Preparing for Your Military OCONUS Move: Household Goods Edition

If you’ve made it this far in the series, you already know—an OCONUS move is not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of moving parts (literally), a lot of unknowns, and a lot of decisions that don’t always have a clear “right” answer.

This final piece is all about preparing your household goods—what to bring, what to store, and how to pack in a way that makes life on the other side just a little bit easier. Because while the movers will pack everything for you… how you prep makes a huge difference.

Decide What’s Worth Bringing (and What’s Not)

Before you even think about packing strategies, take a step back and ask: do I actually want to bring all of this overseas?

With OCONUS moves, you typically have the option of utilizing military-paid storage. This can be incredibly helpful—but it also means you’re committing to living without those items for a few years. For us, this came down to space.

European homes are often smaller, with different layouts than what we were used to. We made the decision to sell our oversized sectional sofa, and I’m so glad we did. Once we started touring rental homes overseas, we realized it would have taken up almost the entire living room in most of the houses we saw. We also sold our very large dining room table and kept our smaller kitchen table. We could have brought both, but with our current living situation, one would have been in storage due to lack of space – again, this was a total guess of what we would need, but thankfully, we guessed right!

Protect What Matters (Even If It Feels Like Overkill)

The movers will pack your belongings, but they’re packing quickly—and they’re packing a lot of homes. For me, a little extra prep upfront gave me peace of mind.

For clothing, I used large zip storage bags for everything.. This helped:

• Keep everything clean (knowing I was the last person to touch them and no cardboard box dust!)
• Add an extra layer of protection during transit
• Make unpacking way more organized

For hanging clothes, I left them on the hangers, sectioned them off, and covered them with garbage bags. When we unpacked, I could just hang them straight in the closet—no sorting, no extra steps!

Linens, Towels, and Mattresses

This is where I probably went a step further than most, but I have zero regrets. I ziplocked all linens and towels (using the same type of bags I used for clothes), and put our mattresses in zippered mattress bags before the movers arrived. Yes, the movers will typically bag mattresses—but in my experience, those are just large plastic covers without zippers. I wanted to make sure our mattresses were fully protected in transit from bugs, water, literally anything. I also loved knowing that they weren’t handled with dirty hands. 

These items are traveling overseas in cargo containers on a ship. For me, the extra layer of protection was absolutely worth it.

The “Open Items” Problem 

One thing that surprises a lot of people—anything that’s open often won’t be packed. That includes things like spices and I don’t know about you, but I think spices are one of the pricier things to replace after a move! Each little bottle can be anywhere from $3 to $7 – it adds up fast!

So, instead of tossing everything, we found a simple workaround. We ordered cap liners for spice jars on Amazon, resealed them, and they were good to go. It was inexpensive, quick, and saved us from having to completely restock our kitchen on the other side. *Totally my husband’s idea so I have to give him kudos for it!*

Make Unpacking Easier on Yourself

Future you will be exhausted. Jet lagged. Possibly dealing with kids, time changes, and a new country. Because of this, I really believe that anything you can do now to make unpacking smoother is worth considering.

For me, that looked like:

• Grouping items intentionally before the movers arrived
• Keeping like-items together in sealed bags
• Setting up systems that made it easy to put things away quickly

It might feel like extra work on the front end—but it pays off when you’re standing in your new home trying to get settled.

A Little Perspective (Because You’ll Need It)

Some of what I did to prep might feel like overkill—and honestly, that’s fair. But for me, it gave me peace of mind. And when everything arrived, I didn’t feel the need to rewash clothes or linens because I knew they had been protected and I was the last one to touch them. That alone made those first few days so much easier.

Final Thoughts

An OCONUS move is chaotic. It’s stressful. It will test your patience more than once. But it’s also an incredible opportunity. You’re about to experience a new country, a new culture, and a version of life that most people never get. The packing, the prep, the logistics—it’s all temporary.

So do what you can to set yourself up for success, give yourself grace in the process, and remember: It doesn’t have to be perfect to work. You’re going to figure it out as you go—and that’s part of the adventure. 

Read Part 1: OCONUS Packing: Personal Luggage

Read Part 2: OCONUS Packing: Personal Luggage Edition

Meet Niki

Niki is an Army wife of 15 years and a mom of two. She understands the chaos and the beauty of being a WAF, having moved multiple times, faced several deployments and now with a recent OCONUS move to Germany. With each new duty station, she focuses on finding her community and exploring new cities/states. 

Niki works full-time as a nurse practitioner with a passion for functional medicine and aesthetics. She enjoys spending her free time with her two kiddos, baking (with her sourdough starter named ‘Toast Malone’), and gardening. In this next chapter of life, Niki is excited to be a part of the WAF community and share her Army knowledge and experiences abroad.