When moving, you have three options:

Government Move: In this case, your local transportation office will schedule a third-party contractor to pack-up and ship your goods.  Once you get to your new duty station, you will then schedule with the new transportation office for a drop-off.

***If you are moving internationally, you will have to complete a government move.

The good:  A lot is happening during a PCS.  Having someone else pack your house can take a ton of stress off.

The bad: No one will handle your goods like you.  As with any third-party, you risk damage and loss of items.  Historically, many contractors are unreliable, and may not come to scheduled appointment times on-time.

Advice: Make sure you document your most important items.  Also, go through your house BEFORE moving day, and sent aside important documents, prescriptions, passports, etc., that should travel with you.  In fact, you may want to drop them at a friends house, or secure them in your car during the move.

Personally Procured Move: This is a move where you do everything yourself – from renting and weighing the vehicle, to purchasing materials, to packing and unpacking.

The good: If you like control – this is for you.  And, if planned properly, and you can move at less than 95% of what it would cost the government – you may end up with some extra cash at the end of your PCS!

The bad: PCSing is super-stressful, and thing pop-up when you least expect it. If you are balancing strict timelines, or you don’t have a house/apartment to unload at on the other side, you may find yourself in over you head.

Advice:  Talk to transportation and get an estimate on how much they will reimburse you.  Compare that with how much it will cost you to move yourself.

Combination:  You may want to consider having the government pick up some stuff, and then you can move the rest.  Doing this, you will be able to control some of the packing, but reduce the stress of having to pack everything.

The good: You get the best of both worlds – you can control the packing and movement of those items that are important to you, but can reduce stress in having the government move everything else.

The bad: This option does involve extra coordination, ensuring that the moving don’t pack the stuff you are moving yourself.

Advice: Plan out what you are packing on your own first, and separate it!