What could go wrong, right? The world is locking its doors. We’re scheduled to PCS this summer. Already, we’ve cancelled the plans we had with family & friends for a promotion ceremony and party. Heartbreaking!
In the two years at this address (PO Box), we’ve managed to keep our location off search engine results! Our previous mailing address has shown up a few times due to some accidental lapses in judgement, but *fingers crossed* they’ve all been removed using the methods described in several previous posts.
I’m already putting my PCS plan into motion to obscure our new location. ———>
I created a spreadsheet to track all the address changes. It sorts the company/organization, recipient, and company contact info. This month, I’m going paperless with our bank and insurance company. Most of our mail is from USAA, so this should save a lot of volume at the new PO Box after I reserve it. This can be done online, but I prefer to fill out the paperwork in person. I list the box in the name of my business, but they require a personal ID, also. This is where my passport card comes in handy, since it has no PII. We will travel to the new city before the move and I can rent the PO box at that time. Once I have the new address, I’ll use the spreadsheet to notify all the companies of the change. I still don’t fill out the Change of Address with the USPS. They sell that information to data brokers.
A few people have asked how we receive packages from Fed Ex and others who require a physical address for delivery. We use the street address for the post office, then add #116 to indicate the PO box to the USPS employees who receive it. We’ve never had a problem with our packages since using this method. We never have to worry about packages being left on our porch and disappearing. We don’t worry when we travel about our mail accumulating in our box. For the last three years, it has been a great way to handle our mail.
To prep for the big pack up, I purged our files of anything older than 7 years, and tax information older than 5 years. I keep our bank and insurance information scanned & digitally stored in our safe and shred the paper copies. This process has gotten easier with each PCS since I started using the JOYS method for filing all our paperwork.
When PCSing, always take your vital documents with you IN HAND, and seal any others carried by the moving companies. We’ve done this with the packing team when they view the file drawers, then wrap them with the plastic wrap, then tape, and finally a cardboard box to secure them for the trip. Our vital documents include military Orders and leave papers, Power of Attorney, Social Security papers, birth & marriage certificates, his military ‘love me’ book, my professional papers, transcripts, diplomas, pet health papers, school papers when we had kiddos at home, and our medical records. Of course, the PCS binder is never out of my sight.
Stay tuned for updated information on a pandemic PCS while heartbroken about a cancelled promotion party :-(.
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