By Jenna Ratliff
At the beginning of each New Year, people typically set a resolution for themselves, whether it involves exercising, eating healthy, unplugging from social media more, or organizing your home. I admit, following through with those resolutions is hard. I feel like each time I start one, it only lasts a few months. Last year, however, my resolution was to keep my house organized and guess what? It’s still organized to this day and well, at least in the living space, I actually did organize successfully!
What’s my secret, you ask? Start small! Begin by going through your pantry, closet, or junk drawer and get rid of everything that hasn’t been used in the last year. For example, each new year we hang our clothes on the hanger in the opposite way you normally would hang them. That means the open part of the hook would be facing you and not the wall. When you have worn something, you would hang it back up like normal. By the end of the year, you will be able to see the exact items that never made it off the rack in your closet. This makes “cleaning out your closet” so much easier!
What’s my other secret? Storage…storage…storage! It’s crazy what small storage bins and baskets can do. Not only can you buy them just about anywhere, but you can buy cute, decorative ones that won’t be an eyesore around your house. I don’t even want to count the number of bins and baskets that we have around our house. Just estimating off-hand, I’d conservatively say that we have at least thirty, but they don’t necessarily annoy us because they match our décor. For instance, in our pantry, we have wire baskets. Each of them is labeled by the food items that they contain. Now no one has an excuse for throwing the chips in the pasta basket.
One of the many things that comes with having kids is toys. Unless you have a designated room for them, they generally end up everywhere. My husband and I ultimately ended up turning our formal dining room into my son’s playroom. Since that room is the first room you see when you walk in the house, I knew that I would have to hide all of his toys in a reasonable, yet fun way. We ended up mixing four different baskets on an industrial-pipe bookshelf that we made ourselves. What I love most about them is that they all blend with our other décor around the house. If it wasn’t for the train table or teepee, you would think it was still just the formal living room.
Finally - although we wait and do this in the summer months - my husband and I go through each of our bins and baskets and donate or get rid of the items that haven’t been used or played with. This certainly helps you to stay on top of your organization-game so that you don’t find that you have to tackle an exorbitant amount when the new year rolls around again. Just remember, keeping your home organized can be easy. It’s taking it one step at a time, and simply just have fun with it.