January is Get Organized Month and that gives me TONS of reasons to celebrate! If you remember in previous years there were 5 tasks assigned per week for the entire month as we made our way through the Organizational Diet. This year, I want to focus on some truly troubling spots and really walk you through the intricacies of perfecting them once and for all!

Tackling just one space a week not only makes it more manageable but, it provides the time to get the job done right; this is not a race, this could be the incredible start to an amazing year! Here are the areas we will be covering:
-that holiday decor needs to come down, so we’ll start there

-your closet no doubt needs a revamp!
In a couple weeks, I will be sending you the details on how to perfect

-your kitchen & pantry post holiday purge
…and the biggest trouble maker of all …your garage!

Read on for the Insider Tips & Tricks you’ll need to conquer these trouble spots and become Organized & Orderly!

The Holidays are over ~let’s get organized!
Decorating for the holidays can be a ton of fun and the perfect way to get the whole family in the mood to celebrate. However, once the celebrations are over, you’re faced with a pile of holiday stuff to sort, organize, and put away. EEK! And of course now everyone is off doing something else so it’s all on you but, not to worry, we can help!
1)  Investing in storage containers to tackle your toughest challenges is a must! I have a master list of THE best options for every room in the house! If you’re on a budget, you can find tons of useful items around your home that can be repurposed to store holiday supplies. Just remember to keep them as uniform as possible to conserve space, and label, label, label!
2)  Since the Christmas & New Years decor is already out, take this opportunity to separate your decorations by holiday, give each holiday its own box or container.
3)  Wrap those lights! You’ll save a lot of space if you wrap holiday lights around cardboard instead of just shoving them into a box.  You can also wrap the lights around a paper towel roll.
4)  Did I mention how important it is to LABEL EVERYTHING? Surprises can be fun, but searching for a certain box with no luck can be frustrating. Unless you’re using clear bins, consider creating labels for your boxes. These can be as simple as “Halloween” and “Fourth of July,” but you can also add a bit more detail and list a few of the contents – especially if you’ve got multiple boxes for the same holiday.

5)  Again, this is not a race, take the time to appropriately pack away fragile decor & ornaments. Small ornaments can easily be stored in egg cartons, while larger ones can be stored in plastic cups separated by layers of cardboard.

6)  Hang it up! Don’t have a ton of space to stack boxes and bins? Consider hanging some of your holiday decor to keep it out of the way using hanging organizers.
7)  Don’t pack everything away …keep a box of recurring holiday decorations somewhere you can reach them quickly -especially birthdays which can happen any time of year. Stash your balloons, birthday banner and garlands, gift wrapping supplies, and anything else you’ll reach for throughout the year somewhere you can get to it without unpacking the rest of your holiday stuff. Need help creating a wrapping station? We can help with that too!
 Please give me a call at 949.667.4664 or email me and let’s see how I can help get you more Organized & Orderly  in 2020! Also, be sure to check out my blogs for added insight into how to turn utter chaos into organized bliss.

Your Dream Closet awaits!
~Find an Empty Area & Take Everything Out of Your Closet~
You will take everything out of your closet and find somewhere reasonable to put your clothes. This could be your bed, your couch or if there is nowhere else, the floor! I know it seems scary taking EVERYTHING out but it’s necessary. You’re going through a deep cleaning, no half efforts. This also means taking out the items that don’t really belong in your closet! Like fitness equipment, sporting equipment, an iron, old boxes, etc. If you really want to know how to organize your closet you’re going to have to get rid of some bad habits, like stuffing everything that we don’t want to see in the closet!
~Separate all Clothes into Seasons~
Separate all of your clothes into different piles based on the season. This includes coats, sweaters, dresses, shorts, skirts, etc. All of your clothing needs to be sorted so it’s easier to get through. I know this might seem like a simple organizing tip but once you really get into the motion of separating your clothes some items can be difficult to sort. Like cardigans or jeans. When separating your clothes into winter, spring, summer or fall remember when you normally wear the pieces. I usually place jeans into the fall pile, shorts in summer, skirts into spring, etc. the main point is to sort the clothing so you have quickly categorized each piece and your closet is empty.
~Create three separate areas for Keep, Toss and Maybe~
Once separated into Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter find boxes or trash bags and make an area for each of the following:  ‘Keep’, ‘Toss’, and ‘Maybe’. You want to have these areas ready because once you start deciding what stays and what goes you want to have an area to place everything. So make sure you have a designated area for each of the three categories.
Now take a breather …so far so good, right?! Easy. Step four and five is where most of your time will be spent. This is when deep contemplation and separation anxiety creeps in… just kidding, kind of 😉 Don’t stop now, you can do this!
~Ask Yourself These 7 Questions About Each Piece~
 You don’t want to spend more than a couple of minutes on each item if needed try on a piece to verify your feelings about it. Though I am often tempted, I do try not to make whole outfits out of individual pieces. I focus, rather, on just one item at a time. Once I have filled my Keep pile I will be able to mix and match my pieces into outfits. I know you might be tempted too but you must resist the urge and stay focused.
After finishing with the first season move on to the next and repeat. Once all the clothing is sorted, I start again on the maybe pile and go through them once more. I try to whittle the Maybe pile to a decent size. This step to organizing your closet is the most time-consuming. Don’t get overwhelmed and remember why you are doing it. You want to have a closet full of clothes you love so you look stylish every day and every piece you pull out of your closet you know will look fabulous on you!
~Put Everything Back in Your Closet in an Organized Way~
Here are 4 different ways to organize your closet but, be sure you have the right tools to succeed. Select the organizing plan below that suits you best & then before you complete the task, pick out the containers & organizers that will get the job done!
  • Organize Your Closet by Season:  If you put away your Winter clothes in the Spring and your Summer clothes in the Fall than you’re a seasonal gal. This is a good choice for those of you with smaller closets when all of your clothes don’t fit at the same time. As each season passes put away the clothes you know you won’t wear. This method of organizing takes a lot of reorganizing and cleaning but if you don’t wear your summer pieces in the winter there is no need to have them in your closet, especially if they don’t fit.
  • Organize Your Closet by Clothing Type:  I like to have similar items together. I like seeing all the options I have at a glance not having to go back and forth in case I want to wear a summery dress in the Fall with boots and a jacket. This, in my opinion, is the easiest and best way to organize your closet. So organize all of your shirts together, all your pants together, all blazers together and so on from darkest to lightest.
  • Separate Work and Casual:  If you own more work clothes than you do casual or vice versa it might behoove you to separate your work/office attire from your casual attire. This is optimal for some because it separates the style of clothes say jeans from trousers.
  • Organize your closet by how often you wear them:  If you wear some items more than others than you could place those front and center. It’s no use having clothes you never wear easily available, give priority to the clothes that you wear every week or month.

How you arrange your closet, as with all organizing done, should suit your lifestyle. Make sure the closet space you have can accommodate your wardrobe so that all items are visible, easy to access, and not so crowded that finding a simple top becomes a struggle. Finding a system unique to your organizing needs is what it’s all about, put in the time to do it right & it will help you be the ‘best you’ you can be.

~Invest in good quality matching hangers~  

It’s always a good idea to invest in quality hangers. Not only do the hangers themselves last longer, but the clothes you hang on them will too.  There’s no need to run out and buy them all at once.  My favorite are from Costco, black, velvet-covered, they add an elegant touch without breaking the bank. You also want all of your hangers to match. It makes for a more appealing closet. Just like in stores.

Remember to Keep Calm & Get Organized, I’m just a phone call away 949.667.4664

A Little History Lesson
on Motivation!
The National Association of Productivity & Organizing is a United States association dedicated to the field of organizing. In 1983, a group of women in Los Angeles gathered together when realizing they shared a common interest – organizing people’s homes, businesses and time. All of these women shared an entrepreneurial passion for helping others get organized. They started the Association for Professional Organizers and continued to meet regularly in their homes. In January 1986, the group had grown to 16 women who formally created a non-profit association that would meet regularly, collect dues, adopt bylaws and be run by a board of directors.
This was officially the beginning of the National Association of Professional Organizers, as we know today. Today, NAPO has over 4000 members, including myself of course, and people all over the world! NAPO’s current tagline, The Organizing Authority, demonstrates their professionalism, expertise and service to those in the organizing field. January is now officially know as National Get Organized Month because of this amazing organization. So stay the course, you can do this, and stay tuned for pointers to get you through the next 2 trouble spots!