HOME Feature: Getting Organized for the New Year

Getting Organized for the New Year

By Cathy Shouse While a well-decorated home is wonderful, sometimes getting organized is the best look. You might reclaim rooms full of clutter, stop wasting time looking for lost items, and get dressed more easily. Cooking will become pleasurable, and storing your vehicle in a newly reorganized garage will help you beat the cold.

Princy Hart

Princy Hart of Hart & Schmitt Designs shared her best organizing tips and tricks. Hart and her partner, Lin Schmitt, have interior design degrees and 30+ years of combined experience. Professional organizing is one of their specialties.

Where to begin?

Start small by tackling one space in your home at a time to make it less daunting. Breaking it down this way so you see progress will help you to stick with it. For example, maybe you want to hit that cluttered coffee table first, or just start in one corner of your living room. • Start with three boxes labeled “Keep, Toss and Donate.” • Set an initial goal: try 30 minutes per day. That’s all you need to commit to at first. If you still have more stamina, try another 30 minutes and so forth. You will be amazed how much you can get through! • At the end of your allotted time, empty the Toss box, get those items in the Keep box close to where they belong, and put your Donation box in the car so they’re out of the house and will get dropped off soon. If you clean up what you just went through as you go along, you won’t be left with an even bigger mess. “To get into the right mindset, I recommend taking a before photo,” Hart said. This way you can check back periodically and see how much progress you’ve made. It’s very motivating! She also recommends turning on some high energy music to help you get moving!

Strategies for the budget-conscious

For help with the first time you organize, a budget-friendly tip is to hire a professional organizer for one project or room only. The skills you learn may be enough to help get you through the rest of your house. January is one of the best times of the year to purchase organizational supplies on sale. Try inexpensive baskets or trays found at a big box store or even the dollar store. For example, use nicelooking fabric bins to store remotes, coasters, and other items that can quickly be moved to use the coffee table.

Tips for keeping up

Think through your day-to-day routine and brainstorm what is stressing you out the most. Be ready to share your organizational stresses with your professional organizer. Work with the professional organizer as it goes faster with you helping to make the “keep or donate” decisions in the moment. Use the time together to learn how to keep up your newly organized space in the long term.

Bonus insights

Professional organizers bring creativity, and tailor ideas to your needs. First consultation/assessment is usually free. “Homework” assignments save you money. Maintenance plans will keep you on track. a

Resource:

Hart & Schmitt Designs, Decatur, 260.267.6083, hartschmittdesigns.com