ORDERING UP A HAPPY NEW YEAR!
The new year is a perfect time to stop procrastinating, and to start organizing your home and life! Setting a resolution means investing in and striving to better yourself, which is always a worthwhile ambition. Yet a resolution remains undoable until it is translated into a GOAL.
Gretchen Rubin, author of Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness, says, ”In the context of a happy life, a messy desk or a crowded coat closet is a trivial problem – yet getting control of the stuff of life often makes it easier to feel more in control of our lives generally.”
Most homes and spaces do not become disorganized overnight, but gradually over time, so it will require hours or days to work through the contents of a space and restore it to order.
Here are some tips to consider to set yourself up for success:
1. Start Small and Build
Making excessively-large goals, then being too overwhelmed to start them, just makes us feel bad for not following through. Breaking your big-picture organizing goals down into smaller steps will help you to actually achieve them. Instead of the daunting resolution to ‘Organize My Kitchen,’ break it down to:
- Sort, purge and organize the drawers; then
- Organize the cupboards; then
- Clean out the fridge.
Then you can move on to the next room.
2. Designate a Home for Everything
Life is so much better when your home is organized. When everything has a place, it’s easier to make the daily effort to put things away where they belong, and avoid the stress of overwhelming clutter. Online shopping has made it so simple fill our homes with stuff, but we have to remember that there is a limit to the space. Don’t bring anything new into your home unless you know where you’re going to keep it.
3. Let It Go!
Minimalist Joshua Becker says, “The first step in crafting the life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t.” Do you have a closet full of unworn clothes, undesired gifts or things you were going to use ‘someday’? Clothes that are worn or don’t fit, duplicates of kitchen items or exercise equipment that has become a clothes rack? If you have piles of things you don’t need, use or love, LET IT GO! It is mentally freeing, as well as freeing up space in your home. Even if it was a gift, it is ok to donate it to let someone else enjoy it, and you can let go of the guilt, as well.
4. Celebrate Your Successes.
Make your bed daily, pay your bills weekly and clean out your purse monthly. Set monthly milestones where, if achieved, you can treat yourself to something fun. Say, if you clean out your closet of things you haven’t worn in years, you get to go shop for a new outfit. JOY! Once you start organizing, it gets easier, and you’ll want to keep going. And while you may desire a ‘pinterest-perfect look,’ striving for peace is a more practical and reachable goal. Don’t let the pressure for perfection keep you from taking that first step. Just making the decision to start organizing will make you feel better.
5. Be Grateful…
The state of your home reflects your state of mind. Getting organized is a sign of self respect and creates room for who you want to be. And, the more clutter you lose, the more joy you will find.
If you and your family lack the time or motivation, consider hiring a professional organizer. They will not only de-clutter your home, but bring some sanity to your life. Be grateful for the blessings that you have, and cheers to 2022 being the year you surround yourself with only things you need, use or love!
This blog is brought to you by Julie Schmolke, Owner of JOY Home Organizing, where we help you. Lose Clutter. Find JOY. Love your home. www.joyhomeorg.com
