What better time to clean up your home than at the start of the new year! Work on the new and improved you in a space that truly feels like home. Here are some tips to help you finally clean up the mess and get rid of that stress!
Scroll to the bottom for the links to all of the products you'll need to be a master organizer:)
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1. One Space at a time
Organizing can already be a stressful task, especially when you have multiple spaces you'd like to get too. By picking one room to focus on first, you can alleviate tons of stress and better focus on the task at hand. I've found I get less distracted and less discouraged starting in a smaller or less cluttered room first. This room tends to be a bathroom, kitchen, or office. But it's completely up to you!
2. Find some Inspo
Pinterest is my go to when searching for inspiration! I love to scroll through and see all of the room transformations and before and afters. All of my projects and visions start with a board of ideas, and Pinterest has tons of them! Once I create a vision of what i'd like my room to look like, I look into ways to store and organize my items. Pinterest has thousands of ideas and links to blog posts (just like this one, so you're in the right place hehe) that are super helpful.
3. Keep or Toss
I used to have the hardest time with this step. I felt like I couldn't let things go because "they might come in handy later". I was borderline hoarding and I didn't want to admit it. After some deep thought, and some convincing from others, I came up with a way to decide wether or not I should keep an item. I start by asking myself some questions and used my answers to dictate if that item needed to go.
For Example: When was the last time I used this item? Do I plan on using this item soon? Is this item broken? Does this item hold and significant value to me? Does this item cause me joy or stress in this space?
It is almost always pretty clear after answering these if you really need that item or not. But don't worry, in cases where the answer still isn't black and white, you can always set it aside and decide later. Going through all of the items in a space can be a huge task, so it is totally ok to spend a few days if needed to get through it all. It has really only taken me a few hours at most if I put my mind to it. At the end, most people find them selves with surprisingly large toss, sell, and donate piles, and smaller keep piles than they expected. Which is a great sign! Even the thought of a less cluttered space is a great stress relieving feeling!
4. Donate
One thing I have found is that I am more willing to get rid of unused items if I know they are going to benefit someone else. Recently, I was helping my parents clean out their guest bedroom. The room had become a dumping grounds for extra blankets, pillows, sheets, clothes, and etc. We had so many items, the closet was overflowing! It was beyond time to declutter. I went to facebook and found an older couple who collects items and takes them to individuals without homes, and to shelters. We found the list of items they were in need of, many of which were items filling the closet, and started to make a donate pile. Using the questions in step 3 and motivation to serve, we were able to donate 13 blankets, 5 suitcases, 5 bags, a bunch of soaps and lotions, 10 long sleeve shirts and 10 pairs of pants!
We were able to not only declutter the room, but help those in need! It felt amazing to know that someone was going to actually use the items and they would no longer be dust collectors in the Guest room.
5.Head to Amazon
Amazon has tons of organizational tools to help you utilize even the smallest of spaces! Here of some that I recommend and some ideas on how you could utilize them. Scroll to the end for the master organizing list for every room in your home!
These plastic organizers are perfect for cluttered drawers. You could use them to clean up your bathroom drawers, the junk drawer, the desk in your office, or even a drawer in your kitchen.
These adjustable drawer dividers are awesome for organizing larger or odd shaped items that don't fit into the small plastic organizers like the one above. These can be useful anywhere from a drawer in your dresser, to the utensil drawer in your kitchen.
These stackable storage bins and these baskets are super nice for kids rooms, living rooms, or even bedrooms. They provide hidden storage of items making the room seem less cluttered! These can be great to collect random items in without the cluttered look!
A few hooks can help store and declutter clothing. You can add hooks to a bedroom for jackets and coats, bathroom for robes and towels, front entry way for guests' jackets and even the pantry for aprons. You can even opt for a shelf with built in hooks to save some space and lessen clutter on the wall.
Some shelves can add some more space and improve the look of the room. Shelves can be perfect for decor, trinkets, trophies, random objects and etc.
These food storage containers are amazing! These are a must have when decluttering your pantry. Not only are they aesthetically pleasing, but they will allow you to remove the half empty chip bags that don't stack and take up tons of space! They have been a life changer in my pantry! Plus, they make it easy to see all of your options and you can quickly check to see if its time to go buy some more!
I could go on and on showing you awesome products, but you'd get sick of me haha! Instead, I'll do you a favor and provide you with all the links you'll ever need;)
Organize your Entryway here!
Organize your Kitchen here!
Organize your Closet here!
Organize your Kids' room here!
Organize your Garage here!
Organize your Home Office here!