9 Tricks to Get and Stay Organized for the New Year
Happy New Year! Whether you are reading this slightly before or after the ball drops, it's time to celebrate a fresh outlook on life. From how you style your hair to how you home organization, everyone is thinking twice about their routine this time of year. One of the most common New Year's resolutions is to get organized, decluttering your home, your office, and/or your life.
Fortunately, this is one of those projects you can tackle early and enjoy for the rest of the year. The right organization ideas and a little effort up front not only gets your entire home clutter-free but also helps you keep it tidy so you can choose a different resolution next year. Here at Urban Ambiance, we have embarked on many home improvement projects with homeowners, from reinventing kitchens to perfecting storage spaces. Let's dive into nine excellent ways to get and stay organized for the new year.
1) Take a Photo for Inspiration
Getting organized in your personal space can be tough because it's too familiar. Everything just is where it is. But show yourself a photo of a messy room and you can likely spot everything that needs to be put away. Use this trick to hack your brain and make it easier to get organized: Snap a photo.
Take a picture of a room, just one shelf, to start small or your entire home with your phone and examine the result. Can you immediately see improvements to be made? Can you suddenly spot every pile of clutter and item that looks out of place? For naturally disorganized people, this trick can be the miracle that unlocks your hidden organizational ideas.
2) Stock Up On Sorting Supplies
- • Cubes, Storage containers, baskets, boxes, and filing systems
- • Printable labels, colorful tape, and markers
- • Cable Ties and socks/channels
- • Cabinets, drawers, and closets
Most people make the mistake of trying to get organized without supplies. Avoid shuffling things from one junk drawer to another by stocking up on things to elegantly separate your items. Fabric cubes, plastic bins, and woven baskets can turn your shelves and closets into attractive sorted items. Cable ties and cable socks will clean up your electronic snarls.
Use color-coded tape, printable labels, and markers to make it easy to find the things you've put away and to label bundles that you group together. Lastly, tuck everything into enclosed spaces like cabinets, drawers, filing systems, and closets to create refreshingly clear surfaces. You can find most of these items with a quick search on Amazon.
3) Digitize Your Documents
If you want to reduce your mass of at-home paperwork and organize your office, then digitize. You can use a scanner or even a PDF-maker app on your phone to quickly turn most of your essential paperwork into digital copies kept on a cloud drive. For everything that does not require an original copy, you can then recycle that mass of paper while keeping the essential information safe and easily accessible from anywhere with internet.
4) Build Yourself Extra Shelving and Cubbies
Not enough storage space is a constant cause of clutter. When you don't have the shelves or closets you need to tuck everything away, it's no surprise when you wind up feeling disorganized. For less stress, start small and buy an inexpensive shelf. This can help keep your entire home more clutter-free.
Get yourself a pantry organization system to keep your cans and dry goods beautifully separate. Add shelves to your bedroom closet or linen closet for better places to store things like shoes, accessories, extra sheets, or family art supplies. Add floating shelves in the living room for a little decorative at-hand storage. Printable labels on storage shelves are a nice touch too.
5) Keep the Recycle and Donation Bins Nearby
Of course, one of the best ways to get organized is to reduce the things you will be organizing. Identify items that you haven't used in months (or years) that do not have sentimental value. Decide whether they are worthy of donation to those in need, valuable enough to sell, or otherwise need to be recycled in a responsible way. A perfect time to tackle a one-day project is when the seasons change. Pack up you're out of season apparel in storage bins, and store it until next year.
Don't overthink it. Instead, keep the recycle bin and your donation box nearby as you organize. Toss things in as you go to reduce what goes back on your shelves. Then you can re-assess these bins later to ensure you are happy with the decision (or give other family members a chance to claim or donate).
6) Congratulate Yourself for Making Progress
Don't forget to stop and congratulate yourself. Getting organized can feel like a huge task - if you don't celebrate little victories. So each shelf or box you complete, pat yourself on the back. If you complete two solid hours of organizing, take time to enjoy a reward while your energy returns. If you are organizing with a friend or with family, celebrate your successes together.
You can also take a new photo of each nicely organized space and enjoy a fun before-and-after to truly show off your progress.
7) Light Up Your Closets
An organization hack that will immediately help you feel more put together is illuminating your storage spaces such as your closets. Hall closet lights are often a single exposed bulb, if you have a closet light at all. But the right illumination in your bedroom closet, linen closet, pantry, or utility space can transform how you use (and organize) that storage.
When you can see to the back of your shelves, when every storage space is well-illuminated, you will finally be able to create an organization system that will last for years. The best closet lights are small pendant lights, or strategically placed LED strip lights.
8) Fix Last Year's Pain Points
Where did your organization most fall short in the last year? What were you always unable to find? Which piles of clutter grew large quickly or were the most frustrating to dig through? Knowing your own routine and remembering recent pain points or bottlenecks in your household flow can help improve your long-term plan for an organized life.
Choose one or two organization failures of the last year and make a special effort to make these things both tidy and extra convenient to suit your lifestyle this year.
9) Stow Long-Term Stuff Far Away
Make room for everyday home organization by clearing out stuff that belongs in long-term (and medium-term) storage. Anything you haven't used in ages that is taking up room on a shelf or in a closet, pack it up into the attic, garage, or basement. Anything that you really can't imagine coming back for becomes a candidate for donation, instead.
As for things you only use seasonally, pack these boxes carefully and place them in more easily accessible long-term storage. For example, you might place your winter sweaters in a tote under the bed, while holiday ornaments are stowed in a box near the attic hatch for quick and easy seasonal retrieval. This frees up space indoors for baskets and cubbies of things you use more regularly in the home.
Get Organized for the New Year with Urban Ambiance
New years is a time of new ambitions, newfound success, New Year's resolutions. Whether you are getting your home ready for a fresh New Year's start or looking for simple organization ideas , Urban Ambiance is here to help. Let us light up your organizational projects this year with great light fixture upgrades for every space and style.
