Happy New Year!

Behind losing weight getting organized comes in at a close second for New Year’s resolutions. If this is one of your promises you’ve made for your home here are the top tips from a habitual organizer.

Don’t dump the mail: Managing the mail immediately is a fundamental principle to an organized home. Set up a central mail station where letters and packages get sorted out. Have a bin to recycle junk mail and place bills and other important correspondence into an action spot.

Containers don’t equal organized: Resist the urge to invest in a lot of fancy containers which only moves the mess into a plastic bin. Start your organization journey with three baskets: one for items to keep, items to toss and items to donate. Only after you’ve done this exercise figure out a way to store the items your keeping.

Keep counter tops tidy: Corral frequently used items like wooden utensils and olive oil on a tray or canister to keep counter tops junk free. Anything that is not used daily should be found a home or tossed.

Have junk drawer strategy: It’s time to find a solution if you have drawers stuffed with batteries, pencils and even worse bills. Drawer organizers come in handy to keep things tidy. Be sure to follow the keep, toss and donate rule when cleaning your drawers out.

Manage your closets: It’s easy to ignore your closets since you can just close the door to the mess. Start with tossing what you don’t need and dedicating a place for what your keeping. Add shelves or hang rods to tame the chaos and organize the things you use and wear the most to the front so that your not constantly upending the all the hard work you’ve done.

Create a plan: Staying organized is a habit and takes time to master. Schedule time to tackle one organizational challenge either daily or weekly, depending on the scale, and pretty soon you’ll be able to keep at least one resolution.

Mr. H says: With organization comes empowerment-Enjoy!