If your New Year’s resolutions include a tidier home in 2021, getting it organized is the first step. Once you’ve chosen what to keep and have let go of the rest, you can maintain peace and order with the following practices:
1. GIVE EVERY ITEM A HOME
Above all else, you must decide where and how to store every single item you possess. This doesn’t mean immediately going out and purchasing lots of storage products. Instead, creatively source from items you already have. Even your recycling bin might provide good containers and boxes.
Live with the temporary container until you are sure its dimensions suit the spot in your home and the specific items it stores, then look for a permanent container that brings you joy. Don’t forget to measure carefully!
2. QUICKLY RETURN ITEMS TO THEIR PLACES
When you are pleased with an item’s placement in your home, it becomes much easier to return it after use. Depending on your family or housemate situation, labels on containers can be helpful so shared items are consistently returned to their proper location.
Determine your top tidying priorities and focus your energy toward accomplishing them first. Is clearing the kitchen countertop most important? Is getting your laundry done and back in your closet a top goal? Would a table free of paperwork calm you at the end of every day?
3. BE VIGILANT ABOUT WHAT COMES IN
To maintain a truly organized home, surrounded only by items you’ve chosen with care and stored with intention, seriously consider the impact future possessions would have on your space. If you acquire a given item, where will you put it? How easy will it be to maintain? Is the joy it would bring to your home worth the space and effort to properly store it? If the answer is a confident yes, invite it in and give it a home.
Heather Young, of Tidy and Calm LLC, is a professional home organizer certified in the KonMari Method® popularized by Marie Kondo. Reach her at www.tidyandcalm.com