Forever in Ziplocks and Totes
If you walk into a military family’s home during a PCS, you will find a good portion of their belongings squished into Ziplock bags, or stuffed into large, plastic totes. These items are an absolute necessity to keep liquids from leaking, and objects to remain clean, protected, organized, and maybe even color-coded. I sincerely love Ziplocks and totes! I can’t imagine my life without the use of them…because they are not only a necessity during our PCSes, but they are also still a part of my daily life.
Sure, a conventional non-military family may still make use of these items every day as well. But I’m telling you, it’s a way of life for me. Maybe for you too.
You see, there was a lot of craziness involving this last PCS, and I felt a bit unsettled throughout the entire process.
Our orders stated this would be a two-to-three-year, non-deployable position for my husband. Of course, everything in those orders changed. And by the time we move again, we will have been here roughly one year and nine months.
I had that feeling, you know? That intuition amidst those unsettled feelings that I probably shouldn’t fully unpack everything.
The beginning of the need to Ziplock
It began with my spices and seasonings. It was almost easier to leave them Ziplocked, as they are stored high above my microwave and difficult to access. The bottles are somewhat organized by bag, so now I just reach up, grab one bag, take out the few spices I need, then zip it right back in and store it away again.
Next, it was the stack of plastic totes I began to unbox in our loft, which serves dually as a storage room and playroom. These totes contain the children’s clothes that some have outgrown but others will eventually use. Some totes are also storing curriculum that I still need for our homeschool program, or preserving my and my husband’s old college textbooks for which we don’t have a place. As damages often happen during a move, one of our bookshelves had broken, and I wasn’t yet willing to buy a new one until I knew for sure how soon we would be moving again. It just made sense to leave the totes stacked neatly against the wall for the time being.
When I searched Pinterest for the best way to organize Legos, I was drawn to the small, plastic bin method. My kids’ toys are organized by themed plastic tote toy bins. My nail polish storage is a large, Ziplock bag. My extra candles are in Ziplock bags.
I mean, why bother fully unpacking all of these little things, when eventually they will just need to be packed again the very same way?
Ziplocks and totes make it easy to prepare for a move, easy to unpack, and easy to organize and store.
Do you understand my line of thinking? I process my home organization by PCS’s! This might be a problem. Or, maybe it’s genius. Simply an acceptable reality? I’m still not sure.
So, here it all sits….everything in their Ziplock bags and plastic totes…waiting for the next move.
Yes, we’ll have been here for over a year and a half, which is still quite awhile for a military family. It’s plenty of time to fully unpack. We moved three years in a row at one point, and I (mostly) unpacked each time. But this time was different. I was tired. I unpacked enough until I got to a point of “functioning,” and then I decided to stop. I just didn’t feel like unpacking it all. And that’s okay!
Sure, military families don’t have to live this way, but it’s become my way because it makes it easy. So, I think my household will forever be in Ziplocks and totes…
…at least until we retire from the military!
By LaVaughn Ricci, Military Spouse
*You may also enjoy reading 5 Tips for Receiving and Unpacking HHG.
