1. Start with a list. Sit down and name five areas of your home or business that need the most work.
A great starting point for organizing your home is actually writing down your home’s biggest weaknesses. Do a walk-through and see what areas need the most work. If I were to do this right now, mine would be our guest room closet. I am always tweaking areas that constantly get messed up.
Once you have those areas named, make a commitment to declutter and clean them, possibly any free time you have over the next month or so. Just think – the worst areas of your home could be clean in a little over a month!
2. Purge and Declutter on a regular basis
This one is so key. I know with myself I tend to collect new items and forget that I need to donate, sell or toss the things I am not using. If you do this on a regular basis it really will keep the clutter from piling up.
3. Have a designated drop zone
Depending on your family, you might have to have more than one drop zone for various items. Walk through your home and identify items that are cluttering things up. Having designated areas for your loved ones to put things when they are not using them really can make your life easier. Example I have a spot where we keep all keys and phone cords.
4. Start planning your day the night before.
This is an absolute game-changer in the organization department for me. Before I go to bed each night, I go through my to do list and figure out what needs to be done for the next day and take items off my list that I accomplished. The biggest takeaway from this is don’t go to bed until you’ve planned out your to-dos for the next day! You will wake up feeling so organized and ready to take on the day.
5. Meal plan weekly.
Don’t you hate that feeling of coming home after work and not have a clue what you’re going to make for dinner? I do – that’s why when I meal plan in advance I feel so much better! This is a huge part of home organization in my opinion. In the winter I love using my Instant Pot you can make amazing soups in the fraction of time it normally takes. I usually will plan my meals when doing my grocery list.
6. Get the family on board.
This is not a one man (or woman) show, Most women tend to do most of the organization around the home, but if you involve the whole family it can really help!
7. A place for everything, and everything in its place.
This is crucial for any organization system, whether it’s in the kitchen or basement. Having a place for everything in your home not only makes it super easy to find and replace used items, but really identifies what is important (and maybe not so important) to have in your home. This helps with decluttering and truly needing/loving the things around you.
8. Minimize paper clutter
I absolutely cannot stand paper clutter. It will take over a house faster than any other kind of clutter I can imagine. When all that junk mail comes immediately throw it away! Coming back from the store get rid of or recycle any bags. I like to keep some of the bags to use later so I typically put them all in one spot in the kitchen closet.
9. Declutter for 15 minutes a day…every day!
I like to do this before I go to bed so when I wake up I don’t have a messy house. Trust me you will feel so much better just taking a few minutes will really make a world of difference.
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Make it fun
Organization and cleaning is one of those things that you’ll quickly get burnout from (and quit) if you don’t make it interesting. Integrate something into it that you love! I like to play fun music while I organize things. Use fun organization supplies that inspire you to keep your home organized. I am all about having things that are functional & pretty!
