It’s 2024. Organization is trending. The organizing industry is at a peak, and people are starting to realize how much a clean, structured space improves mental health.
The hard thing is, those who need organizing the most are typically those who are extremely busy and/or can’t find the focus to sit down and get organized themselves. Out of all the things we have going on in our lives, color sorting our clothes and filing paperwork seems to be the least of our worries, right?
The goal is to always make your space as efficient as possible for the people living in it. Although the final reveal may end up aesthetically pleasing – that shouldn’t be the primary objective for most families. Functionality and accessibility are the priorities when organizing a space. Functionality + accessibility + organization = saved time and less stress. Talk about a win!
As we enter the new year, motivation is high and it’s the time to set goals and intentions for the next 12 months. January is a great time to get rid of the old clothes that don’t fit, the towels that have holes in them, and to donate the toys that your kids have outgrown.
Here’s a list of 25 things to help kickstart your organizing journey. You can choose to pick one item per day, or take one item per week depending on how big of a task it is for you. Remember – if it isn’t functional or you don’t use it, it’s just taking up space. Happy organizing!
1. Try on your jeans and pants. If they don’t fit or don’t feel good, donate or sell them.
2. Look through your sock and underwear drawer. Socks with holes in them? Toss. Underwear that’s ripped? Toss. They don’t serve their purpose anymore!
3. Take a scan of your bookshelf. If you’ve read the book, and aren’t going to re-read it, consider donating it to a library or a friend to read.
4. Pull out all your lotions, beauty creams and makeup. Check the dates. If its discolored or far past the expiration date, then toss it.
5. Observe your kids playing for a bit. See what toys they have outgrown or aren’t using anymore. Donate the toys to a shelter or sell if it’s something that is of value. (I promise they don’t need as many toys as you think they do.)
6. Look at the tops of closets, office cabinets and other hiding places. If you have iPhone boxes, or any boxes for items that you’re not going to resell, then recycle the box. You will more than likely NEVER need those 10 headphone boxes you’ve been saving for five years.
7. Review your t-shirts and clothes. If any of them have stains or holes in them, it’s probably best to say goodbye.
8. Take 15 minute breaks to go through photos in your phone. Delete old photos you no longer need. That screenshot of a Pinterest quote from 2013? You probably don’t need that.
9. Go through dresses in your closet. If it doesn’t make you feel wonderful or you’re not going to wear it, there’s no need to keep it. That bridesmaid dress from 10 years ago, or your old prom dress? It’s ok to sell or donate those.
10. Walk around your kitchen and go through your morning and evening routine. Think about where things are placed. Are your plates in the best place? Are your spices easily accessible for cooking? Move things around so that they are best fit for your routine.
11. Check the expiration dates in your fridge and your spice drawer. Odds are, you’ll be shocked. Toss that oregano from 2004.
12. Go through your kids closet with a donate bag. If clothing doesn’t fit them or they hate wearing it, let another kid enjoy it!
13. Take a trash bag to your car and throw out water bottles, receipts or any trash. If you spend a significant amount of your time in your car, it may be worth investing in a car trash can from Amazon.
14. Log on to your computer and take a look at the desktop and documents folder. If it takes you more than 2 minutes to find a file, it may be time to do some digital clean up. Block off a couple of hours, sit down, and do a digital purge.
15. Open up your medicine cabinet, and properly dispose of any expired medicines. For prescriptions, you can take them to your local pharmacy to dispose of.
16. Scan the closets in your home. If you have an abundance of wire or plastic hangers, take them to your dry cleaners – they always need more hangers!
17. Take a morning to look at your email and weed out the emails you never open or automatically trash. Scroll to the bottom of the email and unsubscribe. Use unroll.me to bulk unsubscribe. Bye, Felecia.
18. If your kitchen drawers are overflowing, you may have duplicates of several kitchen utensils. Open your drawers, pull everything out, and pair like with like. Get rid of the duplicate kitchen utensils or ones that you haven’t used in 5+ years.
19. If you’ve been collecting greeting cards for the better part of your life, take a good look at them and toss any cards that are outdated.
20. Open your kitchen cabinets and if there are any glasses that are chipped or broken, dispose of them. Take some time to pare down your plastic cup and mug collection too.
21. When was the last time you replaced your pillows? Take your pillowcases off, and if your pillows are stained, torn or lumpy – it’s time to replace them!
22. Go and find those old DVDs and CDs. Given that everything is online now, you have permission to toss the physical discs. There’s no need to hold onto them unless it’s a family movie or something you can’t stream.
23. Tackle the mail pile that’s been staring at you for far too long. Throw away junk mail, shred documents you don’t need, and file away the rest.
24. Open the dreaded junk drawer. What haven’t you used in this drawer in the last year? What do you have duplicates of? Give the drawer a little makeover.
25. Take a break, sit down, and enjoy your refreshed space. See how good that feels to get rid of clutter?
Tackling any one of these items should give you that “ahh” sigh of relief. Remember to start small to avoid overwhelm. If you get stuck, feel free to call a friend to help or professional organizers. It’s always easier to do with a second person!
Happy New Years! Cheers!