One Year to an Organized Life

The One-Year Plan

If you want to organize your home according to a one-year plan, begin with the current month and work through the year. Capture your goals on a collaged dream board, but don’t worry about being artistic. Cut out and paste up magazine pictures that represent how you want your house to look. This visual aid will help you stick with your organizational projects.

Even if you habitually struggle to find your gloves or can’t use your dining table because of the clutter, you can get organized. Every sorting project falls into three steps:

1. “Eliminate” – Return borrowed items, toss unneeded junk and put things back in their proper locations. The drinking glass in your bedroom belongs in the kitchen.
2. “Categorize” – As you go through things, start categorizing every item to save time. Put spices together so you know what you need to buy. Create folders for each person in the household covering medical, financial, school and work concerns.
3. “Organize” – After cleaning and sorting, decide how to keep things in order.

At the end of the day, take a break so you don’t ...