December 4, 2020
9
Creating Calm:
Organizing and Decluttering Your Home
By Megan Mills, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
I
t 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 unpacked 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 they 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 try to do 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 Pamela, “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
Pamela’s Tips for Organizing Kid Clutter • 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 really engage properly with any particular toy. 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. Pamela’s solutions often involve individualized systems of shelving, containers, and labeling. “Clutter" cont’d on Page 11
