January is a time for resolutions, and one that I’ve tried to stick to every year is to try to be more organized (with little success). This year, I’ve called in the big guns: Sarah Nicolls, founder of the home organizing and consignment service company The Mother Clutter, is taking over the blog this week and going to share all of her best tips. Today, she’ll be giving a quick tutorial on decluttering and organizing:
Happy New Year! January is a great month to a declutter (second only to my favorite, September). Holidays have come and gone, you’re stocked up with a ton of new swag, and you’re stuck inside anyways. A good decluttering sesh can restore your sanity and help you feel in control of your home and your surroundings, so it’s a MUST.
Here’s how to get started:
The first step to doing any kind of decluttering is…
*drum roll*
JUST START
Most people are completely overwhelmed with the entire state of their home. They’ll tell me that their house is a mess when, in fact, the major problems are just an overstuffed playroom and a sh*tload of paperwork to be dealt with and sorted. I went to a home the other day where the owner kept apologizing for her messy house, but it was actually spotless. She just needed to declutter and then store remaining stuff out of sight.
I always start with the most trafficked room in the home — for most it is the kitchen or mudroom — and work out from there. Tackle one room a day. Clean up as you go. It will all be done in a few days.
DEAL WITH PAPER
The best way to deal with a paper clutter issue: sort immediately. My friend had an issue with paper clutter piling up on her kitchen island, so we installed a simple 3-tier file folder system on the back of her kitchen door. It takes some getting used to, but once you open your mail, your purse, or the kids backpacks, put everything in its designated place or this system will never work. Decluttering takes commitment.
When coming up with a system that will work for you, think about your interests and your lifestyle. I usually hang my kids artwork on the wall and I’m constantly tearing recipes out of magazines, so the 3-file door hanger system in my home is BILLS, RECIPES, and RECEIPTS. Use whatever categories work for you, but make sure you stick to sorting the paper the minute it comes in. No piles!
THE BLACK HOLE THAT IS YOUR KITCHEN
Beyond just paper piling up, the kitchen accumulates an insane amount of clutter. Um, how many coffee cups do you have? Seriously. All you need is a cute matching set of 8-12. You do not need a Chase Manhattan Bank coffee cup. Put the freebie extras in a box and donate: you’ll feel doubly good about your donation and your decluttering.
Next, go through your baking supplies, kitchen electronics, and gadgets, and evaluate their roles in your everyday life. If I came to declutter your home, you would know that I am not a fan of Someday; I’m a Today girl. If you got an Instant Pot a few Christmases ago and have used it less than 3 times, it needs to go. Ask around: one of your friends that cooks all the time will want it. Some things are sentimental and should be kept (e.g., that giant pastel Kitchen Aid mixer you got for your wedding and never use can be stored away on a high shelf in the pantry). Keep your grandma’s silver and your formal china but store it away from the kitchen in a box. Any weird gadget from TJ Maxx that you do not use at least once every 2 weeks can go. You will not miss your cherry pitter.
Then, go through the fridge and freezer. Wipe it down and toss anything expired and anything that’s been frozen for more than 3-6 months. Keep leftovers at one eye-level place so that you will eat them first and they won’t sit too long. I try to group like with like in my fridge, and I do use labels for each section (e.g., protein, fruit, etc), but you don’t have to. This helps when you are making your grocery list if you can see everything you have in each category so you know if anything needs to be restocked.
If you want to be super-extra (*raises hand*), put a pantry, fridge and freezer audit on your iPhone in the notes section. That way when you are at the grocery store, you will know how many boxes of pasta you already have so you don’t buy duplicates. Donate the extra money you will save by doing this to me. Just kidding.
My number one kitchen tip is to keep it as minimalist as possible. I promise it will instantly make you feel better.
(And get your knives sharpened 2x a year so you don’t mutilate yourself cutting a bagel :))
TOYS
Did you know that most children play with 20% of their toys 80% of the time? So, I made that statistic up, but you get my drift and you know I am right. In January, most families are stocked to the brim in holiday toy clutter. My rule for toys is One In, One Out. My kids know that they have to donate something whenever they get something new. Most likely, you can do this on their behalf and they won’t even know!
Take an hour to go through their rooms and playrooms (uh, definitely do this while they are NOT home!), pack up what you believe they are “over,” and put it away in a place they can’t get to. If your kid hasn’t asked for it in 10 days, it can be donated or packed away for your next child. Another tip is to keep your kids’ rooms very sparse in terms of toys and electronics. Everyone benefits from a clear, uncluttered sleeping area. Toys should really be kept in a toy room, or in a designated spot in a living space. Buy some cute bins from HomeGoods and throw everything in there when company comes over. If they are the type of children who follow directions (ha!), try to get the kids in the habit of putting a toy or game away before they move on to the next one. Also, forgive yourself. If you have small children, there is going to be toy clutter. This stage shall pass.
THE BATHROOM
This is an often-ignored area in the decluttering process. However, I challenge myself to go through my and my husband’s products regularly and I always SHOCKED at how much clutter we’ve accumulated. Hotel products. Bath bombs. Random soaps. Things from FabFitFun boxes I will never use. I am personally a skincare junkie so often I’ll try something new, find that it doesn’t suit my skin, and banish it to the back of a shelf.
Get rid of it all. If you do not use a product at LEAST once every 2 weeks, it needs to go. Sunscreen products should be thrown away at the end of the summer or vacation and replaced. They lose effectiveness after 3 months anyways. Anything that has separated or smells odd goes in the bin. Get rid of all of your makeup and replace it every 12 months. It’s so gross — trust me. I saw a Today show segment where they found traces of E. coli and other bugs on a woman’s mascara, blush, and eyeshadow. Think about it, you put it on your eyelashes and then dip it back into the same tube every day for months on end! Wash your brushes, too.
And DON’T throw away your unwanted and unused beauty products. I recently donated a big box to Lifting Up Westchester, which runs Samaritan House, a local women’s shelter. They were thrilled to get these items and I was told they are coveted. Shelters are usually stocked with off-brand basics, so when they are able to get luxury items they are thrilled to be able to provide these to the families in need.
YOUR CLOSET
Step One: Cull Through Your Closet and Drawers
Did you know that women wear 20% of their wardrobe 80% of the time? This time, my statistic is actually true. Keeping this in mind, go through your clothing. Take out anything that you cannot physically fit into and put it in a box. Your closet should reflect how you are RIGHT NOW. Put your fat jeans and your thin jeans away and just dress yourself for how you are today. You can revisit these old friends if you gain or lose weight. And usually, when I lose weight, I want new clothes anyways!
Make 4 piles: Keep, Maybe, Donate/Sell and Repair.
Sort accordingly:
KEEP: Anything that lights up your face, makes you feel good and suits your coloring and your shape. Try to keep duplicates to a minimum (e.g., keep the BEST 3 pairs of black pants. You don’t need 15 pairs.)
MAYBE: If there is anything you aren’t sure of, ask a friend OR put them in a box and stash it away. Set a timer on your iPhone to revisit the box in 6 weeks. If you haven’t thought about any of the items in that timeframe, they need to go.
DONATE/SELL: This pile is a fun one. In my next post, I’ll show you how to make some extra cash selling your old clothes, so put these in a safe spot and label them and we will revisit!
REPAIR: Put the repair items in a bag and put them in your car right away so you can get to the tailor or cobbler.
Lastly, please go through your underwear drawer and get rid of anything that is stained, ripped or past its prime. Throw away socks that do not have partners, and tights that have holes. I do not ball my socks up to pair them. I lay them down on top of each other so as to not stretch out the elastic! Do this and your socks will stay in top condition.
Step Two: Organize Your “Keep” Pile
Organizing your wardrobe is so important because you’ll forget what you have unless you can see it. I can’t tell you how many times clients have been shocked when they found something that they love and forgot they had in the back of a messy drawer or stuffed at the bottom of a pile in their closet.
I find the best way to stay to keep clothes organized in a drawer is by rolling the item rather than folding. And, instead of piling clothes, place them in rows so that all items are visible. Make sure whatever distinguishing quality that particular item has — a pattern, a logo, etc — is visible so that you know exactly what the item is without having to take it out to see. On shelves, folding and piling works, especially for harder-to-roll items like sweaters. However, try to organize so that all items are visible.
Finally, when it comes to hanging, come up with a system that makes it easier to find things. I like to organize first by item type (e.g, dress, pants, blouse), and then subcategorize by color. If I know I’m looking for, say, a white blouse, it much easier to find if I keep all light-colored blouses together in the closet.
AND REMEMBER, TAKE MARIE KONDO WITH A GRAIN OF SALT
I love Marie Kondo. She’s adorable and started a revolution. I like her idea of keeping only the things that spark joy. But let’s be real here. My toilet bowl cleaner does not spark joy. The gross leggings I keep for paint projects do not spark joy. Tampons are joyless. But we need these items. Keep a minimal amount of the un-joyful things that you need, but make sure they have a place in your home (hopefully hidden in a closet with a labeled, clear stackable box!).
Want more? Contact me at www.themotherclutter.com or @themotherclutter to schedule an in-home consultation.
