NINE WAYS TO GET ORGANIZED IN THE NEW YEAR

Resolve to organize in the New Year with nine easy steps.

• Open your calendar and schedule time. Last year, you never found time. Make time by determining how much time you want to spend, and how frequently—one weekend afternoon or few hours per week perhaps? Block time off on your calendar and stick to it.
• Review your home’s biggest challenges. Do your kids struggle to catch the school bus because the mudroom is a mess? Is it nearly impossible to locate tickets, permission slips, schedules, etc.? Once you’ve identified the areas that need the most organization, you can prioritize and dive in.

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• Gather the troops. Look at your list and decide what you can delegate. If the playroom needs to be decluttered, give each child a box and encourage them to fill it with toys for kids in need. If you spend too much time in the garage looking for things and it’s your spouse’s domain, assign the task of paring down and organizing the garage.
• Accept and attack. Packrats must accept the challenge and envision how nice it will be when they can find something quickly. Room by room, pull items that you have not used in a while, e.g. old electronics in the basement or clothes in your closets. Give away, recycle or throw out as much as you can. Rule of thumb, if you haven’t used or worn it in a year, you don’t need it. Set aside items you’re unsure about and revisit them in three to six months at which point you can decide if you still need them.
• Nail it. If you need to organize items such as bills, mail, kids' art project, multiple calendars or schedules, etc. consider buying organizational products you can hand on the wall in common areas.
• Invest in labels. Still have unmarked moving boxes that need to be unpacked? If you aren’t ready to unpack them, at least open and label them. You may have bought handy storage cubes, jars, etc., but end up emptying them out when you need something because you forgot their contents. Labeling them will save you time and ensure you don’t buy duplicate items.
• Zero in on the kitchen. Toss or tear dingy towels into rags. Donate or sell the fancy serving platter or snazzy kitchen appliance you had to have, but never use. Recycle all unused or worn out Tupperware. Toss all expired spices, food, etc.
• Enliven the bathroom. Sort through the medicine cabinet and drawers so you can toss expired beauty and hygiene products. Recycle or toss old towels and sheets in the linen closet. Clean surfaces before putting everything back.
• Determine bigger projects. After tackling your task list, you may decide you need a solution worthy of more time and money. It’s easy to search DIY solutions online for specific challenges. For example, if your mudroom is in constant mayhem, check out our post, The ABC’s of A Mudroom with a View.

Article by: Jennifer Elkow