Declutter your home by losing half your stuff while PCSing

YOKOSUKA, Japan— Many Americans deal with clutter. However, a young enterprising Sailor has found a straightforward solution- for US service members at least: execute a Permanent Change of Station (PCS), and a significant amount of your possessions will vanish.

Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Khan-Dho, an information specialist stationed in Japan, has PCS’d quite a few times over her career. She is convinced that these frequent moves have helped her to develop a useful minimalist lifestyle.

Khan-Dho’s first duty station was San Diego where she lived in a barracks room with another young sailor. Soon after, she married a Marine and moved to a small condo in Miramar.

“Between my old roomie and my new wife, I ended up with a lot of duplicates,” Khan-Dho said, visibly stressed by the recollection. “It was like I was dealing with double or triple of everything from hair products to uniforms to autographed portraits of Jim Mattis- you name it, we had it!”

Soon after, Khan-Dho and her wife were stationed on the East Coast. It was her first military move. As movers packed her and her spouse’s household goods, she noticed she felt a sense of peace as everything was boxed up.

“They shattered my great-grandmother’s ceremonial tea set that had been in the family for over 100 years,” Khan-Dho said, looking glum. Then, brightening, she said, “Suddenly, there was one less thing to worry about.”

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