With a new year comes a lot of new promises and opportunities. Many of us look forward to a new year in hopes of letting go of what happened in the past or working towards goals we have put off.
Today, I want to share simple ways to get organized in your home.
After all, when we can get our homes organized and ready for change, it becomes easier to get our minds and bodies to follow suit.
Here are five simple things you can implement in just a few days to get you closer to a beautifully organized home.
Create a Command Center
If you are thinking this sounds like something from Star Trek, you may be on to something. The truth is we are all in need of a command center in our homes, apartments, wherever it is we live!
A command center can be really minimal with just a small desk organizer or it can be elaborate and take up an entire wall or cabinet. It really just needs to suit your needs. You should consider that the most important thing is accessibility.
If your command center is beautiful or full of lots of features, but it is not placed in an optimal location, it won’t be used as intended.
Think about where you and your family tend to “drop” things or where things “land” time and time again.
Pick a spot for your command center that is going to be convenient and used frequently. Maybe it’s convenient to put your command center in your office, but if no one outside of you will use it, will that solve the problem?
Keep this in mind as you also think about what should be included in your command center. For many people, paper clutter tends to be an issue. That “homeless” paper loves to accumulate in the most visible places, like a kitchen counter, dining room table or a desk.
Consider a command center that will help you stay organized and keep paper clutter to a minimum.
Have a Home Binder
Have you heard of this? Truthfully, I discovered this while home with our second child.
It is such a simple concept, but it can make a huge difference in getting yourself organized. A home binder allows you to manage things in one easy to use and central location. What you include in your binder can vary and is totally up to you, here are some things you ought to consider including:
Important phone numbers (dentist, handyman, school, emergency contact, etc.).
A school calendar (keep it easy to find those upcoming teacher work days or plan ahead when there is a long school break).
Emergency cash (not much maybe some $5s and $1s). This is for you to tip someone that may come to your house, use in case your kids have a forgotten field trip and need spending money, or money for lunch that day. Something everyone can access should a need arise. Just remember to check that you don’t deplete the cash and never bother to refill.
Maintenance schedule. If you are a homeowner this is beneficial to keep you informed on when the next oil change should happen or when you last replaced the air filters on your HVAC. You can get as detailed as you want, but this helps to serve as a reminder. As a bonus, when you go to sell your home, you can share some critical information with the new owners about when maintenance was last done on certain things. How often should the refrigerator filter be replaced? See the binder!
List of your home improvements. I personally like this tip as it frees you to not worry about saving paint cans forever. List out all the paint colors used in your home. Walls, trim, doors, cabinets, anything you have painted so you know what to buy should you need touch ups. Include the brand, the line of their paint and the sheen as well. If it was a custom color, be sure you take a picture of the code and include it in your binder!
Pro Tip: Include ALL home upgrades and the cost.
If you renovated the master bathroom two years ago, include the year of the renovation, a brief summary of the work, and total cost. This is going to help you when you go to sell.
When an appraiser comes to your home, provide this list of improvements so they can see how much value you added to the home while living there. This is a lesser known tip for helping improve your home’s resale value.
If you want a ready to use binder, I linked a few options.
Clean and Organize Your Refrigerator
Spring isn’t the only time for a much needed deep clean. If you want to eat better or just spend less money, having a well organized fridge will help you do just that! Not to mention, it is easier to use up food before it goes bad when you have an organized refrigerator.
I also just love seeing everything in its place and being able to have the family find things without my help.
If you want some storage solutions here are some ways to keep your food fresh and organized.
Donate Old Clothes
Now is the time to go through your wardrobe and remove anything you don’t wear, want, like, etc. get it out of the house.
In this process of purging your old clothes, go ahead and make a small list of the items missing from your wardrobe. Do you find that you are lacking enough pants for work? Would you like to have one more pair of jeans that you can use day or night?
Make a list so you know what to keep an eye out for in the coming weeks or months when you go shopping. This should help you purchase items you actually need and want, rather than just picking up something you won’t wear 6 months later.
Upgrade Your Closet System
Some people have a wonderfully organized closet and that’s fantastic! Some people have a closet system, but it is not being utilized to it’s full potential. If you have an upgraded closet and not just one bar that goes across the span of your closet, consider matching hangers.
However, if you are working with a builder grade rod in your closet, consider upgrading to a closet system. It doesn’t need to be custom, all of the home improvement stores and places online sell packaged closet systems.
Purchase a closet system of your liking and in a day, maybe two, you have a beautiful and functional closet. One that leaves you with more storage than ever before!
Bonus: Know Your Clutterbug
Totally unsponsored here, but Cas from Clutterbug has developed a simple way to identify everyone’s style of organization. I love her system and my only complaint is that I didn’t invent it myself! She states that everyone organizes according to one of four “clutterbugs.” She has a simple quiz on her website so you can find out which bug best defines your style of organization.
This quiz is especially beneficial to share with your spouse or others in your life so you can figure out what system works best for everyone. Find your clutterbug here.
There you have it, some simple ways to start off the year with a more organized home! If you take the quiz, leave me a comment with your clutterbug!
From the time I was a young child, I have loved interior design and beautiful things. Ten-year-old me would create “floor plans” on notebook paper and design the dream homes of my siblings. We would have an initial meeting and after jotting down their wish list, I got to work creating the home of their dreams.
After designing the layout, I would take the Sunday newspaper ads (are those still a thing?) and cut out pictures of furniture, lamps, and accessories to create mood boards for each room in the home. When I was all done, weeks and weeks later, I would showcase my work and pitch my design ideas to a sibling.
If you too enjoy beautiful things and the process of turning a vision into a reality, welcome! If you love watching homes transform, but just don’t know how to start or have the resources to buy everything you like, stick around. I love finding affordable and practical design solutions to give YOU a gorgeous home you can be proud of.
Together, let’s reveal what’s possible.
Kinsale Home is a place to get inspiration and tips for your next project. No matter the size of your budget, design needs to be personal and practical. Join along for beautiful, family-friendly weekly inspiration and design advice.
