GET ORGANIZED MONTH

An organized home is something everyone enjoys, the feeling you get after a good deep clean is so rewarding, but how often do you actually have time to do a deep clean of the entire home? For most people, it’s not very often. That is why it’s important to do some prep work and set your home up for organizational success.

Here are some tips to organize your home for the long run.

Assess the Situation

Before doing anything, think about what currently works in your home and what does not and make a list. Do you like the way your garage functions for you? Why or why not? Ask yourself these types of questions for each area in your home and think about these next tips to figure out what the ultimate garage or kitchen looks like for you and your family.

Do not be afraid to start small

After you’ve done some thinking and planning, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. If that’s the case or if you just don’t have time to do everything all in one weekend, that’s okay. Start small. If it’s too overwhelming to organize your entire home in one month, then don’t! Break it up and focus on a level, room, closet or even just one zone and work your way through your home, one step at a time. Just be sure to set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound) goals and check in with yourself on the progress.

Deep clean

The goal is not to have to deep clean so much in the future, but in order to get to that point you’re going to have to do some prep work. It might seem like a lot of work now, but it will end up saving you time in the long run.

Declutter what you can and remove anything that doesn’t function, hasn’t been used or doesn’t make you happy. Ask yourself these questions:

• Have I used it in the last 6 months?
• Will I use it in a year?
• Would I buy this again?
• Is it broken and worth repairing?

If you answer no to any of these, then it’s probably time to get rid of it. This test is important in all rooms, not just your closets. Try it in the kitchen, pantry, and main areas of your home as well.

If unsure, mark it

While your deep cleaning, if you come across something you aren’t quite ready to let go of yet. Come up with a system that allows you to easily keep track of how often something has been used. An easy way to do this is to put some washi tape on the item and when it’s used, take it off. Or, in your closet you can hang the items up backwards. Then, after 6 months (or what the allotted time was) any item that still has tape on it can be donated or tossed.

Organize for efficiency

Don’t just organize your home to look nice, when it comes to your home, form should follow function. Make sure to make the everyday items easily accessible. You don’t want to have to move things around every day to get the items/products you need on the daily.

Label everything

You probably already know where everything goes, but does everyone else in your household? Help things stay in their place by adding labels to containers or the shelves of your pantry and refrigerator. This makes it super easy for you to keep it clean but also help other members of the household and even guests know how to take care of the space.

Add a catch all station

Make a designated space for those things that just get thrown on the table, then be sure to tidy it up once a week. This is great for mail, keys, or other daily objects.

Add hooks when you can

People are more likely to hang things up on a hook than to hang it up on a hanger, especially for those items that are always getting used.

Make donating part of your routine

Set up a bog or bag in the garage or basement for you to add donatable items into when you come across them. This way the items will no longer take up storage space and when the box is full, you just grab it and drop it off.

Rethink the junk drawer

If the traditional junk drawer works fine for your home, that’s great. But not everyone can designate an entire drawer to household junk. Think about adding a box in the garage or basement for those items. Make sure you are utilizing the space you have for the things you need first.

Keep the floor clear

Ground clutter has a huge visual impact in a home. It doesn’t matter if you have an intentional storage device on the floor or just a pile of stuff on the floor, what you have on the floor is noticeable and can really make a space feel small. Instead of storing things on the floor, utilize the wall space. Mount what you can on walls or go for a vertical storage solution.

If you start implementing all of these tips into your life you will be setting yourself up for organizational success.