Organize your Home

Everyone knows that the New Year is a great time to remake yourself with those New Year’s Resolutions, getting your life a little more in order. However, the New Year is also a great time to get the environment around you in order. Not only will getting your home in order maximize efficiency in other areas of your life, it will it will make you feel structured and organized to start the year off right.

Kitchen

Store your mixing bowls, knives, and cutting boards where you use them. Place the small appliances you use regularly on the counter, ones used on occasion in a convenient cabinet or on a convenient shelf, and items used rarely on a deep lower shelf. Take an inventory of everything you own and rid your kitchen of duplicates, damaged items and things you no longer use. Use drawer dividers to arrange utensils and Lazy Susans for organizing spices.

Bathroom

Group together like items in plastic bins or washable bags and throw out old cosmetics and skin care products. Store small items like hair accessories, nail polish and brushes in easily accessible plastic bins with easy-to-read removable labels, making it easy to change the label in the future if necessary.

Closets

Organized closets will make busy mornings easier and, quite frankly, make your life and home feel a lot less cluttered. Use adjustable shelves so you can change the arrangement of the closet as your needs change. Install shelves or cubbies at the base of the closet. Install shelves up to the ceiling to store items you don’t use often. Keep small items in bins, baskets and boxes to minimize clutter. Reassess your closet every six months for any changes that need to be made.

Linen Closet

Store sheet sets together in one pillowcase.

Utility closet

Keep cleaning supplies in a bucket or bin so you can carry them from room to room easily. Keep long handled brooms off the floor.

Laundry room

Arrange items according to how you use them. Anything you need regularly should be easily accessible. Sort items by whites, colors and delicates in different bins or rolling carts.  Use a drying rack for delicate items.

Office

Manage your office paperwork by keeping four separate organizers for personal correspondence, bills, catalogs and papers to file. Use accordion files to easily find paperwork.