5 Tips for Smooth HHG Delivery

You left your duty station a week or more ago. You’ve had some cozy days in a hotel, then one morning, you wake up and decide you are over the #HotelLife and really can’t wait to get into your new home.

And you’re in luck. It’s move-in day.

The movers call to say they’re ready to deliver your belongings. They can be at the address you gave them within the hour.

While you’re on the phone with the movers, you get a text from the on-post leasing office, confirming your appointment time to sign the paperwork and get the keys to your new home.

In essence, that’s what happened the day we were supposed to move in to our home at Fort Bliss.

Sounds great, right?

Well. In lieu of the whole story (far too long a story to share on the blog), here are my top five tips for a smooth HHG delivery. (Yes, feel free to assume that these are things I wish I’d done):

1.  Have your renter’s insurance reflect your new address (as opposed to your previous one) when you go to sign your lease. You may not be able to get your keys otherwise.

2. Sign your lease and get your keys at least a day before your HHG arrives (not while the movers are unloading in the driveway, lest your move-in be delayed for any reason).

3.  If you own a washer and dryer, check the hookups before the movers arrive. Are they three prong? Four? Do you have the right cords?

4.  Another washer/dryer tip: Ask the movers to remove the bolts, so that you can actually use the machines! Oh, and run them empty once, before you toss clothes in. I mean, hypothetically, of course.

5. Find out if your moving company will come back to get the empty boxes. If your movers are doing a full unpack, the boxes and paper will likely leave with them. If, instead, you and your family are doing the unpacking, you’ll have a slew of boxes and paper…and few places to put it all. Talk to the head of your work crew about what to do and who to contact for debris removal. Write this info down. Put it in a notes app on your phone. Both, preferably. Sounds excessive, I know. But you’ll thank me later.

When you and your family PCS , do you like to ask the movers to unpack? Put furniture together? Place the boxes and call it a day? Let us know by leaving a comment below.