Sell the excess, too. Look into your base thrift store to find out if they accept consignments. Find out if your community has second-hand bookstores, music stores, and sports equipment or video game resellers and make a little money on your pre-loved possessions.
• Make a sale. Host a garage sale with your neighbors or take part in a nearby swap meet/flea market.
• Give to someone that really needs it. Donate large, quality pieces to Goodwill or a church or school fundraiser. Ask if they have donation pick-up for your gift. Also, there may be a local family who has lost their home due to fire or natural disaster that would be very appreciative of your thoughtfulness. During our time stationed at Homestead AFB, south of Miami, Florida, Hurricane Andrew struck and we lost basically everything. Through the generosity of family, friends, and strangers alike, we were able to make a home with the clothes, household items, and furnishings that had been given to us.
• Think before you buy. Yes, that gorgeous set of Christmas dishes is on clearance, but how often will you really use it? The clothes at your favorite retailer currently are being sold at a fabulous discount, but do you really need them? Are you buying because it is something you really need, is for a gift, or just because it is on sale? Saving 30% on something you will only use once, may actually be a wasting 70% of your money.

Best wishes for you and your family as you make the shift from one home to another. As they say to retiring sailors, “Fair winds and following seas.”

This article is continued in Weighing In Part 1, Weighing In Part 2, and Weighing In Part 3.

 

Weighing In, Part Three of Four

Trying to balance PCS weight allowances with a happy household

Please note, I originally wrote this article to be one all-inclusive document, but realized it was entirely too long. I’m posting this in four parts to make it easier to follow. Links to the other pieces are at the end of this post.

Collectibles and home décor: Okay, I admit it… I have a weakness for handmade pottery. I love the uniqueness of a piece that has been created from scratch; thrown or molded, hand-painted or textured, there is something intrinsically magical about a bowl, vase, or plate that was lovingly crafted. So it was no surprise that during our stay in Spain, I was the veritable kid in a candy store. Tea sets and platters and tiles… Oh my! And how was a clay addict like myself able to keep the acquiring under control in the hacienda of terra cotta? By consciously limiting my choice; each piece added to my collection has to be blue. Of course the yellows are bright and chipper, and the reds to die for, but by making my compilation more selective, I am able to rein in what could easily be an overwhelming group. I mean how many blue pitchers does one need? Well, to date, one from Spain, one from Portugal, one from Italy… (I said I controlled my compulsion, not killed it—LOL).

Here are a handful of hints you hopefully find helpful:
• Prioritize your items. If you are only able to keep one main collection, which one would it be?
• Thin out the ranks. Select and keep the most important or meaningful pieces. Do the one-of-a-kinds hold a higher place of honor than something that has been mass produced? Was it given to you by someone special or is it a keepsake of a treasured memory? Think about what will keep your grouping significant.
• Every vote counts. Let every member of the family pick a piece or two that is “safe”—something that they love seeing every time they come home.
• Reevaluate the MIAs. Consider eliminating any décor that has been stored away or tucked in the closet during your entire tour. Did you miss seeing it hanging on the wall? Now that it has been hidden away for a couple of years, is it time to let it go?
• Ah, home sweet home. Keeping the above in mind, there are certain things we will never leave behind because they are the key pieces that make our temporary abode feel like a loving home. Don’t remove so much that you have filtered the “cozy” or “homey” touches out of your belongings.

Hobbies: How we spend our free time is a reflection of our beliefs and desires, and often of our hopes and dreams. My interest in art and drawing, writing and reading, led me to my virtual “home away from home” where I initially volunteered and now work as a freelance writer and graphic designer. Countless hours honing my skills and expressing my voice as a hobbyist gave me the experience, knowledge, and drive to make a career in a field I am passionate about. The value of the time invested as I learned and grew is immeasurable.

Luckily, my work requires a large amount of RAM and excellent software, but beyond my computers, not much bulk. In fact, to continue designing and writing, I only need to grab my laptop and external hard drive, and I’m in business.

Some pastimes though, include large amounts of supplies, tools, and reference materials. While those items may contribute to many happy hours, they may also drag you down when the movers come to call.

Here are a few suggestions to ponder about your hobby:
• Is there another way to practice your craft with less bulk? Instead of a 35mm camera with film and negatives, consider switching to a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) model instead. With a DSLR, there is no worry about exposing the film or where to develop your prints—everything from cropping, color correcting, and printing may be accomplished from your desktop. And for those prints that mean the most, you can upload your favorite digi shots to an online photography shop (available through countless estores or most major discount retailers) for well-priced, professional copies or enlargements.
• Traditional scrapbooking requires an endless supply of papers, inks, trimmers, stickers, flowers, and ribbons galore. A dedicated scrapbooker can easily fill an entire room with the necessary tools of her trade. Digital scrapbooking is a viable and much less weighty option. All of your supplies are quickly and easily downloaded and stored on your computer or EHD (External Hard Drive) which alleviates shipping costs. One “paper” (digital background), generally a .jpg file, can be used thousands of times or quickly recolored to match your color scheme; and, there is no more waste from incorrect cuts—simply Control+Z (Command+Z on Mac) or Undo to whisk away any missteps. Sharing your pages with a friend is accomplished through an email attachment or by printing your favorite works at home or online. Another factor to consider about creating digitally, it is the “green” way to scrap: paper is only used if and when you decide to print. To continue to create pages during your move, bring along your laptop and scrap from the road or temporary housing.
• If your hobby requires large amounts of supplies, i.e. wood or stained glass, use your current stock and hold off your next order until the move is complete.
• Look through your studio or shop and eliminate any redundant tools, old magazines, or broken equipment. Sell or donate the yarn you will never use and patterns you no longer want.
• Use your current supplies to make items to sell or give as gifts. Rent a booth at a craft show, sell your art through Etsy, or host an in-home exhibition.
• Sometimes we buy all the necessary pieces to try a new hobby, only to find it’s not a good match. Give those items to friends that might enjoy them and donate the remainder. Be sure to include any tools, books, or supplies you bought specifically for that activity.

This article is continued in Weighing In Part 1, Weighing In Part 2, and Weighing In Part 4.

 

Weighing In, Part Two of Four

Trying to balance PCS weight allowances with a happy household

Please note, I originally wrote this article to be one all-inclusive document, but realized it was entirely too long. I’m posting this in four parts to make it easier to follow. Links to the other pieces are at the end of this post.

Children’s toys and games: This may be the hardest category to deal with because kids generally don’t like to give up their toys (over-30 year old men fall into this group as well). But please, take my advice here—send your little darlings to Grandma’s house or out on a play date if they are emotionally attached to every tiny thing. My oldest daughter was traumatized and cried for three days straight when we had a garage sale and she spotted this silly stuffed mouse tagged along with everything else. She took great exception to the idea her little rodent would no longer be sharing our home, despite the fact she had not seen nor played with the goofy thing for at least six months. To this very day, she will bemoan the loss of her whiskered pal even though she was six at the time and she’s now a senior in college.

Once you are certain your offspring won’t catch you, here are some points to keep in mind about playthings:
• Is the toy or game age appropriate for your child right now? If not, send it on.
• Is the toy broken, damaged, or missing pieces? If so, dispose of it.
• Does your child play with the toy? Be honest here—just because you think it is adorable or educational or that you spent way too much money on it, does not guarantee that you child holds it in the same value.
• Are you considering keeping this item because Great Aunt Edna sent it as a Christmas present? While the concept is nice, GA Edna won’t be the one paying for your overweight fees.
• Has your child/spouse completed the video game? Trade it in for store credit at a video resale store or switch out games with a pal.
• Do you really need a PS3, Xbox, AND a Wii? Do all these game system receive equal attention? If you are sending one of them somewhere else, don’t forget all the controllers, attachments and individual games that go with them.
• Is your child in their tween years? If so, they probably won’t miss the sing-a-long VHS tapes you have been carting around. Also look for other age appropriate movies, tapes, and CDs and donate those that they have outgrown.
• If your child is reading Twilight or Harry Potter, you may not wish to keep their early readers or ABC books.
• If the astronaut collection was two phases ago, it is safe to move it on to a new home. This might also include bedding, pajamas, prints, videos, and action figures.
• School papers are cute and sweet and document your child’s progress, but it isn’t necessary to keep every single spelling test or art creation to tell the story. Pick your top ten favorites from each school year and save any special projects that are particularly meaningful.
• Please Note: Dr. Seuss, the “Shoes” series by Noel Streatfeild, and similar beauties are classics. If you want to ensure these stay in your family, store them or ask permission to send them to your parent’s house for safe keeping. Barbies or other dolls you wish to save for your grandchildren should receive the same attentiveness.

Sporting equipment: Over the years, our girls have tried it all: biking, basketball, soccer, softball, roller blades, scooters, trampoline, etc. There have been times that our storage has resembled a locker room more than a safe place to stash off-season decorations. With all the pads, shin guards, balls, and helmets, miscellaneous gear, after several months it can get overwhelming. I often felt like I needed riot gear just to open the closet for fear of getting bashed and slammed by falling bats and shifting cleats. To regain control, we had to make a few decisions, some of them painfully obvious.

Here are a few ideas to help you control the athletic chaos:
• Does your child still play this sport? Does this still fit your child? If either answer is “no”, time to donate or resell. Remember to find all the appropriate equipment for any sport you are purging; soccer alone includes knee pads, shin guards, a uniform shirt, shorts and matching socks, soccer balls, an air pump, and possibly even a practice net.
• Is the equipment safe? Is it rusted, broken, or damaged in any way? If the piece is not up to par, dispose of it.
• Is the equipment redundant or currently unused, but in good working order? Check out a local sports reseller, eBay, or craigslist.
• Are you considering updating or replacing the equipment in the near future? If your husband has his eye on a new bicycle, get rid of the old one before you move.

Furniture and electronics: As our daughters are only two years apart, they have always been each other’s best friend… when they weren’t the despised opposition. One of their biggest battles through the years was over the VCR; who got to pick which movie and when. These fights typically involved creative kiddy insults, dramatic crocodile tears, and an occasional punch or two. One such campaign waged for hours and hours over a rainy Saturday. Finally, my husband could take no more and immediately purchased a second VCR so each one had movie capability in the privacy of their own bedroom. While I normally would have grounded both girls from their videos, that day I considered it money well spent.

Here are a few ways you can weed through your furnishings and gadgets:
• Towels, bedding and pillows all need a second look. Any stained or torn pieces should be disposed. Don’t replace the items until you are resettled.
• If you have considered buying a new bedroom set or investing in a flat screen television, donate the old ones before your pack-out or pass them down to a friend.
• Cribs, baby beds, rockers, and high chairs in good, clean, and safe condition are always in demand. Sell through your eBay account, donate to your favorite organization, or gift an expectant friend.
• Yesterday’s cell phones and your first computer simply take up space and weight. After you have slicked any electronics of personal information, recycle them locally. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers more details on their website.

This article is continued in Weighing In Part 1, Weighing In Part 3, and Weighing In Part 4.

 

Weighing In, Part One of Four

Trying to balance PCS weight allowances with a happy household

Please note, I originally wrote this article to be one all-inclusive document, but realized it was entirely too long. I’m posting this in four parts to make it easier to follow. Links to the other pieces are at the end of this post.

For anyone in the military who has been married several years and has been through a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) or two, they are well aware that one of the biggest challenges is ensuring their Household Goods (HHG) shipment is under the allowable weight for their rank. Add in a couple of kids, pets, and all their paraphernalia, and a Mt Everest-sized task lies before them: “What can we get rid of while still keeping the things we love—the treasures that make our temporary house feel like home?”

As veterans of ten transfers, our family has packed-up and shipped-out our fair share of times. And with that experience, we have found several ways to trim away the excess while managing to maintain the goodies that mean the most.

Here are some areas to look at in preparation for a move:

Books: We love to read, and if I had my druthers, we would have a complete library with a giant fireplace and curl-up-with-a-blanket leather chairs. But alas, my dream will have to hold until my husband’s retirement.

For now, we have established a few rules about what we do with our acquired books.
• We only buy hardbacks, to keep, of our two favorite authors each.
• Any other books we buy have to be passed on to other family members, given to the library, or donated.
• As an alternative to traditional hardbacks and paperbacks, consider switching to an electronic book reader such as Sony’s Reader or Amazon’s Kindle. And now Amazon offers free applications of its reader for Kindle for PC, Kindle for Mac, for Kindle for iPhone, and for Kindle for Blackberry. Since I am now the proud owner of a netbook, I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled (can you tell I’m happy?) that I can download books to my handy little friend. By going digital, your shipping weight for books will essentially go down to zero.
• Don’t forget to pull aside your professional books (for the military member only). These titles won’t count against your shipping weight allowance.

Clothes: Prancing around in my baggy T-shirts and warm-up pants, I will never be misidentified as a clothes horse (a candidate for What Not to Wear, much more likely). But, believe it or not, unnecessary clothes add a significant amount to the HHG bulk.

When going through your clothes, here are some things to consider:
• If your body size and weight (plus or minus five pounds) has remained the same for the past twelve months, feel safe in the knowledge that is your official size. Plans to drop two dress sizes or begin a new fitness routine are not likely to happen during the middle of a PCS move. Purge any clothes that are too little or too big and donate them to a worthy organization, your friends, or host a garage sale.
• The prom dress you wore fifteen years ago is most likely a) the wrong size, b) the wrong style, and c) not likely to ever be worn again. Move this blast from the past out of your closet along with the shoes that were dyed to match. Same goes for bridesmaid dresses, wedding dresses (especially from any former marriages!), and those hot Halloween costumes you wore before you had kids.
• Most military uniforms are heavy and bulky. If the military member is a former enlisted person, now an officer, the uniforms from his old rank, and the boots, covers, and accoutrements that match, can be donated to the command to share with other service members. Also lose the uniforms that no longer fit.
• Clothes that are ripped, stained, or need mending have already served their purpose and need to be sent on to the big closet in the sky.
• Children’s clothes need some attention too. Look for clothes that no longer fit, have seen better days, or that your dear one refuses to wear. Send these treasures on to younger cousins or make a donation.
• Soccer uniforms from former teams, ballet costumes from last year’s recital, and T-shirts promoting a prior school can find new homes too.
• If your youngest child will be entering high school soon, now would be a good time to retire the box of maternity clothes. Someone will appreciate it.
• Don’t forget about seasonal clothing! Coats, hats, gloves, and scarves that no longer fit should be given away. And if you are moving to Hawaii, or another tropical paradise, either store away the winter gear or send it to someone else.
• Single socks, holey underwear, and stained undershirts should be trashed. I hate to break it to you, but the other sock was eaten by the dryer.

This article is continued in Weighing In Part 2, Weighing In Part 3, and Weighing In Part 4.