4 Tips for Starting the New Year Off Right from Our NYC Professional Organizer

Get ahead of the game, and even ahead of your New Year’s resolutions by putting your home back in order now that the whirlwind of holiday activities is just about behind us. It’s easy for us all to enjoy the lull after all that’s been going on in the last month or so. But before we kick back and enjoy the temporary calm, we need to restore some order by addressing the piles of mail and papers, gobs of gifts taking up valuable floor space, and the holiday serving platters cluttering up the kitchen counter.

Our Professional Home Organizer in NYC offers some easy ways to work on avoiding the post-holiday slump and starting off fresh in the New Year:

– A place for everything, and everything in its place! Even if you don’t have an entire closet devoted to your holiday décor and serving pieces, having a large plastic tub with a lid is a good place to start. Group items by type and start packing them up.  Label bins and boxes to make unpacking easier next year.

– Limits can be a good thing… If you’re like this NYC Professional Organizer, you have limited space in your home. So, you may be asking yourself, where will all these new holiday goodies you’ve received go?!? Easy – for each new item you will be keeping, remove an item from the closet or drawer. If you got a lovely new red sweater from Grandma, consider donating one (or more!) to your local clothing drop box. One of the top clutter busting rules of our Professional Home Organizer in NYC is to limit the number of items you bring into your home, and to be generous with items you no longer need/use.

– Act now. Gather all receipts and important papers, special cards, etc. that you want to keep. File them all appropriately, and get rid of the rest! Do this quickly, while these items are still top of mind. That way, when your new, expensive electronic toy goes awry, you’ll know right where to go to locate the warranty information and receipt. This can save plenty of time and potential frustration in the future.

– Create space! Yes, it may seem like the impossible, but sorting and organizing smartly can help you create additional space in your home. Think how wonderful you’ll feel when you start the New Year with a little extra space in your closets, in your drawers, or even under the bed.

• Don’t be afraid to purge items and/or papers you haven’t used in the previous 12 months – remember to shred any sensitive documents that aren’t on your financial and legal advisors must keep list. And scan those items you may not need hard copies of, so they may live in your computer (or in the cloud) and not take up space in your desk.
• As you pack your holiday décor and put your everyday decorative items back out around your home, take a minute to determine if you still like each item and want to continue displaying it.  If the answer is no, don’t be afraid to add the item to your donation pile and go into the New Year with a little more space.

There’s no better feeling than a fresh start for a New Year and our NYC Professional Organizer’s suggestions on how to make the most of those first few days of the year will help you experience this great feeling!