The beginning of the year always feels like a fresh start. It’s a time we want to implement new habits, kick the old ones, & create a system that feels like it will finally work. But sometimes not knowing where to start or feeling overwhelmed by the process can hold us back & not even allow us to start. So no matter what you’re trying to be better at organizing this year, whether it’s your office, your closet, your cleaning schedule, or your daily routine, we’ve gathered some ways that you can make a big difference in small ways.
Habit Stacking
Have you heard of this term before? It’s been all over Tiktok & has been mentioned in the book Atomic Habits. It essentially means that you add a task you “have to do” with a task you “want to do” in order to keep yourself on task & get more done with less distractions. An example would be to fold your laundry while you catch up on the latest episode of the show you’re binging. You have to fold laundry, you want to watch tv. Or if you want to add a new habit into your routine, say making your bed, then you add it to something you already have to do. So tell yourself “I have to make my bed BEFORE I put on my shoes to leave.” Now you’ve stacked two habits into one & they essentially are connected to each other now. Give it a try!
Time Your Cleaning
Sometimes I think we feel in the world of never ending to-do lists & always having something to get done, we feel like we don’t have time to do accomplish what we need to so we either don’t start or we push it off until we have a bigger window of time. But we actually end up wasting a lot of time waiting to start projects or cleaning tasks. Try this instead. Say you have 20 minutes before you have to go pick up the kids from school, then set a timer for 15 minutes & get as much done as you can. Pick up the shoes in the hallway, fluff the couch pillows & fold the blankets, take out the trash. Quickly do a few small chores that will help make your space feel tidy in just a few minutes! The timer puts you in a hurry mode & helps you stay on track, but doesn’t make you spend too much time on the small things & allows you to add in quick cleaning when you can.
Cleaning Calendar
Who else out there schedules out a full day to clean their entire house? It sounds like a good plan, but it ends up leaving you feeling exhausted & unable to actually enjoy your clean home at the end of the day. We’re done with that & we’re implementing a cleaning calendar. Start by categorizing out your cleaning & assigning them to a day of the week. So on Mondays clean the bathrooms. On Tuesdays deep clean the kitchen. On Wednesdays vacuum the entire house. Whatever cleaning jobs you have & however you want to break them down, divide them up & do them on separate days to save time. Some tasks can still happen every day, like wiping down counters, picking up the living room, or doing the dishes or a tub of laundry. But maybe the less is more concept will work better for you & your family.
Bins & Labels
Okay, where are the organized boho babes at? Some of us naturally keep things neat & put away. While others of us simply do not. Well I’m here to encourage & tell you that if everything has a place then nothing will ever be out of place. How do you do that? By assigning objects in your home to have an actual home with bins, labels, & purpose. I know, you might be thinking that seems like an impossible dream to accomplish. But start in a small space, like your medicine cabinet or bathroom counter. Make sure you put things back on the right shelf & the right spot so they’re easy to find. Then move to drawers or your fridge. When you’re ready for a bigger project try the pantry or your closet. Bins, baskets, boxes. They are all your friends! So are labels & being able to visually see things. You’ll soon be on your way to living a more put together life. You’ve got this!
Declutter
Stuff. It definitely feels like we have too much stuff a lot of the time. Here are a few ways to can start to simply declutter your home that doesn’t take a lot of time. Start in your closet & rotate all of your hangers to be backwards. As you start to pull out items to wear, make sure you hang them back up the normal way. Overtime you’ll see the items of clothes that are still hung backwards which means you haven’t worn those in awhile. Either get rid of them, sell them, gift them, or maybe tuck them away if they are seasonal pieces. Another way to make your home feel less cluttered is the “one thing in, one thing out” rule. So when you buy a new pillow for your bed, a new pair of shoes, or a new top, you have to donate or get rid of a similar item. This sounds like the ultimate way to stop clutter, or maybe even stop us from buying so much because we don’t want to part with our precious items! But lastly, try this tip for having less in your home. Throw those iphone boxes & instruction manuals. We never use them or look at them, & we all know the internet has (almost) all the answers anyway.
Now who’s motivated to get started? Join us as we start the year with clear minds & spaces that will allow us to create & conquer all the goals & dreams we’ve set out to do! And be sure to tag us on social media if you organize your homes because we want to see!
Written By: Abbey Kay