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You weren’t born with home organizing skills or a handy list of DIY home maintenance tips, so home organization can be tricky, especially with a pending military move on the calendar.
Your personality might either lean away or towards being an organized person, but if your caregivers weren’t into the art and science of home organizing while you lived with them, chances are you could use some brushing up on how to maintain a solid level of home efficiency.
You’ll sleep better at night, free from the worry and embarrassment that stems from having too much stuff before a PCS.
The Psychology of Clutter
You may not know it, but there’s legitimate psychology behind why people tolerate cluttered homes. When you understand the reasons, it becomes apparent why so many people struggle.
Here are a few common reasons and beliefs about why letting go of things is so difficult.
- Sentimental value is attached to everything, and getting rid of an item means you don’t care about the person who gave it to you.
- The expectation of the home’s optimal cleanliness level is too high, so overwhelm and then avoidance set in.
- Buying things is a way to show your family you care, even if they don’t need them or have nowhere to put them.
- Clutter is an avoidance technique to hide from life’s drudgery, like paying bills and scheduling appointments.
Strategies to Start Organizing Your Home
Start with a Quiz to Find Your Organization Style
Everyone has their own style preference organization, and you just might know what it is! But if you’ve tried and failed using organization systems suggested by friends and family, an individualized quiz might help you get on the right track.
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Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash
Pick a Date for Motivation
After dipping into the psychology of the “whys” of a cluttered home and then choosing an organization style that fits your personality, finding the motivation for starting the work is the next hurdle that most wanna-be-organizers trip over.
If the big dream of a clean, clear house that offers peace of mind is just too abstract, nail down a concrete reason. Often these reasons are date or event-oriented, such as “In three months, my family will be staying for the holidays,” or, “My 40th birthday is next month and I want to celebrate with a new bedroom set. But first, I have to clean out the bedroom and closet.”
Your motivation could also be as simple as knowing that a military move is on the horizon or that performing seasonal home maintenance will save thousands of dollars in future repairs.
What Bothers You the Most? Start There.
Are you constantly searching for your keys? Is the mudroom overrun with everything except mud? Every home has at least one pain point related to clutter. For some people, entire rooms may be the culprit, with the overflowing contents hidden behind a closed door.
Sometimes the snowball effect has amazing motivational powers. A cleaned-out junk drawer leads to organized kitchen cabinets, followed by a revamped pantry. Pretty soon, an overhauled kitchen is the result.
A little room to breathe opens when you tackle the tasks that make life hard to manage. You’ll save so much time knowing your keys are by the door in the pretty bowl you picked up during a cherished vacation.
So let's keep home organization and decluttering simple.
Photo from Pixabay
Enlist the Whole Family's Help
You likely don’t live alone, and you likely don’t create all of the mess in the entire house. Organization is a skill to be learned, and kids of all ages can contribute to the cleanup. Age-appropriate chores, such as sorting toys and books, are ideal for younger elementary school kids, while tasks like removing old or unwanted clothing are more suitable for tweens and teens.
This is also a great opportunity to reinforce the virtues of charitable giving and community. The idea that another family will love and need your household items is a compelling reason to organize and donate.
Photo from Pixabay
Popular DIY Organization Methods
The 4-Box Method
It’s as easy as it sounds. Label four boxes clearly with:
- Put Away
- Give Away
- Throw Away
- Undecided
Admittedly, the Undecided box is tricky to navigate. The intention is to house the item for the assigned time, allowing you to reconsider its final destination.
Sometimes the timeframe is 30 minutes, and other times, owners just can’t make a decision even after a month goes by. An added benefit of this method is that the whole system moves from room to room throughout the house and makes easy work of each.
One in and One Out
This method is exceptionally popular for those who prefer to live minimally or in a small space. For instance, you bring in one pair of shoes, and an old pair goes out. This is by no means one of the easiest methods, but it is crucial to maintain a clean environment for those in tiny homes or small apartments. The silver lining of this strict method is the potential to save on extraneous shopping. You're unlikely to give up something you love just to buy something new.
The 12-12-12 Challenge
Joshua Becker’s method for avoiding clutter simply says to find 12 items to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to be returned to their proper storage space. His method maintains popularity because it’s simple to perform in each room and can be repeated as many times as necessary. It’s also a good way to keep an already organized home before the scene goes awry.
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Green Ways to Donate and Recycle
Often, the thought of adding to a landfill or contributing to the demise of the environment is a roadblock for those hoping to organize their home. Don’t let these socially conscious ideas prevent you from living in a happy, healthy home. Take a look at some options for green disposal.
Buy Nothing Project: “Give Where You Live” is the group’s motto. Offer your community what you have and watch the takers line up. You’ll be amazed at the generosity of your neighbors.
Recycle at Best Buy: Electronics, appliances, and fitness equipment are all welcome at Best Buy. They handle many types of used technology. It doesn’t matter where or when you bought it.
Green Drop: A scheduled pickup of clothing placed on your doorstep ensures charities such as the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation, American Red Cross, and the National Federation of the Blind continue to receive much-needed funding.
If after a significant purge, part of your trouble is that your house is truly lacking square footage and you have items that just don’t fit, hello military gear, more storage space could be a legitimate solution.
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Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash
Hiring a Professional Organizer
At this point, if none of the previous suggestions resonate and you’re feeling more overwhelmed than ever, trained professionals are ready to help. They’ve designed an entire business around cleaning, organizing, and purging. They thrive in chaos and want to help you find peace at home.
Melissa Rogers is a professional organizer and military spouse, so you know her skills are strong. Not only does she help clients organize their homes, but she also prepares her clients for an impending PCS move. She recognizes that meeting with an organizer can be intimidating and potentially embarrassing.
“The first step to working with a professional organizer always starts with a phone consultation. Having someone you’ve never met in your home can be awkward. Even though I am completely nonjudgmental, many clients are embarrassed or ashamed about their homes. Chatting on the phone first can serve as an ice-breaker, and relieves some of that anxiety before moving on to the next step. Usually, this conversation is about 30 minutes.”
After determining if, together, you are the perfect duo to take on the project, Melissa goes on to say,
“Just like how no two clients are the same, no two organizing plans are the same. Based on our conversation, I determine where we will start, what we will work on first, and the logistics of sorting, storing, and discarding. I’ll also start formulating a plan on how we will store items at the end. This design can always be tweaked and should be adjusted as we move along in the organizing process.”
This description of the meet and greet process should ease any trepidation about hiring professional help. To find a professional organizer in your area, contact one of these organizations.
- National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO)
- American Society of Professional Organizers (ASPO)
Home websites such as Angi are also top choices, but referrals from friends and family are strongly recommended, as personal connection is a factor that sets one organizer apart from another.
Understanding why you enjoy too much stuff and learning multiple ways to manage the quantities are important steps for conquering clutter. Use the above suggestions to craft a personalized system. And if you need help, hire a professional or enlist a supportive friend. The clarity and freedom an organized home offers are well worth your time investment.
By Dawn M. Smith
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