Okay so. It sounds like the lack of communication about what to do and how to do it has been going on for a while. Apparently there's a manual for how to do things around here? Who knew? I didn't. The girls here before me didn't. There's a notebook on the messy desk that says "Volunteer Manual" but honestly, that desk is so full of paperwork and receipts that there's no way to know what's relevant and what's as expired as the canned food.
The good news is that I have good friends in Japan, and some of them will be coming around this weekend to help me clean. One of the housemates left this morning, but the remaining housemate swept, vacuumed, and cleaned the floor of Cat Room B with a bleach-water solution, so at least that particular room smells less like cat pee than it did before. I'm making a dent in the (dis)organization of the living room, pulling out stained futons and airing out cat-fur-covered blankets. I have actual sheets on my bed, now. Chacha, one of the dogs, likes sleeping on there with me.
I also finally got to talk to the house manager, who is new to the job but thankfully very knowledgeable and responsible. Having someone promptly respond to emails and FB inquiries is a relief. (I emailed two other lead members of the organization about Kit back in June and never received a single reply.)
There's still a long way to go in getting the shelter clean. The main problem is that nobody knows what supplies we have or where anything is, because there's so much stuff that it's nearly impossible to have an organized location for anything. There's no possible way to do inventory when I'm finding paper towels, trash bags, bleach, and various other items in random closets and cupboards around the house. How can we say "we need more toilet paper" if we can't even be sure how many we've got? Every time I open a new drawer or open a box, I have no idea if I'll find something useful or something rotten and full of bugs. We're also not allowed to just throw things away or sell or donate them, because some things are shelter property. Which things? The moldy futon by my bed? The twenty-odd coats and jackets hanging up in the living room? The ashtrays in the kitchen? The expired Mott's Apple Sauce stacked several packs high in three different rooms? Exactly when do I, or any volunteer, get to make an executive decision and say, "Yeah, this needs to go"?
It's ridiculous. It can't stay like this. The current system allows for mess to pile up without accountability. Who knows what was here before and what was just left behind? If you can't see the system, who knows if you're following it?
I'm going to get there, though. I'm going to make a dent in the chaos around here and clean up all the filth that's been living in its corners. I'm going to leave behind something structured and clean and organized, something that even foreigners with no clue how anything works can understand and adapt to. I'm in the fortunate position where I've been in Japan long enough that I understand a lot of the particulars of keeping house in Japan. I've had to research the cleaning supplies and futon care, and I've seen how my co-workers and various Japanese acquaintances organize their homes in a structured and systematic manner. I am in the perfect position to get this place back on track and organize it in a way that will help new people settle into it without trouble and keep things running.
I'm five days in, with fifteen left. I'll have helpers coming this weekend and in August, and hopefully the new volunteers in August will have a work ethic and share my desire to put this place back to rights. When I leave here, I want to leave something that JCN can take pride in. I want something that feels like a home.
Tomorrow I'm going to try to fix the vacuum, clean out the loft, and prepare the rooms for the people coming this weekend.
People keep telling me I don't have to work so hard, but this isn't obligation. This is me feeling alive.
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