Being a military family means moving a lot. Some get lucky and get to stay in one area for an extended amount of time. There are also those rare unicorns that get to stay in one location for their career. The majority of military families move on average every three years. Here is a list of items that I will not purchase new and the reasons why.
I will not be purchasing furniture new. There are a few exceptions, mattresses is something I purchase new. No matter how careful movers are furniture gets damaged. It either gets dirty, or dented, scratched or bent. It just is not worth it. That is not saying you cannot have nice furniture. I watch the foresale facebook pages and get really good deals on stuff that is gently used. That way if it gets damaged I did not pay an arm and a leg for it.
Did you know movers will not pack or transport cleaning supplies? That gets expensive fast when you think about tossing all of your cleaning supplies and then repurchasing once you move. To get around this I use, vinegar and blue Dawn dish soap to clean almost everything in my house. I also love the Norwex cloth line. Those cloths have saved our family hundreds of dollars. The purple window one is amazing and leaves glass streak free.
I should be truthful and say I stockpile a little. I had a lovely stockpile of the soaps from Bath and Body works. Soaps for seasons and soaps in different bottles. I had fancy holders and rubber things to put on the dispenser. Sure I used coupons to achieve that impressive stockpile of soap but it was still heartbreaking to give it all away or toss it when we moved. I guess if you had a stockpile of canned goods or boxed food you could take that but then you have to unpack it and you run the risk of going over the allotted weight.
After several moves I learned fast that photo frames do not move well. They chip, or the glass breaks way to easily. I love taking photographs so a way around this is to have photos printed on canvas or wood plaques. Those hold up much nicer and if the canvas gets loose you can take it in to have it restretched. Much cheaper than purchasing a new frame.
Holiday decorations is another one that gets tricky. We have some and I do decorate for the holidays but I don’t have boxes and boxes of stuff. I also don’t purchase new stuff every year. Yeah it would be nice if I could add to the holiday collection year after year. I am guessing that's how people accumulate 10 totes of Valentine's day decorations. When your constantly relocating you have to purchase decorations that can be used in a variety of ways. I am also in the habit of considering how well it will move. For example, large light up reindeer would not move easily but the blow up decorations would move easily. I also like to decorate with festive placemats, kitchen and hand towels along with holiday themed wooden plaques. Those move easily and are fairly light. The towels can also be used to pack which is what I call double dipping on usage.
What types of things do you stay away from purchasing because you move a lot? What tricks have you developed because you move frequently?