The new year is fast approaching, which means we’re all mentally listing areas of our life we want to improve. For some, there’s a focus on health and fitness. For others, it’s spending more time with family. While we encourage many different types of life and personal improvements, there’s one, in particular, that may help you in many areas of your life: organization.
Studies prove that organization can improve your life in many ways. When you have a clean and organized home, it enhances focus (i.e., performing better at work), efficiency (i.e., having more time), productivity (i.e., getting more done), spending (i.e., saving money), and so much more. How is that, you ask? Well, you’ll spend less time looking for things, everything becomes more functional, you’ll have less distracting clutter, and you won’t buy things you don’t need or already have.
If you want to improve your home and your life, get organized! Below are our recommendations on tackling the task of managing home organization.
- First things first, out with the old. Before diving into organizing what you own, cut down your possessions. As Marie Kondo famously advises, “take each item in one’s hand and ask: ‘Does this spark joy?'” If it does, keep it. If it doesn’t, then to the bin or donation pile it goes. We, however, have a caveat and advise using your best judgment. While a measuring cup may not bring you joy, it is necessary. The point is, be meticulous about the items in your home and be sure to donate items before heading into step two.
- Go Room to Room: Our belief is that process is key when it comes to organizing and cleaning a home. For this reason, we recommend going one room at a time. Stay focused with a game plan, e.g., office first, followed by the kitchen, bathroom, etc. Once you’ve tackled organizing a room, close the door and move on to the next.
- Now that you’ve eliminated unnecessary items and clutter, it’s time to organize what remains. Look at all the things that feel astray, and consider a plan for organizing. For example, in your office, you may have craft supplies, paper, pens, USBs, power cords, documents, and other items strewn across your desk. Organize items by categories, such as electronics and office supplies, and think about how you’ll use them. If you’re a craft enthusiast, you’ll want easy access to all your supplies, so you may opt for a drawer system. For important documents, you’ll likely need folders. Purchase what you need to organize your space. Not only are these purposeful, but they’ll inspire you to start the task of organizing and stay organized – especially if everything is labeled.
- Label everything. One of the best ways to keep organized is by creating a functional system. For example, you receive mail and open it immediately at your desk. Rather than letting it pile up, it’s easy to pop paperwork into their corresponding labeled folders. Putting crafts away is more accessible as well, if each drawer is clearly labeled. In other words, don’t get too complicated. The point of organizing is to simplify and streamline. Take some time to mark jars, folders, and boxes with a label maker, stickies, or markers. Making your labels aesthetically pleasing will keep you motivated to stay organized as well.
- Organizing is not just about filing and color coordinating. It’s about functionality and space-saving as well. Consider ways you can make your space function better. This could mean having your trash bags on a roll under your sink for easy access, your toilet paper stash closer to your bathroom, cleaning products more accessible, and spices or your pantry items labeled and categorized. How you live and function in your home will guide your decisions about organization and vice versa, so make them count!
While organizing your home may feel daunting at first, it’s the best thing you can do to live a more productive, efficient, and focused life. Take the time to do it right, keep up with it, tweak it every once in a while and you’ll be set for a lifetime!
