Customer Reviews

That Military House: Move it, Organize it & Decorate it

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Finally someone has taken the time to take the guess work out of PCSing. That Military House is full of great tips to prepare and organize for a PCS move. Then, That Military House gets you ready for the dauntless job of unpacking and making a house a home. Also this book provides organization, implementation, and following up techniques that are specific to a military family move; the book provides tips and guidelines for basic home decoration on a military budget. Thank God for this book.

It's funny how civilians always seem to think that if you are in the military or married to the military, you are naturally organized. Ha! They also think that after you have a few moves under your belt you have it all figured out. Ha! If that were true we wouldn't all have these boxes we keep moving, don't unpack, never make decisions about. I read this book just prior to our 20th move and learned a number of things I hadn't known before (or simply never thought of.) Sandee's book would have also saved us some big furniture purchase mistakes (i.e. that bed headboard that never fit into any bedroom or up the stairs to the bedroom). Read this book and reread it prior to each move!! Kathie Hightower, coauthor of Help! I'm a Military Spouse...I Get a Life Too!

If you are looking for guidance and advice on how to get through a PCS move without losing your money, belongings and mind, DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS BOOK. If you are a stay-at-home mom living on post with a network of similarly situated friends and are looking for the same decorating advice you can find in any women's magazine, but printed in black and white on cheap paper, then this is the book for you. Seriously, a color-wheel printed in greyscale? Host a clean up party after the movers depart? Make your own curtains? Who does that? Keep the original packaging for delicate items? What kind of closet space do you have? In my experience the packers will wrap the original box in butcher paper, put it in a carton. Wrap the delicate item in butcher paper, put it in the carton. Wrap other items in the immediate vicinity in butcher paper, put them in the carton. Seal carton, throw on truck.

What I hoped to get from this book was advice on selecting a move date and avoiding the worst moving companies. How about how to monitor four packers who don't speak english in different rooms of your house while simultaneously noting the numbers of boxes going on the truck? How about making sense of the bureaucratic nightmare that is the Joint Personal Property Shipping Office? Maybe advice on how to get through the claims process in less that two years? What I found was ridiculous advice about providing snacks and drinks for the movers and getting a good night sleep before moving day.

We military wives really needed a book like this. A friend of mine has this book and at first glance I knew that I had to have a copy of mine own. Every move that we make, in support of our husband's career, is a new decorating adventure. I myself truly enjoy this - I say this as I am sitting among lots of boxes and am unpacking for the second time in a year. We have a couple of rubbermaid totes full of curtains, organizers and stuff that we may not need in one house but need in the next - so we hang on to it in anticipation of the next move. Thank you Mrs. Payne for your dedication to your husband and nation as a military wife and also for your book that helps other military wives make a house a home, where ever the Armed Forces thinks that needs to be, for their soldier and their children.

I have finally found a manual that gives me guidance on how to make our moves easier! Very good information. I am finally able to get advice from someone who understands what we go through as a military family.
I would recommend this book.

This book is a great resource for ideas to keep you organized during a move. I bought it right before we PCS'ed for the third time 2 weeks ago and once again, I was left by myself to move in 7 months pregnant with a 2 year old running around. After reading this book, this was the least stressful move I've had yet! The only thing I would do differently is the make the book an 8x10 so the reference pages in the back are bigger. Other than that, great for any military family!

Sometimes you just need another persons point of view and when your better half if half way around the world and you live no where near another military family let alone a base it can be quite overwhelming.

I highly recommend this book, if you are facing your first move or you fifteenth move no matter what branch of service you are in.

Whether you have moved 20 times, once, or are just starting your life as a military spouse you should read this book.

As an AF spouse I've moved several times in the past ten years. I consider myself fairly organized "but" I'm always looking to improve my PCS & and home organization skills. With this book I did just that!

The book provided a refresher course in some areas but I also learned the "why" behind some things as they relate to military moves that I had not known and/or considered. I also learned things I didn't know. Which is why I recommend this for both pro and newbie movers.

Home decorating is my personal area of challenge. While I can sew and of course shop. My problem is that with each move I simply do not know how/where to place the items I own nor do I know how to buy things that would work from one home to another. If you are like that then this book can definitely help you. What I learned in this book has me confident that I will have pictures on my walls and accessories out within the first month (versus in the last six months) at our next location!

If it's your first move or you're still fairly new to PCSing and setting up your home there's good information here to keep you from making purchasing mistakes and that will help you establish routines that keep you from falling into the "lesson's learned the hard" trap.

Your life as a Military Spouse is a career to be good at it requires us to take/make time to continuously improve our skills...consider this a good reference manual to keep on hand.

Sandee Payne is my hero! I am an Army wife but we don't actually move a lot because of that... we just move a lot! In any case, her organization advice, checklists and tips on getting things done in a move has helped me on many, many occasions. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone I know.

this is a great book, i wish i had this years ago... it would have made my life so much easier.....