Here's the secret to easy January organising!
Are you feeling ready to get organised after the busyness of Christmas?
All you want to do is create some calm, space after the busy energy generated by decorations, visitors, present opening and everything that comes with Christmas celebrations.
I know the idea of having a good sort out doesn't necessarily fill you with excitement. And it's true that often you end up making a bit of a mess before it all comes together.
But the easy thing about my January challenge is you don't need to do it all at once, you don't even need to do it all. You don't need to feel under pressure to work through a big list of tasks even though you are busy.
With my January challenge all you have to do do is pick one thing (it can even be part of a task I've listed, or something else that you feel inspired to tackle).
Pick something that appeals and just have a go!
I promise you, you will feel amazing and be so pleased with the result, you might even want to have a go at another task, maybe!
Kitchen Challenge
Simplicity is the key!
Our kitchen is the heart of the home and we spend alot of time here preparing drinks and meals to nourish ourselves and our household and clearing up afterwards.
A cluttered kitchen can make it difficult to do this and the chaos can impact our mood. You know what it's like when you try to prepare something and there is no free counter space to put things down. Its frustrating and makes you want to avoid it. Not only that, but scientists have found that we make healthier food choices in a clutter-free environment.
When you have a clear counter and a good looking space, your kitchen will look inviting (and be much easier to clean) and make you feel that things are in order!
So, how can you achieve this?
- Aim to keep counters clear. If you want to keep a few items out on show, make sure that these are items that you use regularly and/or LOVE
- Arrange your kitchen for lazy people! Put the things your household uses regularly in easy to reach places and other less used items in harder to reach cupboards and shelves
- Sort through your food stuffs, dispose of any out of date items, donate anything you are unlikely to use before their BBF date. Store packets in containers by category and stack cans by category and labels older items near the front. This will make it easy to find what you need for a meal and avoid food waste
- Sell or donate those gadgets and utensils that you don't use, or where functions are duplicated. You don't need a blender if your food processor can also do this function and don't need a coffee grinder if you rarely drink fresh coffee
Lounge Challenge
And relax!
The lounge is the place we go to relax, to read, watch TV, hang out with family members and maybe pets. We want it to be a haven of calm and relaxation not a dumping ground for chaos and stuff that doesn't have a home.
Think about what you'd like this relaxing space to look and feel like and imagine what it should look like.
- Now zip around the room removing everything that doesn't live in your ideal lounge
- Donate/sell/recycle anything that you don't need (including old DVDs, music and computer consoles you no longer play)
- Display the things that you love
- Create spaces for those things that you do love or use, on shelves, in cupboards or elsewhere in the house depending on where you will use them
- store similar things together close to where you'll use them - books by your favourite reading chair, DVDs near your DVD player
- Have a box, basket or drawer in your lounge for remote controls and other bits and bobs that you want to be able to access but don't want to clutter the room
Bathroom Challenge
This is arguably the easiest room to tackle because there is unlikely to be any memorabilia in here. And you either use the products or you don't!
Gather everything from surfaces and cupboards and have a good look through.
1) Before you do anything else it's worth checking expiration dates. Items left open too long won't be as effective and some could harbour germs - check the labels for advice. You'll want to use these up ASAP or dispose of them as appropriate.
2) Then let's have a look at categorising them. Group them into those you use daily, weekly, monthly and those extras you've bought in bulk for later.
If there are a few of you in your home, you may also want group them by person.
3) Keep only the daily and weekly products out on a nearby surface or cupboard so that you can tidy them up easily. Use containers like the one in the pic (I used a fridge container) for all or for each person to keep them together and looking neat.
Those monthly products and bulk purchases are needed less often so they can go away in cupboards out of sight.
Wardrobe Challenge
Give yourself the gift of a great start
Do you have a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear?
That's what it can feel like when you're under pressure to get ready for the day and are faced with a wardrobe of chaos.
Give yourself the gift of an easy start each morning by organising your wardrobe to make it easy to find what makes you feel fabulous.
What to try:
1) If you have time for a good sort out:
- empty your wardrobe onto your bed and sort clothes into categories
- review each category of clothing, filtering out items that are worn out, ill-fitting and you just don't love to wear
- put aside items that you wear rarely but expect to wear again in future, considering size and style (e.g. ball gown, wet suit etc)
- if you are unsure whether you will wear an item, return it to the wardrobe and make a note in your diary to review it again in x months
- return items, organising into categories
- turn hangers away from you and as you wear items turn the hanger towards you - you'll easily be able to see what you have not worn next time you review your wardrobe
Some people organise by colour so that they can coordinate outfits quickly, others organise by occasion (work, casual, going out) and others prefer to hang items by fabric (thinnest to thickest). All work perfectly well, you just need to find what works for you.
2) If you don't have lots of time:
- have a cursory look through your wardrobe and pull out anything you know doesn't fit, you don't like to wear or is worn out
- sort your clothing into categories as above
- turn hangers away from you and as you wear items turn the hanger towards you - you'll easily be able to see what you have not worn next time you review your wardrobe
- diarise another review
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