How to organize your home for the New Year!

For many, there is a spark of hope that comes along with the idea of a new year; new goals, a fresh start and the anticipation of what these next twelve months will bring. While there are many common new year resolutions around fitness, health and finances, another resolution for many people is to get organized.

Having an organized home significantly impacts our ability to fulfill our New Year’s resolutions. So, in the spirit of new beginnings and fresh starts, I thought I’d share a few helpful tips on how to organize your home for the New Year.

1. Get your mind right

   Let’ face it, getting organized isn’t always easy. If it were, you would have done it a long time ago. In order to prepare ourselves to get organized, we have to make a shift in our mindsets. Think about what you want your end result to be. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths and imagine that every room in your home was organized. In this moment, notice how your body feels, how your mind feels more clear, your space seems lighter. There are many reasons to get organized, but what’s YOUR reason? YOU need to relate to the ‘why’ so that it can motivate you to push towards your goal.

2. Declutter

   Now that you have probably accumulated some new gifts over the holiday, you will need to establish what old items you can get rid of and where your new gifts will reside. Go through all of your belongings, and make bags/bins for these three categories: keep, donate and toss. Do this with all of your belongings using the KonMari method, starting with your clothes, books/paper, then kitchen (miscellaneous) and saving the sentimental items for last. Declutter with the main reason and goal in mind. Remember, your new year resolution to get organized starts with getting rid of the old to make room for the new.

3. Organize

   For the items that are staying, you need to establish where they will reside. Like items should live together. Most people think that you should make it easy to retrieve items. I believe you should make it easy to return them to their home. When we need something, we will dig and dig until we find what we are looking for. But, when it comes time to return it, nobody wants to go through that hassle again. So, it usually ends up in a new, random spot which adds to the disorganization. So when organizing, ask yourself, does this spot make sense for this item? How often do I use it? Can i return it easily?

4. Maintain

   Once you have decluttered and organized, your goal is to NOT have to do it again. So, when organizing, you want to create a system that is manageable to maintain. Be mindful, before making a purchase, note how your body feels when considering this item. Can you live without it? Is there room and a place to add this new item to your home? Would you consdier tossing an old item in order to make room for this new one? Whatever your decision, make sure that you are not undoing all of the hard work that you did to achieve your goal of creating a peaceful, clean and decluttered home for the New Year.

This is your year! You are going get organized (and keep it up).

Happy New Year!