This week I’m kicking off a new series focused on how to get organized for the New Year! I feel so good starting a new year knowing that my home and life are well organized. It’s like a breath of fresh air for me. Bear with me, today’s post is a little wordy, but I’m sharing how to get organized in 10 easy steps (and keep it that way). These tips will lay the foundation for my posts over the next three weeks as I walk you through tackling some of the most difficult areas of the home to organize! I hope you’ll follow along and organize your home alongside me as I get mine in order for the New Year!
- Make a plan. Thinking to myself, “I need to organize ALL THE THINGS” can be really overwhelming! Instead, make a plan to first tackle the areas that bother you the most. I write in my planner which area I plan to tackle and on which day. Be realistic. If you think it will take you a week to get your pantry organized, then schedule a week to do it! I schedule down to a manageable level. For me that means if I’m cleaning out my closet, I will do shoes one day, clothes one day, and accessories one day. That way it’s not overwhelming! Having a schedule for getting my home in order allows me to feel like I have a plan and I can focus on the task for the day/week.
- Get it all out. My first step in organizing anything in my home is to get all the junk out. When it’s laying out on the floor in front of me, it’s easier to see what I have.
- Only keep items that you love. I love to fill our home with pieces from our travels. It brings back such wonderful memories every time I walk past them. Outside of pieces from traveling, I like to keep greenery out to add color and signs or pictures with sayings that motivate or uplift me. Of course, the best items I keep out are family pictures. They bring me true joy when I walk by and look at our family. In terms of household items, only keep what you actually use! Only keep the clothes that make you feel beautiful when you wear them. It’s important to be critical and let go of things that don’t bring value to your life.
- Donate, donate, donate! The easiest way for me to let go of items that I don’t make use of is by donating them! Then I feel like they have served their purpose in my home, I no longer use them, but somebody else will!
- Give everything a home. Invest in cute baskets or boxes to keep things organized and easily accessible. You will only use what you can find!
Staying Organized
- Label, label, label. I know a lot of people would say this is overkill, but I think it’s key to keeping your home organized. We don’t all have the same idea of where certain items should live, so when things are labeled, it lets everyone in the home know where to put things. For kids that can’t read yet, you can take pictures of toys and secure on the outside of toy bins (picture of blocks on the block bin, play doh on the play doh bin, etc).
- Nightly pick up. Get the kids involved! Play a song or two on your phone while everyone works for that 10 minutes to pick up the house. You’d be amazed at what you can get done when everyone pitches in for a few minutes! I find that Noah’s a lot more willing to help pick up when he knows it will only last for a predefined amount of time. The music also makes it fun!
- As part of your nightly pick up, keep a bin handy to toss items in that belong in another area of the house. I always have a basement pile and an upstairs pile. Things seem to migrate between floors of our house daily!
- When things come home from the store, give them a home immediately. If it’s new clothes, throw it in the laundry bin to be washed. If it’s food or drinks, put it away in the kitchen. If you don’t know where in your home it should go, then it should probably go back to the store. 😉
- Plan, plan, and plan some more. I don’t think I could live without my planner! I write each day which household activities need to happen to keep up with things around the house. If it’s washing a load of darks, cleaning out the pantry or fridge, or getting out the next size of clothes for the boys, it’s written in my planner. This keeps me focused for the day and prevents my household to-do list from spiraling out of control. Pick one thing each day and make sure that one thing gets done.