Love them or hate them, New Year’s resolutions are top of mind for so many people as December ticks over into January. We can’t help but look at our lives and think of changes we’d like to make or things we’d like to achieve in the new year.
If a more organised home is high on your list, there are loads of things you can do to take steps towards that.
We’ve put together a list of a few simple things which will make your home more organised and help you feel ready for anything this year!
- Get a charity basket
This could be a box, basket or even a bag. Make it a pretty one if you can, and find a permanent home for it. Inside a wardrobe is good.
Every time you wear through a pair of socks, finish a trashy novel or notice your child has grown out of a t-shirt, put the item straight into the charity basket. Every time it gets full, spend 5 minutes sorting rags (anything ripped, stained or worn out) from sellable things, and take everything straight to the charity shop. (Most charity shops will accept rags for recycling, just put them in a separate bag and check when you drop them off).
- Create a drop or grab-and-go station
This will vary depending on what you need. Think about those things you’re always searching for when you leave the house, or are holding and need to put down quickly when you walk through the door.
Kids’ school books? Keys? Post?
Whatever it is, if you need to grab it or drop it quickly, it should be exactly where you need it to be. Get a suitable container, like a magazine rack for post, or hooks for keys, and put it in a designated spot near the door.
- Stop bulk buying
If you’re buying for a big household or like to grab a bargain it’s so easy to bulk buy. If you don’t have the space to store everything you buy though, you’ll always end up with clutter.
Look at the space you have available in your cupboards, plus any space for backstock, and always try to shop with that in mind. Prioritise what you actually need and when the cupboards are full, stop buying until you have created more space. If you only have a small home, the best way to prevent clutter may be to stop bulk buying entirely.
- Unsubscribe
Whether they’re digital or physical subscriptions, do you need them?
Magazines, marketing emails, promotional catalogues, children’s art boxes…there are masses of things coming into our homes on a regular basis, so review everything over the next month and decide whether you’re still interested in those things. If not, or if you never have time to read them, then unsubscribe. You can always resubscribe if you change your mind!
Every time a new thing pops up, take a minute to review it and unsubscribe straight away if you’re not interested.
- Sort your mail over the bin
Stop holding on to mail that you need to sort, and open your post directly over the bin.
Recycling just the envelopes and junk mail every day will reduce the papers in your house massively. For anything that you need to keep, set up a simple system with three magazine files or racks labelled “to do”, “to file” and “to shred” and save yourself from having to rifle through big piles of papers every time you need to find something.
[Read more: 8 tips for decluttering without feeling overwhelmed]