New Year Organization Plan

It’s a New Year!  A fresh start makes us all want to clean out and “fix” everything in our homes.  I always want to clean all the closets and purge stuff.  But being organized is not just a yearly project, it’s ongoing.  Organization is truly the key to living a calm, stress-free life. Maybe you didn’t grow up in an orderly home or were never taught how to set up your own system of organization. It could be you have never quite mastered organizing abilities and you feel like you’re drowning in your stuff. Take heart! It’s never too late to start and you can learn the skills to make your home a well-organized, smooth operating machine.  Over time, I’ve had to develop my own organization plan to keep things in order.

I’m not a naturally organized person. There – I’ve admitted it. I am more of a big picture person and have struggled with the details for as long as I can remember. So, I’ve had to teach myself how to organize and train myself to be more orderly. Here are the first steps necessary to create the foundation of organization in your life.

New Year Organization Plan

Everything must have a designated place.

There’s an old saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place.” This is honestly the basis for all organizing projects. Whether you are working on organizing a cabinet or a whole room you must have specific places for your possessions. Decide before you begin sorting and be sure you will have enough room for those items in the area. If not, you will have to purge and get rid of something.

As you are sorting through items, be sure to put like items together. Ask yourself the following questions. Where do I use this item? Are other items needed to use it? Will this item be used in several locations or just one? When you have asked yourself these questions, decide if it will go in a drawer or cabinet in one room or if it needs to be a container than can move to different locations. Choose it’s home based on it’s use and function.

Sort & store like with like.

Sort your possessions and group like things together. For example, crafting items shouldn’t be stored in with your cooking utensils. Put them away in the designated area.

Schedule time each day to the organization plan.

Tearing your whole house up is not organizing!  It just makes a giant mess.  Organization takes time and the longer you let it go the worse the condition of disorder will get, but it’s best done in small increments of time. Commit to give at least 15 minutes a day to work on an organization project.  Write a list of the areas in your home that bother you the most.  Then strategically tackle those areas a little at a time.  When you complete one area, move to the next.

Purge items brutally & then remove them from your home immediately.

If you don’t get the discarded items out of your home, they will just make more clutter.  Don’t set them aside to dispose of “in a few days,” trust me, it won’t happen!  Drop them off at a charity or shelter the same day.  Call and have someone come and pick them up.  Just get rid of it all!

Organize one project at a time.

If you are beginning a new habit of organization, you have to take it one project at a time. Now, you’ll notice I didn’t say one room at a time. It really has to be broken down into the zones of a room. I usually start a project and work on it in 15-minute intervals. Set the timer on your phone and do as much as you can in the time you have allotted. If you will consider each zone a project and work quickly complete that area before moving to the next, you will organize each area of your home properly.

Remember, organization is an ongoing process.

Organizing your home and life doesn’t happen quickly. It will take commitment and time to get it done properly. Don’t get discouraged and quit. Strategically work on one room at a time and then move on. You can set goals for yourself, but don’t let it defeat you. It’s a constant activity.

Just Begin Now.

Procrastinating until you feel like it won’t work. Be honest, you’ll never just feel like it! I will tell you though that it is a contagious activity. Once I get started on one area of a room, I can’t wait to get to the next. It always begins with that first task.

Do you feel your home and life are already organized perfectly? I’m sure you can think of at least one area that needs your attention. Use these foundational ideas to get it in order and reduce stress in your home this year.