It is a brand new year and we are going strong! January is the best time to declutter! Throughout the month of January, I am sharing my favorite things to do and tackle in my own life to get my family set up and prepared for a brand new year.
In this article, we are creating your own 2024 home organization checklist so you can live clutter-free. It is so freeing to live in a clutter-free space! When you live in a decluttered space, you get your time back. Additionally, your kids will play more independently, you’re going to sleep better, you’re going to move better and you’ll have more joy. Everything will be improved by getting rid of clutter! If there is anything you do this year…it should be this!
Listen Below For The Entire Episode On The Systemize Your Life Podcast
Declutter One Space At A Time
We are not trying to tackle all of the clutter right now, all we are trying to do is setup a guide, or map or realistic short list so you have something to refer to get your house from where it is now, to a much more minimal state. You ready to do this with me? Here are the steps you need to take to organize your house.
My list isn’t long, but my projects are massive. Everyone’s lists will look different, there’s no right or wrong way, or even expectation of coming out of this year with your entire house redone. If that is your goal, it is possible, it just requires commitment.
You don’t even have to do an entire space, just one drawer will change your life! I recently reorganized our utility drawer, (we do not call it a junk drawer because everything has its own place and we do not keep junk) because it wasn’t working, stuff started piling up and I just knew the space wasn’t working the way that it should. So, I found drawer organizers from IKEA in my garage. IKEA stuff is my favorite! I have had IKEA furniture in my life for over 25 years and it is still working perfectly. Seriously, I have two nightstands and two end tables that have been with me forever!
Back to the drawer, I moved all the stuff around and put things that go together in an organized fashion back in the drawer, with the organizer, and I kid you not… the results were amazing! My kids noticed, my husband noticed, nothing is moving around in there, it is easier to clean, it is simply the best.
Determine How Often You Want To Declutter
Evaluate what suits your home and schedule to decide on the frequency of your decluttering sessions. If you’re quick and dealing with a smaller project, an hour might just be the sweet spot for getting things in order. However, if you find yourself surrounded by an abundance of belongings in a larger space, be prepared to invest 2-4 hours in each decluttering project. It’s all about tailoring your approach to the size and needs of your space.
Now, take a closer look at your schedule. Can you spare that amount of time on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis? Once you’ve identified the right frequency, mark it on your calendar and stick to the plan. Remember, starting small is key. Every intentional effort, no matter how minor, contributes to significant and lasting results. So, whether it’s a weekly quick fix or a monthly deep dive, commit to the decluttering journey and watch your space transform over time!
Prioritize The Most Important Spaces For Decluttering
Next, take a quick inventory of the most troublesome areas in your home. What/where is causing you the most strife in your home right now? Is it getting out the door to school? Is it packing lunches? Getting dressed in the morning? Giving the kids a bath? Cooking and the pantry? The kids play area? Is it your office and all the clutter is making it hard to get work done? Is it the kitchen island? What are the areas causing you the most trouble? Do you have a space, like the basement, that serves as a dumping ground but actually isn’t giving you any trouble? If so, that is probably not the space you want to start with. Put it on the list, but don’t put a star next to it.
Now it’s time to focus. You will get the most bang for your buck if you focus on the areas that are really causing havoc for your brain or schedule. After you’ve put these decluttering sessions in your schedule, then you decide which spaces on your list that you are going to focus on in that allocated block of time. So now, you have a list of the spaces you want to tackle and you have a committed amount of time to do it in. You’re off to the races and ready to go!
Speedy Mom Calculations:
If you were going to declutter every other month, and you had 12 spaces written down, that’s 6 decluttering sessions a year. That’s 6 blocks of time to go all-in on one sore spot in your home. You can make this decluttering session fun with music and a snack tray and the family’s buy-in. Or, maybe for you, it needs to be the opposite. Maybe your goal is your master bedroom closet and bathroom. You break those spaces into zones and you choose smaller, private working sessions to ransack those spaces and get them done!
Either way, the point is make a plan and stick to it.
Google Calendar Your Decluttering Sessions
In order to have a clutter-free life, it can’t stop there. The last thing you have to do is schedule all of these things in your google calendar with the set amount of time that you need to declutter the space you’ve deemed most important. That is the beauty of this whole thing is sitting down and saying I’m putting this on the calendar and I commit to this!
You might be thinking, ‘I’m sitting on my bathroom floor with a trashbag and I don’t know what to do???’ If you want to know my fail-safe way to truly decluttering every single place in your home then you need my ESCAPE method, where you escape your clutter and live mess free. You can access the entire ESCAPE method when you join the Systemize Your Life Academy as a VIP student. Check out the VIP option HERE. It is literally the best time of year to do this!
If you come in as a student you will have access to videos, workbooks and worksheets along with a beautiful list that everyone can see and everyone will know what the family is working towards and committed to and you will succeed in the shortest amount of time possible. I just love to jumpstart my year in this way!
My Personal Declutter Plans This Year
It is incredibly exciting to sit down and think about what I’m going to do this year in terms of organizing. We’ve got some big projects on the books. First on my list is my pantry, we actually call it the “headbanger” because people can literally knock themselves out on this headboard in this space. I am really excited about this space because there I can do my fermententing, process all of the kid’s lunchboxes, their homework space, all of it. I need a good amount of shelving in there, so that’s a bigger project I’ve got lined up.
Earlier this year, I tackled my linen closet and the laundry room. I reorganized both of those spaces with the help of my mom. I’ve been working in the kitchen as well and some vanities, BUT our last and biggest project of the year is the daunting garage. There are so many boxes full of so many things. We have some other smaller projects, like the built-ins in our library. I have to organize and systemize those shelves and nooks, and I’ll get those done, but the biggest projects we need to tackle this year are the “headbanger” and the garage.
Excited about actually scheduling and decluttering your home? Top to bottom or just one small drawer, I’m with you every step of the way! Check out these blog posts to explore this topic further: Decluttering Made Simple: Your Guide to the Five Minute Method, Fast Action Plan to Declutter Your Home and Never Go Back, Declutter Your Home with The Escape Method for Busy Moms, List of 15 Simple Spaces to Declutter in Less Than 5 Minutes.
“If there is anything you do this year…it should be this!“
Inspiration For Decluttering
No matter what spaces you choose, know that these spaces in our homes play a crucial role in our daily lives, and organizing them will bring numerous benefits.
As we embark on this journey to declutter our homes in 2024, seize the opportunity to bless yourself and your family with a clutter-free and organized living space. Follow the steps outlined in this comprehensive guide, and witness the positive impact on your time, family dynamics, and overall well-being. Cheers to a clutter-free and organized year ahead!
That’s what my 2024 looks like. I’d love to see your list! Share it with me on Instagram! I’d also love to see you in Systemize Your Life as a VIP student, where you can get the ESCAPE method bonus along with other trademark systems like the marriage retreat bonus and life-changing budgeting bonuses as well.
What an amazing opportunity you have here to go and bless yourself and your family with a little less clutter in your home this year! Share your home organization list at our Facebook Community where we bring these discussions to life. There your will find real moms who are working to declutter and organize their homes alongside you. If you find you want to dig into more of my systems, start here with this quiz!
I trust that this episode has provided inspiration, and I look forward to having you join me again soon.
Frequently Asked Questions
I want to declutter my home but I don't know where to start?
Focus on the ONE area, or even drawer, in your home that is causing you the most strife. Go visit that area. Start there. Focus on organizing and decluttering that ONE space to help you get started and really get the ball moving forward. If you want to tackle that space in the most seamless way possible, jump into Systemize Your Life as a VIP student and start at the ESCAPE method bonus where you learn the most direct path to a clutter-free home and sound mind. Join us in the Systemize Your Life Facebook group for support to help you move towards your decluttering goals! You can do this!
