How to Keep Your Home Organized
It’s a New Year and after spending much of 2020 at home many of us are looking for ways to create spaces that bring peace and tranquility. What better way to do this than with a little home organization. Here are some of our best tips to help get you started and keep you motivated!
Declutter & Simplify
This is the first and most important step to keeping an organized home. Getting rid of things you no longer need or use is essential. Here is a free printable to help you. It makes sense right? Less stuff means less you have to organize and have space for. The general rule of thumb is if it doesn’t spark joy, get rid of it. This will also help you make room for new items and who doesn’t like getting new stuff!
Get Prepared
Purchasing bins, crates, storage totes, hanging baskets, and drawer dividers is a good idea so you have somewhere to go with all your things. The key to keeping an organized space is that everything has a “home.” This allows others in your household to know where things go so when it’s time to tidy up everyone knows where the items go. Also, if you’re already working with tight spaces, there are plenty of space-saving organization solutions out there. You may opt to switch out some pieces for ones that better maximize space. Getting some under-the-bed storage bags might help free up space in your closet through the seasons or even give you a place to store extra bedding so it is not taking up space elsewhere in your closets. Space-saving hangers are another easy, inexpensive swap to free up space as well.
Start Small
When starting to organize your home pick a drawer or cabinet and work through it a little at a time. If you try to do too much at once it may get overwhelming and you will be less motivated to keep going. It seems much more doable to spend an hour or so organizing and feel the satisfaction immediately when we can see something COMPLETE!
Areas to Consider Cleaning & Organizing
Junk drawer
It seems this is a staple in the home. Everyone has one, and at times, it can become a dumping ground for anything and everything. It might be a good idea to sort through and see what has been accumulating. See if there are items that can be organized into another area so the drawer isn’t overflowing.
Medicine Cabinet
Small storage containers can be really great to keep this area organized. Going through and throwing away anything that is expired and properly disposing of old medications is a good idea.
Closet
When going through your closet try to pare down and consider donating any items that you haven’t worn in over a year. Having less bulk in your closet can help lessen the headache of figuring out what to wear every day. Also, taking out any clothes that aren’t going to be worn for the current season will help you avoid having to sift through stuff when you’re in a hurry in the morning.
Mudroom
The mudroom can be a dumping ground for things that don’t have a place. Getting this area organized with storage bins will help keep this area tidy. The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the organization in a mudroom is how to organize all the shoes! There are many solutions out there, but choosing the best one for your space and making sure you have enough storage for everyone’s shoes is ideal. If you are tight on space consider putting shoes that are out of season into deep storage so you can pull them out later. Then try to get your family into the habit of putting them away when they get home. Labeling a bin for each family member for all their extra winter gear will also be super helpful to avoid them dropping them wherever when they walk in the door.
If the mudroom happens to be where you store cleaning supplies such as brooms, mops, vacuums consider getting some hooks to get them off the floor. Or, if you have a cabinet you can hide them away in to keep them concealed that would be ideal.
Toy Room
If you have kids it is likely the clutter of kids’ toys can be overwhelming. Consider donating or sorting through toys regularly. As your kids get older it is likely their toy preferences will change so this is a good habit to get into. Also, teaching your kiddo it is okay to let go of or donate things they don’t play with anymore is a great lesson to teach them early. If this is too difficult for them at the particular age they are at, it may be best to do this when they are not around. You can even pack things away in a bag and wait a week. If they don’t mention it chances are they won’t miss it and you have the green light to get rid of it.
Now that you have everything organized it should stay that way, right? Well, not exactly. Keeping things organized will take some daily tidying. Get everyone in your household involved and on board with a tidying schedule. A good habit to get into is dedicating 10 minutes every evening to clean. Set a timer, grab a laundry basket, and pick up everything that is out of place. If there is time to put it away do it, but if not, at least the clutter is contained. Once you’ve sorted the days clutter you can assign a basket to each family member to put away either daily or weekly.
Hopefully, these tips have helped you think of ways you can reduce the clutter and stay organized in the upcoming year. Remember, don’t try to tackle the whole house at once. Choosing small areas that are achievable in an hour or two will help you avoid overwhelm. Put in place a quick, daily tidying routine and you’re setting yourself up for success. Cheers to a more organized, happy home for the upcoming year!