Book by Army spouse helps families enjoy moving

ARNEWS ^ | Apr 24, 2006 | Fonda R. Bock

[SandRat]

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, April 24, 2006) – It can leave a person overwhelmed with stress and anxiety, but military families must endure it over and over – moving.

One Army spouse claims she’s developed techniques that relieve some of the stress and make moving enjoyable.

“It’s time to take a different look at PCSing,” said Sandee Payne, a freelance organizer and decorator who has relocated seven times in 10 years to follow her husband’s military career. “From now on, think of it as your ‘positive change of surroundings.’”

Payne has compiled her hard-earned knowledge into “That Military House: Move it, Organize it & Decorate It.”

The how-to guide contains decorating tips and techniques for dealing with the specific challenges military families face when moving. It’s these ideas that helped Payne look forward to moving rather than dreading it, she said, adding that she hopes the book will do the same for readers.

Among the obstacles Payne addresses is the lack of storage space families often find in their new homes. She suggests using closets, cabinets and furniture to hold items frequently used so they’re quickly accessible when needed.

Decorative pieces – such as baskets – placed throughout the house can double up as storage space, and articles put away in additional storage areas should be in labeled containers, she added.

Payne also recommends purchasing furniture and decorative accessories that are modular and can fit in a variety of spaces, and that are also neutral and traditional.

“Character and style can be easily introduced to a home’s décor through the use of accents like pillows, vases and artwork,” says Payne. “When the desire for a new look or trend arises, a rather small element can be purchased to achieve it.”

For window treatments, Payne suggests curtains that work in a variety of rooms. She also offers instructions for creating tiebacks, making longer curtains shorter and shorter curtains longer.

“I like to approach every move as a blank canvas, to experiment with other decorating techniques that I may want to use in my retirement home someday. These moves are a good opportunity to be refreshed, to regroup and begin again in a new community,” she said.

Payne said making moving more efficient and less stressful comes down to four simple concepts: being prepared, organized, clutter-free and open-minded.

“An open mind helps movers get creative when using household and decorative items for something other than their intended purpose,” she said. “For example, cloth napkins can be neatly folded over a curtain rod as a decorative valance.”

Being clutter-free also helps.

“If you’ve gone through, organized and purged down to the things you really need, then you’re not going to be overwhelmed with piles and piles of things and no where to put them,” she said.

The book is available at Payne's Web site.

[SandRat]

Spouse Book for a Painless PCS

[E.G.C.]

BTTT

[ops33]

My wife always said one of the best gifts I ever gave her was to send her and our two young children back home a month early and I stayed behind to pack us out. When we finally retired we had a stack of curtains almost 8' high, and none of them would fit any window in our new house!