Declutter after the holidays - 8 Simple Steps

Get ready to declutter after the holidays for the new year!

Decluttering after the holidays can be a daunting task, but it's a great way to start the new year off on a fresh, organized foot. Here are some tips to help you declutter your home after the holiday season:

1. Start small: Don't try to declutter your entire home at once. Instead, start with a small, manageable space, like a drawer or closet.

2. Create piles: Sort through your items and create piles for things you want to keep, things you want to donate, and things you want to throw away.

3. Be honest with yourself: When deciding what to keep, ask yourself if you really need or use the item. If not, consider getting rid of it.

4. Donate or sell items: If you have items that are in good condition but you no longer need or want, consider donating them to a thrift store or selling them online. Calm Order has a list of charitable resources HERE.

5. Get rid of broken or damaged items: If an item is broken or damaged beyond repair, it's time to say goodbye. Don’t hang on to the junk.

6. Use storage solutions: If you have items that you want to keep but don't have room for, consider using storage solutions like bins, boxes, or shelves to help keep things organized and out of sight.

7. Tackle one room at a time: Work your way through each room in your home, decluttering and organizing as you go. This will help you stay focused and make progress without getting overwhelmed. Join like with like categories from other rooms as you go.

8. Be careful not to get side tracked when joining categories from other rooms. Stay focused on the one space/ category while working your way out the door.

By following these tips, you can declutter your home and start the new year off with a fresh, organized space. Remember your home did not get disorganized over night and organizing is a process. It will come together. If you get side tracked all the time, its a good idea to call in supports. A good friend, or a professional organizer. Having someone there will help you keep focused. Try it in short sessions so yor are less likely to burn out. Good luck!

Has your family looked at you sideways when you enthusiastically brought up the idea of getting organized?

Imagine being able to find everything once and for all.

Has your family looked at you sideways when you enthusiastically brought up the idea of getting organized? To them it might sound like another cleaning expedition. Have you tried to show them the Marie Kondo fold, or the vertical fold as Calm Order has always called it? Maybe you think your family will laugh or roll their eyes at your attempt to organize, but Allbright doesn't think so. "I find introducing new organizing systems is most often met with a sense of relief because the family often feels over-burdened by their stuff. The want help" says Karen. "But you want the family to USE the organizing system so it needs to reflect how they move through their day naturally."

Calm Order was moving an executive and his partner to their new home in Calgary. They were moving from their family home of 25-years and in the interest of time, did not plan to purge or pre-sort their belongings until moving into their new place. They brought everything with them. When Calm Order conducted a pre-move inventory of their belongings, they quickly saw a challenge with the volume of clothes compared to the closet and drawer space in the new home.

One of the partners was an avid runner and kept every race t-shirt he had earned over his lifetime. And, after 40+ years, that is a lot of t-shirts! He was adamant he would wear his race t-shirts regularly so did not want any placed in storage or out of daily reach. As Professional Organizers helping the partners move into their new home, it meant acknowledging his appreciation for the t-shirts. The Calm Order team needed to develop an organizing system considering the closet and drawer space available. HIs partner called him a collector, we consider him an achiever. A collector does not make regular use of their treasures, they display or store them. And that requires a completely different organizing solution.

The runner laughed out loud as we vertically folded and colour sorted all of his t-shirts and put them away in his drawers. "How am I going to keep that up?" he sighed. The vertical fold organizing approach increases storage capacity significantly and more importantly, makes it much easier to see (and of course wear) each individual shirt. After seeing the drawers completed, he was on board and eager to keep the organizing system in place. A Calm Order organizer showed him how to do the vertical fold, and to help him maintain the organizing system, installed fabric drawer dividers.

Calm Order views organizing as a puzzle to be solved. Karen gently cautions clients not to be too hard on themselves. "There is an organizing solution that can respond to and support almost any behavior. Flat-out laziness excluded of course", Allbright adds with a smile. "It is important to take a step back and try to understand why an organizing system isn't working. If you are starting fresh with a move or just because the time is right, before implementing a new organizing system, ask yourself how you and your family are going to live in the space. Look closely at each member's daily routine and implement an organizing system to support it. That is the key to maintaining organization and minimizing battles within the family."