It happens to the best of us—you finally get your shipment of household goods, and you open up a box and think to yourself, “Wait, why did I pack this stuff?” Or, better yet, you still have that one box that you never really unpacked from the last PCS, and when it came time to move again, you just repacked it for your future self to deal with. Maybe you’ve managed to unpack all of your boxes and love being surrounded by all of the things you’ve collected over the years, but you also want to be able to find those things instead of searching through jumbled drawers and precarious piles.
You are not alone.
Pamela Mathieu is a home organizer, and she knows firsthand that many people struggle with the clutter in their homes. Although some military families have become practiced in the art of decluttering while PCSing, others still need help, which is nothing to be ashamed of.
“Clutter causes anxiety,” she says. “The problem that most people face is that clutter builds up, and by the time they've realized that it's out of control, the task of organizing seems insurmountable. Not only that, but the demands of daily life, whether it be work or the normal pressure of running the home, mean that people simply can't find the time, energy or motivation to dive into organizing their homes.”
But there is hope. If you’ve reached that point, one of the first steps is to go through your clutter and get rid of items that are broken, that you don’t need anymore, or that are redundant. There are several popular methods for purging, and a brief internet search reveals many different philosophies, tips, and tricks. You might commit to ten minutes of decluttering each day, or you may opt to spend a weekend (or more) tackling your entire home. Some people prefer to attack one room, corner, or drawer at a time, while others follow the advice of Marie Kondo, author of “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up,” who suggests working in categories across rooms. For example, you would start by working through all the clothing in the house at once, and then moving on to books, papers, etc.
No matter the purging process you choose, the most important thing is to actually get started, which can be daunting. If you’re having trouble, you might want to reach out for emotional support. According to Mathieu, “Most people just need someone to be there to encourage them.”
If you’re like me, you hate throwing perfectly good items in the trash, which may be part of how you got into this mess. Here onboard NAS Sigonella, one place to donate your still-usable stuff is at the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society Thrift Shop, which is staffed almost completely by volunteers.
Virginia Imlah, the director of Sigonella’s NMCRS, points out that we should be careful with what we donate. “Before donating, please take a moment to consider if the item(s) you plan to donate would be useful to a military member or military family,” she said. “Sorting the bin is very time consuming for our volunteers, and we appreciate it when people donate items that are acceptable and in good condition.”
Also, if you’re like me, you need to make sure you don’t immediately start buying some of those items in good condition that others have donated, even though the money you spend goes to a good cause. One way to overcome this tendency is the one for one swap. For example, if you buy a new t-shirt, donate a t-shirt collecting dust in your closet.
After the purging comes the organizing. While the particulars will be different for every home and every person’s unique situation, the overall goal is to have the things that you need easily visible and accessible. Mathieu's solutions often involve individualized systems of shelving, containers, and labeling.
Since moving to Sicily, Mathieu has noticed that homes here present differences that Americans may not be used to. “The biggest challenge is the lack of storage space, particularly in kitchens and bedrooms,” said Mathieu. “Cupboards are scarce and often have to be bought. Pantries have to be 'created,' and clever storage solutions, such as turntables, steps and cupboard stands, need to be used in kitchens as space is often very limited.”
The pandemic has also created circumstances ripe for clutter to build up, since many of us are spending more time at home than we used to. “Being at home more means that things will probably be a bit messier around the house,” Mathieu said. “Try to make a habit of putting away used items at the end of the day. When you go from one room or floor to the next, take at least two items with you to return to their 'zone'.” This habit is one you can encourage your children to build as well.
As you build these habits and chip away at your clutter corners, you may find that the benefits of living in a less-messy and more-organized home encourage you to keep going. “To me an organized home is peaceful and 'quiet,' and clutter is 'loud' and stressful,” Mathieu said. Nowadays, couldn’t we all use a little less stress?
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Pamela’s Tips for Organizing Kid Stuff
-Purge often. When buying new items, be they clothes or toys, try to follow the philosophy, "When something comes in, something goes out."
-Use clear bins to store like groups of toys. If kids can see them, they will play with them more often. It will also make it easier for them to tidy up if they know where things go.
-Less is more. Studies have shown that when children have many toys stuffed into a toy box, they will often just dig through them, tossing them around, making a mess, and not engage properly with any particular toy.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.24.2020 09:31 |
| Story ID: | 384341 |
| Location: | SIGONELLA, IT |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Creating Calm: Decluttering and Organizing Your Home, by Megan Mills, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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