New year, New YOU!

We are well into January and all of your Christmas decorations are all put away, kids are back at school, now what? A New Year a new you, it’s time to start organizing the house! Starting the year with a fresh living space is freeing. So pull out your rubber gloves, put your hair up and get organizing! From the kitchen to the bedrooms, playroom, and laundry room, don’t forget the office, we have tips for organizing every room of the house. Happy Organizing!

Kitchen

The main hub of the house is a great place to start to declutter and organize.

Start with emptying the fridge completely, have a bag ready to throw out old and expired food and condiments. Give it a good clean. Clear bins and a lazy Susan (yes a lazy Susan!) are great for organizing. Use the clear bins for snacks, fruits, and vegetables and the lazy Susan is a great way to store condiments. Clean and Sensible has some great tips for this.

Drawers often get cluttered over time, now is a good time to declutter that junk drawer and linens. Consider file folding towels, you would be surprised how many towels you can fit in a drawer with this method.

Bedroom

Your bedroom should be your oasis, and if you have clutter it won’t feel like that! Time to declutter. Empty drawers and closets of unwanted clothing, there are lots of local charities that take donations of gently used clothing.

Now’s the time to transform your closets into a designer showroom! Organize and hang your clothes by color, file fold t-shirts in drawers so that they are easy to see, and organize shoes heel to toe on shelves.

Displaying your jewelry looks nice and is functional. A beautiful stand for necklaces, repurpose small dishes and containers for earrings, rings, and bracelets, or use a beautiful jewelry organizer like this one on etsy.

Playroom

The playroom is a great place to keep all your toys contained, but what happens when the toys start to take over?

Start with going through all of the toys that the kids don’t play with anymore and donate them to a local charity. Once you have taken out old toys you should have a more manageable amount of toys to work with! Bins work great for kids’ toys. Simply Well Balanced has some great tips on how to create a minimalistic playroom.

Laundry Room

The laundry room often gets overlooked, and it really shouldn’t considering the amount of time we spend in it!

Glass containers are a wonderful way to store and display detergent, softeners, and stain removers. Don’t forget to add cute little labels to the containers.

Somewhere to put your laundry baskets is definitely a bonus. Creating cubbies for them (if you have space) is a great way to store your baskets while your clothes are in the washer or dryer. Another great alternative is a counter above your machines. This is not only functional but looks great! If you are a DIYer then check out this great tutorial.

Office

As many people are continuing to work from home, having an organized home office will make it easier to be more efficient at your job. Add a bulletin board somewhere that is easily accessible. Fill it with things that inspire you, or hang up your to-do list. Vertical files are great if your job requires a lot of paperwork. Keeping the top of your desk free of papers will ensure more productivity.

Your office space can also double as a home command center. You will want to make sure to have a large calendar to keep track of all activities. Use colored pens to identify different activities or different family members. A letter sorter can be used for tablets, and cell phones when not in use, put it close to an outlet as a charging station.