Simplifying Your Home Life – Part 2 of 3

I truly hope all of you invested time reading part one of “How to simplify your life for the New Year.” This is part two of my three part series of proven ideas for you to simplify your life.

Very few of us were blessed with organizational genes. How many times have you lost important documents or stared in despair at piles of mail or unwashed clothes? Cluttered environments literally drain your energy causing additional stress! Conversely, beautifully decorated soothing environments are a haven where you escape life’s stressors.

Learning to organize your stuff and your life can be challenging, but not impossible. Certain activities will increase your organizational skills every day. Eventually, activities will become habits and you’re one step closer to being “naturally” organized like you always wanted. Work on de-cluttering your home; get organized about cleaning. Try feng shui or another principle to help with your goal of a beautifully organized living space. Here are some great ideas to get you started. 

Establish routines. The key to keeping your life simple is creating simple routines. 

Purge your stuff. To get started, devote a weekend and purge things you don’t want. Get boxes and trash bags to accommodate this effort. 

Get rid of unnecessary things. This applies not only to belongings but services and subscriptions are sources of stress, too. 

De-clutter before organizing. Simplify the process. Get rid of as much junk as possible then organize what’s left. If you de-clutter enough you won’t need to organize as much.

Get rid of big clutter items. There’s a lot of little clutter in our lives. By starting with the big items, you’ll simplify your life in a big way. 

One room at a time. Once you go through the main part of a room, tackle the closet. Then do drawers or shelves one at a time. Donate things or give them to friends and family. For valuable items find a consignment store in your area and take these items there. Don’t do garage sales. Your new motto should be “If I haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.” 

A place for everything. Age-old advice but great for organization after you de-clutter. “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

 In & out. For every new item you bring into the house, get rid of an old one. 

Take care of it, Right Now! Clean as you go. Don’t throw mail on the kitchen counter vowing to open it tomorrow. Sort through the mail before you put it down; junk mail in the recycling, bills in another bin or basket, personal mail same way. Do this on your desk and handle bills at the appropriate bill payment time. Don’t pile it up into an overwhelming mess. Likewise, if you see an item that’s out of place pick it up and put it away. Don’t walk past it and wonder how your house got to be so messy. 

Go for quality, not quantity. Don’t have a ton of stuff in your life. Instead, have fewer possessions but ones that you really love. These quality items will last for a very long time. Mentally ask, “Do I really need this?” If you hesitate, you don’t.

 Heart of the house. Today’s kitchen is the heart of entertaining and family life. Go through the kitchen cabinets (one at a time of course). You will be amazed what you can throw out. 

Holiday decor. Don’t buy more decorations simply because they are half price after the holidays, unless you need to replace something. Have one box that is all Christmas decorations, another with Thanksgiving, others with birthday and celebrations and label them.

Pack the night before. This always helps me, especially when my two sons were young. It works from packing lunch to laying out clothes for the next day. I also check my list of things to do. It keeps me nice and organized. An advantage is that it avoids additional drama that next day, too. 

Simplify your closet. Part one of this series talked about choosing solid colors that complement you. Get rid of anything you don’t actually wear and create a minimal wardrobe focusing on simple styles that all mix and match each other. 

White. Ever gone to a five star hotel or well respected spa? They always have plush white towels and elegant white sheets. Buy white sheets, towels and kitchen towels. It’s easier when wash days comes, and no more colors bleeding into each other. 

Make a menu for the week. Make a meal menu and shopping lists. This keeps you from having to rush to the store every day after work. 

Clean out your refrigerator regularly. Things growing in the refrigerator can’t be classified as your “pet.”

Published: Apartment News Magazine – March/April issue 2011