Published on Redfin.com January 4, 2022 by Ryan Castillo

More times than not, new year organization is on many homeowners’ to-do lists. And with 2022 finally here, now is the time to kickstart your new year’s resolutions into high gear. If your home is in need of some decluttering, and you find yourself overwhelmed with items you no longer need, we’ve got you covered. We reached out to organizers and decluttering experts across North America, from Hudson, NH to Surrey, BC, to give us their best tips to help you get organized in the new year. From creating a home inventory to getting creative with storage, read on to see what they suggest.

Adjust your mindset

For every space in your home, the first thing to ask yourself is, “How do I want to feel when I walk into this space?” This question can instantly help give you clarity on items that are maybe not working to help you create the vibe you want in your home. – The Fun Sized Life

Be intentional with every item you have in your home

My number one tip for new year organization is to create intention with every item you choose to keep and with every space you reset. Do the items you are organizing in a particular space fit? Do they physically fit in the space? Do they fit the intention of the space? Do they bring you joy? Are they contained in a way that is consistent with the overall intention and aesthetic of your home? When you are intentional with each item and intentional with each space,everything has a purpose. Take it step by step, and pretty soon junk drawers, landing zones, clutter piles, and the stress that come with them will be a thing of the past. – Reset Your Nest

Let go of things you don’t use

The best advice one can give regarding new year organization is if you have not touched, used, or thought about it, it’s time to let it go. Before you start a project, plan your attack. Always take a before and after picture. In the future, it will provide you with the motivation you need to keep your home/office tidy. Lastly, sort and edit – find a permanent, out-of-sight home for things. – girlFriday

Create a home inventory

In the event of a disaster, a home inventory records what you own. Whatever technique you use to create your home inventory, remember to be thorough and store a copy elsewhere. For example, keep an electronic copy in the cloud or leave a hard copy with a friend or relative. Also, keep an eye on your home inventory and update it annually. Using this method, you can add or remove things from your collection. – True Assisting

Use the “Visibility, Accessibility & Flexibility” standards

Choose containers that are either clear or that can be easily labeled. Make sure that items you use most frequently are the easiest to access and the products you use less are higher up or in a space you don’t need to access often. Select storage systems/organizing systems that are adaptable to your changing needs so that you are more likely to keep the systems up and organized should changes happen. –  Home Harmony 

Use the OHIO principle when it comes to your possessions

While the OHIO principle (Only Handle It Once) isn’t really realistic when it comes to paper, it does work when it comes to your possessions. When you come through the door at the end of the day, where do the mail, coat, hat, keys, and other items from the store that you’ve picked up on the way home go? Rather than dumping them on a chair or the kitchen counter, if you take just a few extra moments to put things away in their designated homes when you walk in the door, your spaces will remain organized and clutter-free. – Lisa S. Griffith, CPO®, Griffith Productivity Solutions

Preserve print photos and albums in cool places 

Basements and attics are popular places to store items not used every day. However, basements and attics are far from ideal places to store photos, thanks to the fluctuations in temperature in attics and dampness in basements. Print photos and albums are best preserved in cool, dry places, so moving them to a closet, for example, will help prolong their life and save them for future generations. – Past Present Pix

Organize media by type and theme

When organizing pictures, group similar types together like prints, digital sources, albums, home movies, or slides so that you can see what you have. Organize them by theme (vacations, people, locations) or by date taken. Then purge. Get rid of duplicates, blurry shots, or ones you can’t identify. – Picture This Organized

Don’t forget your legal documents

Legal Documents are most important. Assign beneficiaries, label photos & keys, note passwords. Ask yourself, “do my possessions excite me, serve a purpose, and do I still love them?” Inspire a new look using items you own in your home and always organize & downsize when possible. – Stuff the Clutter

Improve the productivity of your home office

If you work from home, invest the time it takes to ensure your home office fully supports your workflow, mood, and energy levels. First, choose the right place. You may have a room that seems perfect for a home office, but if you find you’re naturally drawn to another area, then follow your instinct and make that other space work for you. Then, streamline your space for easier workflow. Be ruthless about what you really need to perform your work, and perform a thorough cull of old files and anything else before investing in unnecessary storage. Improve your productivity, and your circulation, by investing in a standing desk, and alternate sitting and standing to perform your work. – Cory Cook 

Stop buying portable hanging closet organizers

They take up too much space and provide cubbies in which items must be folded neatly to look organized. Instead, invest in new, velvet, no-shoulder bumps, space-saving hangers. – Welcome Home Organizing, Staging, & Feng Shui 

Use door organizers to take advantage of space behind closet doors

There are a lot of products available on the market designed for that purpose. Hats, shoes, purses, jewelry, or gift wrap are just a few examples of items that can be stored in that underutilized vertical space. – Cincinnati Organized

Use square or rectangular products over round product

To maximize storage space, choose square or rectangular organizing products instead of round ones. When you place round organizers next to each other, you lose the space where the organizers curve. This really adds up, so get the most out of your space by sticking with square or rectangular bins, baskets, and containers. – Annmarie Brogan and Marie Limpert, co-owners of Organize Me! of NY, LLC, and co-authors of the book, Beyond Tidy: Declutter Your Mind and Discover the Magic of Organized Living

If you don’t love it or use it, be ok with letting it go

Donate useable items to live their next life at someone else’s place or sell it if it’s something that holds monetary value to you. Take it one drawer or closet at a time to get a feel for purging; when things are pulled out everywhere it can get overwhelming. Give yourself time to take the time to get it out, sort through it, and make good decisions. When putting it back together, keep like items together to make them easier to find. – Such a Neat Freak

Have a donation bag ready 

Keep a ready-to-fill donation box or bag handy in a closet or garage. When you try on clothes that no longer fit or flatter or items begin to fill up your cabinets, drop them in the donation bag. Don’t put them back in the closet or cabinet to sit there longer. Do a little purging as you come across things, have a designated place to put the unwanted items, take the bag or box to donation when it is full, and repeat all year long. – Organizing Wonders

Create a system that works for you

The universal steps to organizing any room in your home are getting rid of all trash, taking everything out of the space that doesn’t belong, and finding a home for everything that’s left. Creating a magazine-ready room isn’t practical in every situation. As long as you have a system that works for you and your family, it’s a success. – Lia Brady, Organize With Lia

Be creative with storage 

In the city, we are always short on space. Consider vertical storage as a solution. Get creative using the height of your walls as a way to add more storage space. – Sort it Out Philly

Pack ahead of time when moving

If you’re planning to move and feel you have too much stuff, then you can start sorting your belongings now to save time and money. Although you’ll spend some time upfront sorting out the excess (tools, clothing, kitchenware, linens, knick-knacks), you’ll not only save money on moving supplies and relocation costs, but you’ll save even more time with less packing and unpacking. Start with the kitchen and open cabinets and drawers to pull out utensils, pots, pans, mixing bowls, and small appliances that haven’t been used, and set the items aside for a donation. Continue working throughout the house – CDs, DVDs – anything not used for years – especially large or heavy items. – Michelle Marie Solutions
Originally published on Redfin.com

When I started blogging almost 3 years ago, I thought I would blog every 2 weeks. Other people blog all the time so I thought every 2 weeks was doable. That soon became 3 weeks, then monthly, and now every other month. What happened? With 2 young children, a husband who travels often for work, a thriving business, and a lot of volunteering at school, that simply wasn’t a realistic goal for me. Sometimes just getting through the day alone is enough! So rather than feel bad about not keeping to my original goal- time to change the goal to something more realistic and give myself some breathing room.

Am I bad at time management? No. Do I have too much on my plate? Maybe. But all the parts on my plate are important. I have to take advantage of being able to experience life through the eyes of a 5 and an 8 year old while I can. I have to be kind to myself about what I can realistically do in a day, week, or month and not judge myself by what I think other people are accomplishing.

Think about the things on your never ending To Do List, the projects you have taken on, the things you are doing for other people. Think about what matters most to you. Be realistic. You can’t do everything all the time. What can you pass on, what can you pay someone else to do, or what can you decide is not really important in the grand scheme of your life? What makes you happy? Don’t judge your progress by someone else’s accomplishments. It only matters what is realistic and doable for you in your situation!

Sixteen years ago this month, I started my business. I was an actress tired of bar tending and looking for something to keep my sanity while I waited for my big break. I decided to start a business doing the stuff no one else wants to do except me- like sort through boxes of papers and organize a garage. I found the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) in the back of the one organizing book I had. Here I thought I was coming up with a new business- but there was already a national organization for people just like me!  Back then, there were about 1,200 NAPO Members. If you told someone you were a Professional Organizer- they would be confused and not know what you meant. I had people think I sold Tupperware or organized people to fight for social causes.

Now things are so different. There are almost 4,000 members of NAPO. Professional Organizers are on all kinds of TV shows. Magazines constantly quote organizers and feature organizing tips. There are tons of books, programs, blogs, YouTube Channels, and articles on organizing. There are Certified Professional Organizers and Chronic Disorganization CPOs. Now when I say I am a Professional Organizer- the response is usually, “Oh- I really need you!”

I was very involved in NAPO for many years. I was on the NAPO-Los Angeles Board of Directors for 4 years and served as President. I think I held almost every volunteer job there was- often many simultaneously. I learned so much through volunteering and it boosted my confidence and my business. We even had award shows for organizers- complete with red carpets! Now that I have small kids, I can’t help but get involved in their schools by streamlining volunteer procedures, creating new forms, and helping organize events, classrooms , lounges, or storage areas. Organizing skills sure do come in handy!

It has been a great ride. Sixteen years later, I still love what I do. I still love reading about organizing theories and challenges as well as finding new products and gadgets. I love the people I get to work with. I love the challenge of a new project and the blessing of being able to make a difference and change someone’s life for the better. I’ve learned so much from the great organizers and dear clients who have crossed my path and shaped who I am today. I’m so glad that 16 years ago, I started Organizing Wonders!

I just celebrated my birthday last week and the only gift I wanted was to go to a non-animated movie in a theater and eats lots of popcorn without sharing. Before I had kids, I could do this every week. Now I can only pull it off on my birthday or anniversary. My how times have changed. I’m not sure if it is getting older, living in a time where many people get themselves whatever they want whenever they want it, or the fact that I spend my days helping people get rid of stuff- but I don’t like gifts anymore. I like experiences. I like things my kids make for me. Gift certificate for a massage or my favorite store or restaurant- thank you! Stationery, candles, picture frames, or gift cards to places I never go to- thank you but no thank you.

My husband tried to get me gifts for awhile but unless it was an electronic gadget- chances are I might not use it/need it/want it. Dresses that would have looked good on me 10 years ago- very sweet, but my post 40- post-children gut just makes me look pregnant in the wrong outfit now. My favorite gifts from my husband are when he does something I have been wanting to get off the list for a long time. One Valentine’s Day, I came home from work to find a huge bag of trash on the front porch with a bow on it. Turns out he had finally gone through some of his boxes in the garage that I had given up asking him about. This year he cleared out two of his “crap buckets”. Perfect gift for me! I don’t want flowers- I want stuff done!

I know a lot of people get gifts that they don’t actually want or need. They end up hanging around, gathering dust and guilt. Don’t give clutter as a gift! Give a loved one a memorable experience, a gift card to a place you know they like, or do some chore they will never get around to doing for themselves. If someone had come over singing Happy Birthday and cleaned my refrigerator coils and dryer vent, I would have been so excited!