New Year, New You organization!
You have heard the phrase “New Year, New You” before I’m sure. We are really taking that phrase to heart this year in the Smith house. Not only are we focusing on more clean eating and spending less (read my post on our No Spend January), we are also working on getting the house better organized. We are having a New Year, New You organization month.
The first step was to completely clean and organize the pantry. Before I started this, we couldn’t even walk into the pantry, let alone find (or even know) what was in there. Now things are much better organized, and we threw everything that was outdated away. Some of the cans in there were from 2014 and 2015. I’ve always had a habit of stocking up on things when they are on sale, so that we have them, then forgetting that I have it and buying more when we need it. Now, I can see what we have, and what has been used that we need to replace. I’m currently in the process of making a list of the items in the pantry that I can mark off as we use, so that when I make my grocery list, I can just use the pantry list to figure out what we need.
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- Before
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- We threw a lot away
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- After
The next step that we are currently working on is organizing the kids bedrooms. This is a hard task because it seems like as soon as we get the rooms clean, they are almost immediately destroyed again. I rearranged Hailie’s room to make it easier for her to keep it clean and to stop the kids using it as a pass through. So far she has done decent in keeping her room at least somewhat clean.
Another room that we are working on cleaning and organizing is the living room. We have completely removed the rug that we had in there, that the kids have spilled drinks and food on so much that it will no longer come clean. We eventually will replace that rug, however, for now, the wood floor will be easier to clean when the kids spill things and they won’t be able to shove toys and trash under the rug anymore. Now they have to put their stuff away.
Another part of our New Year, New You organization is getting the kids to help out around the house more. They are walking the dog around the block, working on putting their dirty laundry in the laundry room instead of leaving it on the floor and helping out more with the housework. Leslie is tasked with taking out the trash. Kyle, of course, gets the task of emptying the dishwasher, sometimes with Hailie’s help and they all have the responsibility of picking up their toys.
This is all a work in progress, but I hope that once we get things better organized, and we get rid of a lot of the toys that they never play with and the clothes that no longer fit them, things will be better in the house. I am so tired of there being toys everywhere, dirty clothes all over the floor that only I pick up and food containers that the kids empty and then just leave hanging around. With this New Year, New You organization, we will (hopefully) finally have a cleaner house.
Update: I cleaned out my portion of the closet, got rid of clothing that I’ve not worn in over a year and sorted everything out. Now to have my husband do his part of the closet. He will do it this weekend probably!
Great post! It’s nice to get a fresh start every year, help someone else with some donated goods and set the state for staying organized all year!!
Unfortunately most of the stuff I get rid of is too far gone for donation (after having gone through 4 kids, clothing goes through 3 girls before leaving the house). We have a neighbor that gets all my daughter’s clothing that still has some life left in it and a church friend who gets all my son’s stuff as he outgrows it. I’ve never had a cleaning spree this thorough in the 6 years we have been in this house. I’ve gotten rid of so much stuff that I didn’t even know we had.
I’ve been doing something similar myself and I’m SHOCKED by how much I found in my closet that I have no interest in holding onto any longer. It feels good to get things cleaned and organized.
Britt | http://alternativelyspeaking.ca
I have to agree with you. It does feel good to get things cleaned and organized. I didn’t have much in my closet other than clothes, and only got rid of a handful of those, however, now that the closet is better organized, it’s easier to see what I have and much quicker to pick stuff out. I may even go back when I have the time and sort everything by color to make it even easier. I have filled our two trash cans up three times so far with stuff that I can’t pass on. Just to give you and idea of how much we have hung onto over the years.
Organization feels so good! But it’s hard to be consistent. Great job in your house! Looks great!
Great start to the new year! Trying to train my 13 yr old to hang stuff up rather than use the floor… it’s a running battle!
It is that! All of mine throw everything on the floor, then throw a fit when I ask them to pick it up. I always feel so overwhelmed.
It is nice to start out the new year with decluttering and organization. It helps to give the new year a fresh start. It also makes you feel better that you have accomplished something positive in your environment.
I agree. I’ve never attempted such a major undertaking before, I usually just clean a little and let things be, but I’ve gotten so tired of things being all over the place all the time, the kids getting out toys that they haven’t played with in years and then just leaving them in the middle of the floor… it’s been driving me up the wall, so we are getting rid of a lot, filling up 2 trash cans weekly…mostly when the kids are at school!
Great post I always love the new year as it means you can get organised! X
I’ve never done a new year organization project. I usually wait until April and do a spring cleaning, but never as extensive as what I’m doing this year. I have thrown away so much junk from the kids room (none of it was donation worthy, or I would have donated it) and passed on so many clothes! It’s making me feel so much better about myself!