So, how many of you made resolutions to have a more organized home this year? And how many of you are already losing the organization battle? Well today I’m sharing some tips that will hopefully get you back on track, and headed towards a more organized home in 2017. 

1. CREATE A DROP-ZONE

A small bowl or basket provides a place to drop keys, sunglasses and cell phones. 

Having a designated space right by your garage or front door will give you a place to drop stuff as you come in. A few key items placed on a blank wall is all it takes. 

If you have school age children, it’s also nice to have somewhere to keep important papers and reminders, you might consider installing a bulletin board or wall mounted file holder. 

2. FIND A HOME FOR EVERYTHING

Every item in your home should have a place that it belongs, things without a home tend to hang around in places you don’t want and create clutter. 

Want to know which items in your home still need a place of their own? Take a look at your kitchen or bathroom counters, your desk, and other surfaces in your home, items that are regularly where they shouldn’t be probably need a designated place they should be. 

Here’s a couple of ideas.

A bucket in the laundry for lost socks. 

Stylish bowls and vases are great for the bathroom. 

And even a cute mail tin for the paper clutter. 

3. CREATE A PLACE FOR STRAY ITEMS

The best way to eliminate clutter is to put stuff away immediately, but sometimes that’s just not possible, a good alternative is to have a common place to put these items that will be put away later. This could be a basket or bin in a central location, I like to keep a basket at the bottom of my stairs for stray items, as I go about my day I can drop things in there for the kids to put away later. 

4. CLEAR OUT THE EXCESS

If you don’t love it or use it, it’s clutter!! 

Everything in your home should, ideally, serve a purpose so you can keep it clutter free. 

The easiest way to get started is by identifying items that are broken, items that you don’t like, items that are outdated and items that you don’t use. 

Set-up a box or bag in the garage, or another place that is out of the way, as you find things to get rid of you an drop them in the box. When the box is full load it up and drop it at your local donation site. 

5. CREATE DAILY HABITS 

When you are consistent with daily routines, you can train yourself to complete tasks on autopilot. You begin to internalize those routines, and they change from conscious effort into subconscious habits. Habits are the secret to keeping your house tidy and organized without feeling like it takes a lot of effort. 

• Start with one thing you an do each day that will help you to stay organized. Adding 10 new things to your day will set you up for overwhelm and failure, give yourself a better chance at developing your new habit by starting with just one task.

• Add it to a checklist of things you already do each day.

• Plan for efficiency by adding your new task at a time that makes the most sense. For instance we added the daily habit of having our kids pick up right before bath time, it wouldn’t make sense for them to pick up earlier in the evening because they’re likely to pull stuff back out, but before their bath works well because they head to bed shortly after.

• Add additional tasks once your new routine becomes a habit.

 

Keeping these 5 tips in mind along with taking a few minutes every day to keep everything tidy and organized and you’ll be on your way to a more organized home in 2017.