Getting Organized in the New Year
Hi, friends! My 2019 has had a bit of a slow start. It seems like I struggle a bit the first of each new year. After an insane 4th quarter with the blog, I am totally zapped of all energy and motivation. I usually start to find my mojo sometime the middle of january. It's time to step out of my creative funk and get back to things!
Last week, I posted about my goals for the new year. You can read all about that HERE. I've come to the conclusion that for other goals to come to fruition that I must get our home organized!
I received a lot of questions about my planner. I've purchased some fancy, expensive ones in the past. I always seem to go back to the simple At-A-Glance planner. This one is perhaps my favorite to date. I'm really loving blues these days and hope to implement more in our home. This planner has a beautiful hardcover and is at a great price point. There is a less expensive version without the fancier cover.
There is nothing like a great planner for getting motivated in the new year. I use mine for personal as well as blogging. I also write due dates for bills and when drafts come out. I have several auto drafts for the blog and this is a great way to keep up with those. Also when I have a yearly subscription renewal like DropBox, I write when that will hit.
Honestly, the biggest thing that I am hoping to help me get on a permanent organizing track is this little book!
This is not earth shattering revelation. This little book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has been big news for sometime. Marie Kondo has set all of us wannabes on fire! Did you know that there is even a new show dedicated to this on Netflix? I watched the first episode yesterday. It was quite inspiring. It's called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo.
I am starting the book today and will continue to watch the show. In a nutshell, anything that does not spark joy, should be thanked and given away or discarded.
She teaches us that we should start with clothing. Yes, I plan to start with my clothes. I do expect this to be a traumatic exercise. I do clean out my closet each season and discard a few items. Honestly, I haven't gotten rid of enough. #fail
You see…..we have a large closet with 10 foot ceilings. When we built, I designed it with 3 rows of hang-up bars. The idea was to move out of season items to the very top with the help of a ladder.
You can see a bit of it here is this old photo.
I have a BIG PROBLEM of not getting rid of clothes that I MIGHT wear again. I am talking the clothes that I can no longer fit in, but loved them like 8 years ago! I literally have clothes in my closet from size 2 (I'll NEVER wear that size again) on up to size 10.
The idea is to completely remove EVERYTHING and place it in a huge pile. Then one by one you pick up each article and ask yourself if it truly gives you joy. Honestly, a size 2 surely can't give me joy. If anything it just causes anger and sadness so I'll be making myself say bye-bye. I hope…..
Most organizers that I've heard through the years on TV and in print have said that if you are holding onto sizes that you once wore…..just get rid of them. If you get back to that size, you'll want to treat yourself at that time with something new.
So I hope to be very drastic! I have so many pairs of jeans that it isn't even funny. In reality, I probably wear the same 3 pairs over and over. I may just have to do a Facebook LIVE on my page to show the before and document the process.
Taking everything out at one time just may drive me nuts though. I don't know if I can take that kind of mess, but Marie knows best. Right?
Have you tried the Marie Kondo method? If you go to Instagram, there are a couple of hashtags that you can follow for inspiration. #mariekondomethod and #mariekondo
As a whole, we just have way too much stuff! Do you? I really hope to tackle our home in 2019. The less you have, the less time you spend tidying up.
I hope you follow my Tidying Up 2019 Challenge that I've put on myself. It will be a lot of work, but I know terribly gratifying.
Below you will find posts from the past. I do cringe at the quality of these photos. I've come a long way with blogging since 2012! I hope you are inspired.
Organizing Posts from the Past
Quick & Easy Nail Polish Organizing
Linda, what great ideas! You have totally given me hope for the bedroom space. I am now motivated to just go for the big closet purge!
Christy, I have had the best success organizing by taking everything out of the closet, cabinet, drawer, etc., then only putting back what I am using, or plan to use. What’s left goes to one of three places: garbage pile, give away pile, or “I am not sure” pile. “I am not sure” can be stored away for a series of months to see if you wind up needing anything in this category. If after six months to a year, you can safely donate whatever is still in the “I am not sure” group.
As far as the clothes closet goes, that is a major undertaking. I had gained weight from a medication that a doctor had put me on. My new doctor took me off the medication, and within a month, I dropped 15 pounds. All of a sudden, nothing in my closet fit me properly.
I went to the Container Store and bought a portable clothes rack (which can be taken apart and stored in its box.). Using the portable clothes rack really helped me to go through the old clothes in my closet. It also helped with my new purchases. As I replaced my old clothes with new clothes, I hung them on the rack. That way I could see what worked together and what did not. The clothes that worked together moved to my closet. The clothes that didn’t work together went back to the store.