Fort Carson - Colorado
Jennifer, Army Spouse

Things are not your memories...
Try to get all the unpacking done in the first 3 weeks. That way it won't be a long-term battle that you dread. Having it behind you ASAP relieves you to go out and play, learning about your new area.

Also, paint. Many don't know it, but you can paint quarters. You need to get permission, and they will always want you to paint it back before you move out, but it adds such a touch of personality and hominess to the place. Even a dull floor plan can be spiced up with some color! If you're looking for a great comforting color, look up "Contemplation" by Behr! It literally relaxes me! (On Behr's website it looks like a gray... it's more of a blue green... it goes really well with brown couches and furniture... Check it out at a home improvement store.)

Get rid of as much as possible on the packing end. The less you take to the new place, the less you have to store away. Learn that "things" are not your memories. If you are ultra sentimental about all those boxes of baby clothes but don't plan to have any more kids, tell yourself to pare down to one box. For those semi-sentimental clothes, take a digital picture of each outfit and save to a CD. You might have 250 pictures of semi-sentimental clothes, but they all fit on one tiny CD. Then, give the clothes to a friend who could use them or donate them to a women's shelter. (I did this, and then lost the CD in the move... once you take pictures you really want to keep... be careful with the CD! Now I don't have the clothes or the CD!) This particular idea works with any kind of item: furniture, toys, cars, you name it. If you don't want to lug it around but want to remember it, pictures are great!

(I am about the only one so attached to her baby's clothes that she would admit to taking 250 pictures of them and then putting them on CD... no one else would admit it...but they just might do it!)