How to Maintain an Organized Home in the New Year
If you caught my previous post on how to stay more organized in the new year, it starts with a solid declutter, plain and simple. Decluttering is a critical step in the organizing process, as disorganization often stems from owning too much stuff. Once you’ve donated, tossed and sold your stuff, it’s time to organize all those useful, lovable gems.
If you had a chance to drop the knick knacks off at The Goodwill, sell the pasta maker on Craigslist, and box the clothes up for The Real Real, I applaud your commitment! How does it feel!? At this stage in the organizing process, my clients generally report feeling lighter and liberated, like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders (specifically the 15 pound bag of clothing). The ensuing comment is something along the lines of, “I don’t know why I waited this long to get rid of [insert-random-trinket-here].
Taking charge of your home is an empowering step in living the way that serves you best. It’s about honoring your very own vision of how your home and space should look and not someone else’s. Whether it’s an Instagram ad urging you to buy socks that also vacuum floors, or your sister insisting on covering your floor entirely in cat toys, there are so many messages bombarding us at every turn insisting that we ABSOLUTELY NEED THIS THING! If you don’t have an Air Fryer, you’re TOAST! Decluttering is a good exercise in reminding yourself of your values and priorities.
Once you’re left with just the stuff you love and need, it’s time to give everything a home. When everything has its place, you’re more likely to keep track of your items. And you don’t necessarily need containers or bins to give your stuff a home. If you decide that the keys always go on the ledge in your foyer, voila! That is heretofore where they shall live.
Before you give your stuff homes, you must sort said stuff. Whether you’re organizing pastas in your pantry or culottes in your closet, the rule is the same: group like items together to create categories. This way, you’re much more likely to keep track of your stuff and avoid buying unnecessary duplicates of items. If all your white t-shirts are in the same spot, you won’t order five more t-shirts thinking you only have the one with the weird neckline.
Once you’ve sorted through your belongings, put them back in a practical way that makes sense for your lifestyle. If you make pasta everyday, consider putting all the pasta on an easily-accessible shelf at eye level. Same goes for your toiletries in your medicine cabinet. What about your clothes? If you wear blouses everyday, make sure they’re closer to the center of your closet as opposed to wedged in the corner.
You can of course zhuzh up your space with something other than the three water hyacinth baskets you have from your last apartment. Some chic zhuzhing up spots to investigate: Open Spaces for shoe racks, Rejuvenation for chic bins, and The Citizenry for chic baskets. And ye olde standby, The Container Store. But know that MOST of the time, you can work with what you have so long as you commit to putting things back in the same spot and honor their new home.
Once you have this system in place, your home will practically run itself. Now it’s a matter of making sure to say YES to the items that you love and need, and NOPITY NOPE to the items that simply weigh your house down. And don’t worry if you wake up one morning and no longer like the way you organized your stuff. Your space can and should evolve with you. Periodically reorganizing your home keeps things fresh and is good Feng Shui!