Getting Organized for The New Year
January is “Get Organized” month, which means it’s time to bring in the new year with a clean, well-organized home. You may have spent hours getting your home cleaned and organized for the holiday madness, but a lot of that can be undone between guests and holiday events. January is a great time to set yourself and your home up for success for the rest of the year. Keep reading to learn how to get organized for the New Year.
Find Your Problem Areas
The first thing you should do is find which areas need the most help. Whether it’s your entryways (the front hall or mudroom) or your master closet, you need to decide which area you will tackle first. It’s best to approach each room one day at a time. Don’t try to get the entire home organized in one day. All you’ll do is mount your frustrations and burn yourself out.
Declutter and Organized
Once you pick an area you want to work on, it’s time to declutter. Take everything off shelves, out of baskets and cubbies, and off hooks and rods. Next, before you do anything else, wipe down the surfaces you’re going to be organizing. What’s the point of tidying up the space if you’re just going to put your things back on a dusty or dirty shelf?
After you clean your surfaces, it’s time to conquer everything that came from the space you’re organizing. Separate each item into a “keep,” “toss,” or “donate” pile. This way, you can quickly throw away anything you don’t need and prepare any donations. Make sure you finish going through all the “toss” and “donate” categories before you turn your focus back on the “keep” pile.
Assess and Store
Now that you have everything you want to keep separated from the donations and trash, you can start assessing where you want all these “keep” items to go. Separate them into more categories. For example, if you organize your closet, you may want to separate your clothes by season, then by color or purpose. What gets folded and put in a drawer or on a shelf, and what gets put on a hanger? These are all questions you must ask yourself when deciding what goes where.
When you store your items, make sure everything has a spot and label (if needed). Have a section for sweaters, then have one for dresses and pants. Make sure your shoes are organized by how often you wear them. Place other items into containers, such as out-of-season clothes or things you would like to keep together, like certain accessories. This is also an excellent time to assess your space for any added organization accessories you may need. Perhaps you could use some more hanging space or adjustable shoe shelves. Now is the time to take notes and to follow through on them. If you see that you need something else to keep your things organized, then trust your instincts and make it happen.
Commit To a Clean Space
The most important thing you can do to keep a clean, organized space is to commit to keeping it that way. After going through all this trouble to organize, don’t you want to keep your space looking neat for as long as possible? Just remember, when you take something from your space, commit to putting it back where it belongs. Now, we’re all human, and sometimes things just get out of hand. That’s no reason to feel down on ourselves. The best way to make sure your space stays spick and span is to revisit it every few months and redo the process explained throughout this article.
Stay Organized with Saint Louis Closet Co.
If you want to stay organized in the new year, then pop by Saint Louis Closet Co. You can visit our showroom, located in Maplewood, Missouri, to see exactly what we have to offer. Our high-quality, 100% adjustable closets and various other organization systems will keep you and your home organized for a lifetime. Contact us today for a free consultation.
If you need any help with organizing your home this new year, we recommend these five professional organizers.