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Celebrate GO Month: Easy Tips to Organize Your Home for the New Year

Writer's picture: Tara ButtonTara Button

January is National Get Organized Month, making it the perfect time to tackle those cluttered spaces in your home. There’s no exact way (or perfect time!) to get organized because everyone’s different, but I wanted to share some ideas to help you start the year off feeling a little less chaotic!


GO Month was created by the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) to inspire families and individuals to declutter and organize their homes to feel more peaceful and productive. I’m a proud member of NAPO, and as of 2024, I’m also a Certified Professional Organizer® (CPO®) through their Board of Certification for Professional Organizers® (BCPO®). One more reason that you know you’re in trusted, capable hands with your next organizing or space planning project!


Here’s a general framework to help you get started with the DIY approach.


Make a Plan: Visualizing Your Organized Home


If you’ve been telling yourself, “This is the year I’m getting my whole house organized!” but you don’t know where to get started, it’s time to make a plan! Most of my clients have tried getting organized, but they get stuck and don’t know what to do next.


You’re much more likely to get organized with an outline and a vision.


Text that read "Visualize the Home You Want" with an image of a clean and organized kitchen.

Here’s what I suggest:

  1. Spend ten minutes thinking about how you want your home to look and feel. Without a clear vision, it's easy to get stuck in the chaos. But when you know what you're aiming for, you’ll get there faster than you think!

  2. Next, jot down ALL the spaces you want to organize and prioritize them from most to least pressing.

  3. Start organizing in the next step!


Sort & Declutter: It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better


The first step to organizing any space (after you’ve made your plan!) is to sort through the items. 


You’ll begin pulling everything out (it’ll get messy, but trust me!) and making decisions about each individual thing. I recommend setting up boxes and bags for common categories.


  • Keep

  • Donate

  • Garbage

  • Recycle

  • Elsewhere


Place items into boxes as you go along. If you come across something you want to keep but doesn’t belong in the space, place it in the “elsewhere” box. This will keep you focused on the task at hand rather than distracted in other rooms (it happens to all of us!).


I always remind my clients that the mess gets worse before it gets better because you have to pull everything out. Don’t let this discourage you! It’s a normal part of the process. 


After you’ve sorted through everything in the space, take out the trash and recycling, place the donation box somewhere out of the way, and then it’s time to tackle the “Keep” category.


Categorize & Contain: Things Begin to Take Shape


Now that you’ve sorted and decluttered, it’s time to decide how to arrange the items you’re keeping. As you go, continue to question whether keeping each object is necessary.


Open drawer with organized makeup brushes, sunglasses, and products. Text reads "Categorize + Contain."


Here are a few tips:

  • Keep like items together and group them into categories. Examples: utensils, cookware, bakeware, rarely used, etc.

  • Shop your home first. Check for bins, baskets, or boxes that you already have to store each category before you head to the store.

  • Keep things simple. Use containers that fit easily in the space. Store frequently used items in prime real estate spaces, and if an item is rarely used, find a place for it out of the way.

  • Leave wiggle room. Don’t stuff everything in so it only fits when perfectly arranged. Think of how you’ll use the space on a regular basis. 


Labeling Containers

Labeling makes all the difference in keeping up the space you just organized. If you have a family, the labels tell them exactly where something goes (fingers crossed they follow through!).


Labels allow you to create “A place for everything and everything in its place.”


Establish Daily Habits

Maintaining an organized home is easier when you establish routines (I know, easier said than done!). Spend 10 minutes each day tidying up, and encourage family members to return items to their designated spots. With labeled shelves and bins, they have no excuse to claim they don’t know where things go! 😆Small daily actions prevent clutter from piling up all over again. It’s all about creating new habits, and though it’s challenging, it’s definitely worth it!


Ask for Support

The do-it-yourself approach isn’t a good fit for everyone. Maybe you’ve already tried getting organized on your own, but you keep getting stuck. The New Year is a great time to hire a Professional Organizer! Contact me for a quick chat to learn how it works and see if we’re a good fit.


Tara




 

Home Organizing in the Peninsula and South Bay Areas

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ALL BUTTONED UP

BY TARA

SMART ORGANIZATION SOLUTIONS

Phone: 408.355.8618

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