Forget waiting till spring to do a big clean, now is the time to get organised. Here we have 15 great tips to help you get your home organised right now.

 

During winter, we naturally like to hibernate a little bit, spending a lot more time inside. For this reason, it becomes more important for the home to be clean and tidy, because we are spending more time enjoying it.

 

So, although certain times of the year are famous for big cleans, like the infamous spring clean, it actually makes the most sense to get your home organised during this time of year. You’ll be spending more time inside, you’re going to need space for all the Christmas presents you’ll be buying, you’ll also need more space for all the gifts you will be receiving, and no one wants to go into the New Year with a house full of junk. A tidy home is a tidy mind and this time of the year is very stressful, so a tidy mind is certainly something most of us could benefit from!

 

Here are 15 useful tips to help you get your home organised:

 

• School Nights – Often on busy school mornings we can end up turning the place upside down trying to find something we didn’t know was needed, and thus continues the circle of disorganisation with things getting lost. Prepare for school mornings the night before. Have a system in place to ensure the kids’ bags are packed for the next day, with homework, sports kits etc. Designate hooks, boxes and other areas for the kids to put their uniform and bags in, and make sure they know to do so. Basically, it might sound like a military operation but, if you have a system in place, things will run much more smoothly.

 

• Work Nights – In the same way you sort out the kids’ stuff the night before, do the same for your work stuff. Have a bowl for your keys by the door, have your uniform or outfit on a hanger, and have your own bag packed if you need to take a report in, or specific books, files or tech.

 

• Bathroom Clutter – Bathroom clutter can take a beautiful bathroom from chic to shabby in minutes. Have cute baskets, plastic tubs and other small storage solutions for all your bits and bobs. Small trugs are particularly useful for putting wet items in like shampoo bottles.

 

• Magnet Strips – To organise ‘sharps’ inside a bathroom cabinet, place a magnetic strip inside which you can use to hang all your tweezers and nail scissors from – just make sure the cabinet is out of the reach of little hands.

 

• Regularly Throw Out Old Bathroom Items – Often the clutter that mounts up in the bathroom consists of items that could easily be thrown away – empty shampoo bottles, old makeup, out of date lotions and potions. Have a monthly clear-out to regularly get rid of old debris.

 

• Roll Up Your Towels – Towels can look untidy when they are hung. To store your clean, dry towels in the bathroom, consider rolling them up and stacking them in a cabinet or on a shelf.

 

• Put Hooks Everywhere – Wherever you can put hooks up in your home – do it. They come in so handy for hanging tea towels, bags, pictures, decorations – just make sure you don’t hammer any in where there are electrics or where people might bang their head. Consider using stick on hooks for lighter items.

 

• Have More Than One Laundry Basket – Place laundry baskets in different areas if you can. One in the bedroom, one in the bathroom – wherever people change their clothes so there’s never an excuse to leave dirty clothing on the floor.

 

• Sort Your Clothes Out – This is the perfect time of year to have a clothes sort out because the weather is changing. Have a few bags – charity, bin, sell. You could also have additional piles like a storage pile if you intend to take any of your clothes to your self storage facility, or a swap/ giveaway pile if you want your friends to gain from your clearout. The most important thing is to be ruthless.

 

• Get Your Spare Room/ Garage/ Shed/ Storage Unit Back! Regardless of which room it is, you will have a room that you use to throw any old rubbish into. Like a giant version of a messy drawer. This should be your priority to sort out. Take a weekend to organise whichever room it is that needs organising; now is a good time to declutter. If it is at home – you’re paying a mortgage or rent for space you don’t use and you’re not using items or equipment you could use if you had more space. If your messy area is a self storage unit – this needs organising right away, you’re directly paying for this area to be messy when you could save and downgrade to a smaller unit simply by having a decluttering session.

 

• Organise Your Clothes – When you have the clothes setup you want to keep, get them organised. Think of all the different ‘types’ of clothes you have – work/ casual/ party and organise them that way. If you find you’re struggling for space, especially with sections of clothes you don’t use during winter – consider investing in some cheap storage units to help you become more organised.

 

• Terminate The Tupperware – Tupperware takes up loads of space. Sort through it all, ditching any with cracks, with no lid, or any you really do not use any more. You’ll be surprised at how much cupboard space you gain.

 

• Get A Tin For Packet Herbal Teas – If you drink a lot of teas which come in little paper packets (enabling you to identify them) get a tin and fill it with them. This takes up a lot less space than having all the individual boxes in the cupboard.

 

• Have Direct Access To The Things You Use Everyday – Don’t fill up valuable counter space with items you only use every now and then. Only have direct access to those items you do use every day, including coffee machine, toaster, utensils and condiments.

 

• Make Time To Get Organised! – Stop making excuses and telling yourself you’d love to organise a certain area of the home but you just don’t have time. If you want to do something – make time! Your house is only getting more hectic the longer you put it off! Spend an afternoon sorting the spare room, spend 5 minutes sorting out a kitchen cupboard, spent a weekend organising your attic – whatever it is, stop putting it off. The sooner you get organised, the sooner you can start re