Need some inspiration to get your home in order after the holidays? I’m sharing my 3 quick tips for a New Year Home Reset. These tips are simple, uncomplicated, and don’t cost a thing!
NEW YEAR HOME RESET
For many, the POST-HOLIDAY CLEAN UP CAN FEEL OVERWHELMING. There’s just so much more to clean and organize than at any other time of year.
Whatever you’re feeling, I completely understand!
IF YOU NEED IDEAS OR A LITTLE MOTIVATION, here are 3 TIPS to help you reset your home and start the year off right.
BUT FIRST: Turbocharge Your Routine By ‘Task Stacking.’
We’ve all heard of multitasking.
MULTI-TASKING is when we do several different things at the same time. This involves engaging in unrelated activities like writing a report for work while trying to get the laundry done or responding to emails while trying to get dinner on the table.
Sometimes it works, but very often it doesn’t. As studies suggest, tasks done this way often take longer because of the constant interruption and additional time required to refocus and regain momentum.
Instead, try ‘TASK STACKING.’
It’s when we group two or more chores together that are compatible. Another way to think of it is to group ‘like with like.’
For example:
– washing dishes while dinner is cooking
– tidying a space just before vacuuming it
– dusting bookshelves as you organize your books
When you multi-task, your attention is divided.
When you task stack, you lean into the natural momentum of taking care of related chores.
You may already be doing this without knowing it.
When we APPLY TASK STACKING TO RESETTING OUR HOMES we will be FAR MORE EFFICIENT and even shave off precious time.
I am all for that!
So with this in mind, here are 3 QUICK TIPS FOR A NEW YEAR HOME RESET (with a little TASK STACKING to help you optimize your routine).
3 QUICK TIPS FOR A NEW YEAR HOME RESET (With Task Stacking)
1. Declutter at least ONE Thing (as You ‘Undecorate” after the holidays)
In the days and weeks following the holidays take the opportunity to declutter your Christmas/seasonal decor as you put them away – a perfect way to be task stacking your routine.
Items you no longer use can be DONATED, RECYCLED OR TOSSED.
IF (and only IF), you have the time (or energy), lean into the momentum of decluttering by looking through one or two additional items THAT YOU CAN DONATE: clothes, cold weather gear, sports gear, kids toys, towels (for animal shelters), decor, etc.
A quick pass through is all you need.
Just this little bit of extra decluttering can help you feel more organized and give you that boost you need to reset your home.
2. Quick-Clean Your Home (and add ONE neglected area to your chores)
Once all the holiday decor is put away, it’s amazing just how dusty and unkempt the house looks! This is a great time to do another quick pass through to tidy, dust surfaces, and vacuum up bits and bobs off the floors.
DON’T OVERTHINK IT. Do a quick clean up. It doesn’t need to be thorough.
As you do a quick once-over, take the opportunity to CHOOSE AT LEAST ONE ADDITIONAL ROOM, AREA OR SPOT THAT NEEDS EXTRA CARE.
It might be a closet, a room, floors or surfaces that haven’t been swept, mopped or vacuumed in weeks and months (guilty!).
It might be something smaller like a pantry that needs dusting and sorting, the space under a bed or sofa that has hidden ‘gems’ that need organizing and cleaning, or bathroom drawers that may be full of dust and hair (or is that just me?).
One of those ‘hidden’ areas in our home is our bathroom drawers and caddies (ugh!) that I too often neglect.
I actually LOVED cleaning these caddies and each product inside. And while I was at it – here comes another task stacking scenario – I decluttered them, too. Anything dried up or not used this past year was tossed. This freed up a third caddy which I can now use for something else.
It was soooo satisfying to get this done!
3. Organize at least ONE Neglected Area Of Your Home
AS YOU CLEAN, you will have a FRESH PERSPECTIVE on a couple of key spots which could be TIDIED UP OR ORGANIZED.
This could be your pantry, the area under your kitchen sink, the hallway closet, bedroom side tables, bathroom drawers, or any spot that stresses you out.
FOR ME, WHILE VACUUMING THE BASEMENT, I decided to WIPE DOWN AND TIDY MY YARN STORAGE CUBBIES nearby.
Depending on the area(s) that you are tidying or re-organizing, you may find it useful to have CONTAINERS TO ORGANIZE SMALL ITEMS.
Whether you use old shoe boxes, delivery boxes, dollar store containers, or containers from Walmart and Amazon (I use all of these in my home), storage containers are great for sorting and organizing those smaller items that often get lost or forgotten.
• For affordable storage and container ideas and where to find them online, take a look at these 9 Hidden Storage Types We Regularly Rely On.
BONUS TIP (for decor lovers)
Once you’ve decluttered, cleaned, and organized your priority areas, take a moment to refresh your space for the season ahead.
DON’T OVERTHINK THIS. Simply add back a few florals, branches, pillows or throws – anything that feels right to you – to infuse that ‘cozy’ factor into your home.
I like things to be relatively minimal after the holidays, so restyling a few surfaces keeps things feeling spare, but cozy, too.
JUST A BIT OF A REFRESH IS ALL I NEEDED.
I hope these 3 quick tips for a new year home reset have been helpful. You don’t need to overhaul your home to have it back in order after the holidays. Just a few tweaks and a few added tasks – task stacking can do wonders! – will help you feel refreshed and ready for the year ahead.
Wishing you all a happy and blessed New Year!
HERE ARE OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES TO KICKSTART YOUR YEAR
• 17 Simple Ways To Reduce Clutter
• 10 Peaceful Home Tips To Create Your Perfect Nesting Space
• 3 Simple Steps To A Less Cluttered Home (+FREE Checklist)
• How To Organize A Linen Closet & Maximize Space
• 9 Hidden Storage Types We Regularly Rely On
• Junk Drawer Organization & Decluttering Tips
• 5 Quick Tips for A New Year Home Reset
***Also, check out two of my favourite organizing experts on YouTube who have oodles of great ideas for organizing your home and life:
• The Minimal Mom (check out her clean house tips for a new year here)
• Clutterbug (Cass has me really motivated right now with her “North Star” productivity strategy here)
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