Organization while Moving

Advice from an expert for a PCS

by Andrea Downing Peck

Jamie Novak, author of 1,000 Best Quick and Easy Organizing Secrets, says the first step in creating an effective organizational system in your new home is knowing what isn’t working in your current home. She suggests creating a moving notebook that opens with a list of everything that’s not working in your current home.

“Once it’s packed up, we tend to forget what we were having challenges with,” Novak said. “Having a plan for the problems we want to solve is a very good way to start.”

The moving notebook is Novak’s key to keeping organized throughout a move.

Novak also suggests designating a bright-colored box for collecting all the important correspondence that comes in when you’re moving.

When you’re organizing any space, whether to pare down before a move or streamline in a new home, experts say there are three main steps:

• Sort all your items, grouping like items together. In a closet, this would mean separating shirts, pants, sweaters, etc. into individual groups.
• Put away what you use and love, and find new homes for the rest. Novak is a big proponent of labeling the containers that hold your newly organized items, because labels boost the chances that family members will put things away where they belong.
• Maintain the new system. This final step is the hardest. Novak’s solution is the 2-minute rule, which says if you can do a task in 2 minutes or less, do it right then. If the rule is followed, coats will be hung up, shoes put away and junk mail sorted immediately.

When unpacking, Novak says, it is easy to dart from room to room, unpacking the first layer of boxes in every room.  But, Novak says the solution is setting up one space from start to finish.

“We really need to forget perfect at this point,” she said. “You can always move something. You can always change your mind. If you don’t do something until you get everything just right, you are going to be in boxes for a very long time.”

Novak, however, understands how difficult it can be for some people, particularly children, to let go of things. Her solution is a “maybe” box.

“There’s always that little voice inside of you that says, ‘Well, I might use it one day’ or ‘It will come in handy,’ ” Novak explained. “I love the flexibility of allowing yourself a ‘maybe’ box. Maybe I’ll use it; maybe I won’t.”

Toys, clothing and household items that haven’t been used for a year go into the “maybe” box, which is labeled with the date. If after 1 year, the boxed items haven’t been used, they are sold or given away.

The “maybe” box provides a green light to purge.

“A lot of times, we talk ourselves into believing I might use it one day or I haven’t used it yet, but I spent good money on it, so I should hold on to it,” she said, “but honestly, we’re not.”

Learning to let go of possessions, whether they’re old and tattered or new and barely used, may not be easy. But when the next set of PCS orders arrives, read between the lines, and discover an opportunity to embark on a more organized, stress-free life.