If you’re a new homeowner this year or are just looking for new ways to take control of your organization, then we have put together a great guide for you. Organization is all about starting and maintaining good habits. For the New Year, get into the habit of making sure that you never have any out of control junk drawers or overflowing closets ever again! Here’s how to get started.
Start Your “Outbox” Organization
Every house has an “inbox” which is the door and everything that you bring in. Normally, we think of the “outbox” as our trash can, but if you’re anything like the average American, we quickly acquire items that are not technically trash but are still things that we want to get rid of. That’s how a lot of clutter happens: there is no outlet for these items. That’s why you should start a new “outbox” which we will call the “donate” pile. There are so many things that we either outgrow or end up getting replacements for or no longer use but don’t want to throw in the trash. Having a donate pile will help you cut down on needless accumulation of clutter in other areas in the house.
We recommend keeping the pile either in your garage, basement, or in the closet of a rarely used guest room. Set a reminder in your calendar to make at least three trips to the local charity donation center near you and you will feel so much better clearing space in your home and doing a good thing for your community.
Organize Your Drawers
Each drawer should have a clear purpose and within those drawers you should have each section organized with an even more granular purpose. Make the dreaded “junk drawer” a thing of the past with in-drawer organizers. You can even re-purpose an inexpensive silverware organizer so that your pens, paperclips, rubber bands, and batteries can all stay neatly stacked in their respective areas. Clean, label, organize, conquer!
Upgrade Your Linen Closet
This hack has saved us many hours of needless searching and re-folding that we just have to share it with you. Next time you’re on Amazon.com or are at your local big box store, pick up a set or two of inexpensive towel racks. Take them home and affix them to the inside of your linen closet door and use them to hang your often-used bath towels on so that you can free up space in your linen closet for actual linens and bedding and so that you don’t always have to go rummaging around for that last towel when you’re late for a meeting. All your fresh towels will be ready to go!
Pots, Pans, Positively Frustrating
Pots and pans are typically the most used items for cooking yet most people have them just clustered in a cupboard or drawer. Take back your space and free up some room in your kitchen by hanging your pots and pans below your upper cupboards or even from your kitchen ceiling, especially over a kitchen island. This will help you have your most used items within reach and not stacked in a messy cupboard when you need them.
Good luck with your organization efforts and have a Happy New Year!
