Getting Organized in the New Year
I start every year the same way, with a desire to get things super shiny deep cleaned and organized and I always start with the fridge. At the beginning of 2015, I set out to tackle the Top 10 areas in our home that needed the most attention. I completed nine – and the last one – the cords, didn’t make it as we dealt with family issues around that time.
I’m proud to report that those areas have stayed relatively clean and, throughout the year, the effort to bring less stuff into our home has been pretty well maintained. The biggest ‘problem area’ is still the toys and paper clutter is a never-ending battle that I constantly have to keep up with or I’ll drown. I switched all magazine subscriptions to digital this year and donated a mountain of magazines I had saved over the years (except some of my Oprah (I’ve been a subscriber since Day 1!) or a few special edition cooking mags) and that made a huge difference. Now, I read most of my magazines on my iPad with the Zinio app. I never thought I’d enjoy reading magazines or books on my iPad, but I’m a true convert. I still love a gorgeous hardcover book, especially cookbooks, but now I buy lots of books to read on my Kindle app for iPad.
If you’re ready to get organized in the new year, below are my most popular organizing posts of 2015 to get you started. You can find all of my top organizing posts at the ORGANIZE tab at the top of my blog. Or to read more about each picture, just click the link below it. Happy organizing friends!
This was my most popular post of 2015 by far, with over 100,000 pageviews since the post was published in October! It’s funny because you never know what posts will resonate and take off. I’m just thankful that you take the time out of your day to stop by! Thank you!
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Lucky for you cleaning the house only took one day 😉 We spent the weekend cleaning and organizing our home and I feel so much better everything is back in order! I will definitely have to check out your organization posts. We don't have much closet or storage space so I'm constantly down-sizing and finding new ways to organize.
amandakatherine.com
Storage space was one of the things I wanted most in this home, especially because we moved from a small townhouse without any storage. Since we built new, I knew I was responsible for making sure we had enough room for everything, and we really do. If I ever think I'm running out of space, we definitely have too much stuff! Thanks for stopping by!
Out of all bloggers I follow, your house is my favorite! I love how you've organized everything too!
That is a huge compliment Olivia! I appreciate it!
I'm sure you've posted this somewhere on the blog, but where are your curtains from? Or where is the fabric from? 🙂
Hi Dawn! It's probably a very old post- the fabric is 'windsor smith pelagos in mist' and I did have them sewn. Still really love that fabric! It's interesting, but not too bold or something to get tired of.
I guess that is the first time you have shot from that angle of your family room, I love all the beautiful archways in your home! It does feel good to have things packed up. Working on cleaning (waited til both girls had left) and still pairing things down.
I'm glad we decided on arches too, I remember the builder asking casually about if we wanted them curved one day and happy we said yes. 🙂
I love seeing your home – and that sectional looks so comfy! I have been working on putting away Christmas decor and decluttering these past few days. It feels so great to get things in order. I have a ways to go though…you inspired me to keep going! I love how you organized your things.
Shelley
It took us forever and my back was killing me by the end of the day- probably pushed myself too hard, especially with having to carry things up and down the stairs all day. But, we sure are enjoying the clean, organized space now. I know you will too! Happy new year girlie!
I came up with a perfect (for me anyway) paper filing system in 2014. It makes filling paper so much easier. "Health" paper (insurance statements, receipts from the doctor and dentist) is organized by year. "Banking" (check stubs, statements, etc) is sorted by year. Other bills are sorted by month. I use a Thirty-One file holder. I shred older files towards the end of every year. I think though a couple or family might need to have more than one file holder and might need to customize the system to their needs more ("Health" folders for individual family members for example)
BTW, I get too many magazines but will be letting a few go this year. I don't save many though. I also practice the goal of not bringing much into the house- it really is half the battle 🙂
Where did you find your tissue box cover? Love that!