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Kick 2019 off right with these home organization resolutions. Image: Rookery Design
The new year is right around the corner, and you know what that means. It’s resolution time. Maybe you’re the type of person who makes about a hundred resolutions, or maybe you’ve decided to eschew the whole thing altogether because who actually keeps their resolutions, anyway? And we agree, resolutions are hard. Our resolve to hit the gym or eat right usually dissolves by February. But we’ve found some home organization resolutions can transform your whole year.
Tap into that January motivation to get your house in order and you’ll reap the benefits throughout 2019. We rounded up seven different home organization resolutions to get you started. Whether you tackle the whole list or choose the one that most speaks to you (and your home’s problem area), you’ll thank yourself. Here are seven ways to get to a cleaner, more beautiful home next year.
Tackle your junk drawer to motivate yourself for additional organization projects. Image: Pedini PDX
#1: Deal with your junk drawer
Finally cleaning out that junk drawer should be the first resolution you tackle. It’s a fairly manageable task, but the results are almost always impressive. Seeing your streamlined, de-junked drawer will give you the motivation you need to take on bigger home organization resolutions.
So let’s get started. First things first, take everything out. Yes, we mean everything. If you can take the drawer out entirely and turn it over on the counter, all the better. Wipe out the inside of the drawer. There, doesn’t that feel better? Now think about which items in the drawer you used in 2018. If they didn’t get used, they don’t go back in. Say goodbye to old rubber bands, those miscellaneous paper clips and that punch card for the place you haven’t been since 2016. When you’re ready to put things back into the drawer, use small organizational bins to keep things neat.
#2: Implement a filing system
Where do all your papers go? If you’re like most of us, they get distributed to a number of places (er, piles) throughout the house where they can be forgotten. Prohibit the pile! Buy a small file box and some hanging file folders you can label. Make categories as they come to you (e.g. bills, receipts, school papers), but leave some blank so you can continue expanding your system throughout the year. With a single, streamlined home for all of your papers, you can 1. Find any document you need at a moment’s notice and 2. Eliminate a big source of visual stress throughout your home.
Eat your way through your pantry to create space for better organization. Image: NEAT Method
#3: Clear out your pantry
If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to save money, we’ve got a two-for-one option for you. Pick a week in January where you’re not going to buy any groceries. You and your family will eat only what’s in your pantry. Yes, it will probably mean eating a lot of rice and soup. But at the end of the week, you’ll be amazed how much space you’ve cleared out, how much money you saved and how full everyone’s bellies got from those long-forgotten canned goods. And now that you’ve made some space in your pantry, you have room to try out some high-end organization options, like glass jars and multi-level racks. Get your inspiration for a gorgeous pantry with these tips.
#4: Organize cords and miscellaneous electronics
How many nests of cords do you have shoved behind pieces of furniture? These tangled messes trap dirt and lint. It’s time to finally deal with them. Prep with a pack of zip ties and washi tape. Untangle the mess, zip tie the cords in a neat bundle and add a piece of washi tape at the base where the cord plugs into the power strip. On that tape, write the device to which the cord connects. That way, if you ever need to cut power to something specific, it’s a snap.
While you’re at it, deal with all those unused mystery cords that seem to accumulate. If you don’t know what the cord originally powered, tag it (your washi tape can work here, too) and set a calendar reminder to revisit the pile in June. Ditch anything that hasn’t revealed its use. Wrap up cords that do have a use – but that you don’t need at the moment – and put them in a cardboard toilet paper roll. Write the cord’s use on the outside of the roll. File the rolls upright in a box and – voilà – you’ve dealt with a major organization headache.
A cleared-out medicine cabinet leaves space for prettier accent pieces. Image: Daniel Contelmo Architects
#6: Toss expired medications
This one’s simple. Go into your medicine cabinet and throw out every medication that’s expired or no longer useful. Oh, half of your medicine cabinet is now cleared out? It just got that much easier to organize.
#7: Switch your hanger orientation
Look, we now that it can feel daunting to organize so many of the home’s problem areas in one go. So we won’t ask you to add your closet into the mix. But do yourself a simple favor and switch the orientation of your hangers so the necks face to the back of your closet. When you are ready to clean out your closet (hello, spring cleaning!), you’ll have a clear idea of what items of clothing you never wear because the hangers will still be the wrong way.
2019’s best home organization resolutions
Do you have a resolution you set every year to keep your home streamlined and beautiful? We’d love to hear your best home organization resolutions so we can whip our houses and apartments into shape in 2019. Let us know in the comments!