So its the New Year and you’ve decided to tackle organizing your home. It may be easier than you think.
If you’ve lived in your home for any amount of time it’s likely that you have some clutter or disorganized rooms. It happens easily enough, we’re all busy, we put things down where they don’t belong, before you know it you have piles of paper in various places in your house, stacks of books and movies on tables, bookcases and laundry piles in everyone’s room.
Organize room by room
So how and where do you start? The easiest way to start organizing your home is to not overwhelm yourself with the task. Pick a room to start in and commit to only working for 15 minutes a day for six days. You’ll work in that room every day for 15 minutes both cleaning and organizing.
Start by bringing in 3 boxes labeled trash, donate, and keep. As you go through each item in the room decide which box it belongs in. If you find something that belongs somewhere else put it in the room after your 15 minutes is up. Fight the urge to spend more time than 15 minutes at a time, the goal here is stress free organizing.
At the end of the six days, you will have spent 1-1/2 hours cleaning and organizing your room. You’ll end up with boxes full of items you need to donate, throw away/recycle or put away. Continue this process until you have cleaned and organized every room in your house.
Organize your kitchen last
Why last? It is likely the room with the most stuff, with pots, pans, dishes and pantry items it’s good to get the hang of organizing down before tackling this room.
Prioritizing your kitchen equipment
Place kitchen equipment that is rarely used (Items such as holiday roasting pans or large platters) on high shelves in your pantry or kitchen cabinets. Place items that are used daily on your kitchen counter or island if you have room, if you don’t have the room, place on shelves that allow you easy access.
Kitchen pantry
The same principal for appliances works here. Place items rarely used on high shelves in your pantry and frequently used items in easy reach. Place food items in glass jars or containers. It’s easier to see how much of an item you have. It also helps to keep out bugs as well as keeping items fresh and dry.
My favorite kitchen hacks:
For easier access of spices add a lazy Susan or tiered shelf rack to your pantry. This will increase visibility and also help to save space.
Keep potatoes, onions, and other fall veggies such as acorn or spaghetti squash in plastic stackable crates or wire baskets that allow them to breathe.
Purchase clear or metal organizers for your pantry as needed to help organize as needed.
Clear acrylic boxes with handles are easy to access and view and can be used in the refrigerator, freezer or pantry.
Keep muffin liners in sealed mason jars.
Magazine holders are great for storing wax paper, foil, plastic wrap. They also work great for spaghetti boxes.
Smaller adjustable tension rods can be used inside your pantry to hold bags of chips or spices.
Shower clips can be used to attach bags to tension rod. These rings open and are easy to add or remove from your tension rod.
Clear containers can be used to hold tea boxes, mixes, oils.
Shoe organizers can be hung on pantry doors to hold assorted items such as snacks, seasoning packets
Mesh laundry bags can hold onions and garlic and keep the skins off your floor and shelves.
Mason Jar Chalk Labels are re-usable and a great way to label your storage containers
Air tight BPA free clear food storage containers keep food fresh and allow visual access to just how much food is left in each container.
Clear organizers with pull out drawers are great for teas, mixes and smaller items.
Rectangle organizers are great for canned sodas or fruit.
Organization is about saving time and convenience. While it may seem overwhelming, using this method of committing to work 15 minutes a day , per room to clean and organize is an easy stress free way to get the job done. Once you’re home is organized you’ll feel less frazzled and hopefully will have more time to spend doing things you enjoy.
