Our living environment has a profound impact on our well-being. January is an ideal time to think about the organization of our home and to develop an approach to storage that will be easy to maintain and meet our needs. Why should we do this? Simply because once the holidays are over, we all want to stay cozy in our homes! Here are five steps you can take to reclaim your space and start the year off right.
First of all, think about your desired decor and atmosphere in the different rooms of your home. Some people will prefer to hide everyday objects for a minimalist look, while others will want to keep all their possessions in view and aim for maximalist designs.
Take the time to consider what works for you, too. You might love the more sophisticated garment folding techniques, but will you have the energy to do it regularly? There are no wrong answers—it’s all about achieving a result that will simplify your daily life.
Aim to organize one room or piece of furniture at a time and prepare bins to help you with the next steps. We suggest having four bins: one for donating, one for throwing away, one for keeping and one for moving.
This step is common with many popular organizing techniques. Take out everything you must organize and sort out what you want to keep, throw away, donate or move. This means emptying cabinets, drawers, closets, everything! Yes, it will be chaotic with calm, but that’s also why we recommend taking it one room at a time.
Once you have all your possessions in view, group items that go together, eliminate duplicates and place items into your different bins. One rule of thumb: if you haven’t used something in the last year, it belongs in the “donate” bin.
Finally, before you go on, get rid of what’s in your “donate” and “throw away” bins and wipe out the bottom of your cabinets. This will free up physical and mental space. This is also a good time to deal with the contents in the “to be moved” bin and, for example, take the hammer that’s been lying around the kitchen back to the toolbox.
Now that you have a clear picture of your available storage space, it’s time to maximize it. You can get plastic bins, baskets and hooks, but you can just as easily convert old shoeboxes and miscellaneous containers into storage solutions.
Then assign a place to each of your items. From the smallest pencil to a 50 L stockpot, each item should have a designated place. Try different arrangements until you are satisfied.
Finally, store seasonal items in the garage or back of the closet and provide a dedicated space for sentimental possessions. They’ll have their home without cluttering up your living spaces.
Now that your items have all been assigned their proper locations and everything is in order, switch to smart decorating mode. Does your teenager always leave his backpack lying around on the floor in the hallway? Place a cute basket by the door for him to throw his bag into when he gets home from school. Do you have a pile of paperwork that’s always piling up on your desk? Add a stylish organizer on the corner of the desk.
The idea is to improve your decor so that it adapts to you, and not the other way around. It’s also a good time to renew your everyday accessories. The Pantone Colour of the Year has just been announced: Viva Magenta. This colour is so rich and vibrant, it will be perfect for adding a touch of trendy colour to any room in the house.
By creating a welcoming and attractive environment, you will be much more likely to maintain it.
To maintain your new organization systems over the long term, we encourage you to adopt a mantra: “Don’t put it down anywhere; put it away.”
The concept is simple! When you’re done using something, put it away immediately rather than dropping it on the nearest surface. It’s also a mantra that can be memorized quite easily by the messiest people in the house.
To make your organization's project a success, come and meet our employees and our retailers. They will be happy to help you!
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Montréal, QC H3Z 1X5, Canada