Did you know there was such a thing? Apparently there is, and this year January 10 is National Clear Off Your Desk day, but you will have time until April 26 this year since that is National Get Organized Day. So are you ready to tackle them? From January to April there should be enough time to get everything in order and celebrate National Get Organized Day in style. If you have it in your budget you can hire a professional organizer to help you, even a virtual one if you are able to do the manual work yourself with guidance. Or you can go the DIY route and go at it on your own, if that is the case continue reading for tips on how to get a little done everyday and still meet the deadline :-) January is a good month to get organized, it’s a new year, new beginnings, time for resolutions, what better time to break bad habits, create new and better ones, and improve your life in general? Getting organized will give you a feeling of being in control and having accomplished something, I hear that all the time from my clients. But now here are a few tips to get you started, once you get moving it will get easier. Try not to put too much on your plate all at once, do a little everyday and you will get there. The Holidays are over, time to get your house back to normal. You can choose a slower pace and tackle one action per day or if you feel brave tackle multiple in one day and move faster. Day 1 – If you haven’t already, take down your Christmas tree and indoor decorations. Check for anything damaged. Organize by type, wrap fragile items, and store in appropriate containers, shoe boxed, Tupperware, whatever you have. Make sure you label everything for easy retrieval next year. Day 2 – Take down all Outdoor decorations if you have any, organize like with like, find suitable containers, boxes, label and store in suitable place. Day 3 – Gather all the wrapping/packaging materials, gift bags, bows etc. and organize for next year, separate kids themed from adults, and check for reusable items and discard damaged ones. While putting them away organize all your gift wrapping supplies by occasion if you have them. Day 4 – FOOD - If you shopped in bulk for Holidays related ingredients that you won’t use again until next year, check the expiration date. If it expires before the next Holiday season and you won’t use it until then, try to donate it to someone who will. Day 5 – Leftovers – If your fridge is still packed with leftovers, or treats you received from family and friends, try to use it, freeze it for future use, or donate it to someone who will enjoy it if you don’t. Don’t keep it “for later” that is just code for Never. Day 6 – Unwanted GIFTS – It happens to all of us, people mean well but sometimes they just read you wrong and you end up with a bunch of gifts you really don’t like, want, or need. Think about your options, re-gift to someone you know will want it, sell it, donate it to a needy person, good cause. Do not store unwanted gifts, they will be forgotten and when you move 10 years from now you will unearth it and it will be obsolete and useless to anyone. Give it away now while still worth it. Day 7 – GIFTS What about that mountain of gifts you do like and want to keep? These are all new things that will need a home. Your task today is to find them a HOME, and that should be with similar items. While at it if there are older versions, try to downsize, remove what is old and keep the new. Day 8 – Gift Cards and Digital cards are gifts that are often forgotten and/or lost, I find them everywhere, some have expiration dates so find a Home for these! If they have expiration dates mark them on your calendar to be reminded! If they are digital create a folder on your phone or PC so you can be reminded and access them all in one place. Day 9 – Did you get a 2022 Calendar? If not, get one and if yes, prep it. I keep an old fashioned paper calendar in my kitchen and use it all the time. Make sure you add all known and important Birthdays, Anniversaries, dates important to your family, and all known and/or recurring appointments you may have. Double check with your digital calendars and add any important dates. Day 10 – Taxes - Start gathering all your papers, documents, and statements related to 2021 Taxes and place in a folder so when April 15th comes around you have everything in one place and ready to go. Day 11 – Paper - This would be a good time to sort through any piles of mail/papers in any area of your home, you might discover a document needed for your tax folder. Go through as many piles as you can today or break it down into multiple days. Discard junk mail, file inactive papers and have a place to keep ACTIVE papers, those that require an action. Day 12 – Home Care – Check your fire and carbon monoxide alarms and replace batteries if needed. Press and hold the test button on the smoke detector. If the sound is weak or non existent, replace your batteries. Change any light bulbs in your house that have burned out. Day 13 – Go through all your family winter gear, hats, scarves, gloves etc, check for damage, wear and tear, mismatched gloves, and what is now too small or old. If anything is still in decent condition donate, what is too worn you can place in those clothing donation bins, most just shred and reuse the fabric so it’s not wasted. Day 14 – Time to let go. The Goal for today is to go through your home and room by room find 3 items in each room to donate or trash, if you can find more all the better! Make a donation bag, and keep adding in the future until full. Day 15 – Linen Closet – Empty your linen closet, wipe the shelves, assess the contents. Are there items that do not belong? Re-home with similar items. Go through your linens/towels and identify worn, stained or damaged items to throw out. You might be able to donate to animal shelters, old pillows, blankets and sheets. If you have multiple sets and sizes of sheets, place the whole set neatly folded inside one of the pillowcases so it stays together. Day 16 – 17 - Tackle your bathroom. May need 1 or 2 days depending on size. On Day 1 empty and wipe your medicine cabinet, check for expired medicine, vitamins and even makeup. Get rid of products that look old, discolored or smells funny or have only a few drops of product. Wipe the containers if soiled, group like with like and return to the cabinet in organized clusters. If you feel maxed out come back next day or if you have energy continue on with your under the sink storage, (drawers or shelf) in the same manner as with the medicine cabinet. If the space is large try to find containers that stack to organize your supplies. Lastly remove as much as possible from counter/sink and store away. Day 18 – 20 - Kitchen - (multiple days required for kitchen, vary depending on size) following the same steps as for the bathroom tackle one cupboard at a time, or multiples if you can. Maybe do all your drawers one day, upper cabinets next day, and lower cabinets last day. Empty the area, wipe clean, assess contents, check for expiration dates, wipe containers if soiled, decant if packages are leaking like sugar, if you have multiples of any product see if you can relocate excess items in pantry. Keep often used items in easily accessible areas, and less often used up high, down low or in the back. Day 22 – Cables and cords – In every household I visit I encounter piles of tangled electronics cords, in multiple rooms, if that is your case gather them ALL and make it your goal for today to sort it all out. Grab some ziploc bags and one plastic bin and sort through your tangle, group I-phone/Mac cords, Android cords and chargers, PC and laptop/printer cables, appliances and other cords, have a ziploc bag for each type and label all bags, including earbuds/headphones. Discard what is obsolete and keep handy only those cords you actively use often. Possibly keep them near your charging station.
Day 23 – Emails – Your goal for today is to clear your Inbox, if you have multiple email addresses tackle one per day or as much as you can in one day. Your goal should be to delete at least 20 Emails in each, and you can repeat this as often as needed until your clean it out. Set aside ½ hour per day, play some music and clean it out! Day 24 – Flat surfaces – This includes counters, tables, desks, and even chairs. Flat surfaces accumulate clutter especially if items have no set home to be returned to. If the piles are large tackle one per day, if it’s doable do more. Clear out the surface entirely, sort through the clutter, discard what is not needed, re-home what does not belong and put back only what is used at that location. If it’s a dinnner table it should only have a centerpiece, if it’s a chair it should have nothing on it. Day 25 - Orphaned Socks – If like many people you have piles of unmatched socks in multiple locations, or bags full of them, gather everything and maybe get your kids involved and make it a game, who matches the most socks win! Or be creative and make mismatched funny pairs of socks. The goal is to go through all the mismatched socks, discard what has no hope of finding a match, or create a funny match. It’s also some time spent with kids if they are small it will be fun. These will be your tasks for January, come back in February and I will have another month worth of small tasks to get you on track. Happy Organizing!! |
AuthorHello, my name is Vicky and I am a Professional Organizer in NYC. I am passionate about anything related to organizing and most of all I fully believe in the benefits of it. Archives
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