Home Organizing 12-month challenge

What if I told you that you can have your ENTIRE home organized in 12-months or less with minimal commitment? By spreading out projects, it is less anxiety producing and allows rest in between working on a room! The key is to have a written plan in place. Pick a day/time and mark it on your calendar.

If getting your home organized is a goal, here is a plan to keep going throughout the year to reach your goals.

January

Main bedroom. Invest in organizational materials. Donate all clothing, shoes, belts, etc that you have not worn in the past season. Try to not fall into sentimentality or "what ifs". These items can be replaced and clothing goes out of style quickly. Put the donation bags at the door to make room for organizing. Empty everything out of the closet (if you can afford a clothing rack to hang what is pulled out, it will help keep things orderly). Put all clothing on matching hangers and sort by color and item (ie; dresses, skirts, pants, etc). Do this with your shoes too. Place them back into the closet. Once your closet is done, use the same process with your dresser drawers.

February/March/April

Second/Third/Fourth bedroom. Invest in the next set of organizational materials and start the same process above. I always recommend doing similar rooms first if you are tackling an organization project by yourself. By the second or third bedroom you will have it down to a science. If hiring an organizer, then this does not need to be done as organizers can switch gears and don't become overwhelmed easily. They can organize the rooms most important first which quickens the feeling of peace and function in the home.

May

Kitchen. Invest in the next set of organizational materials. The kitchen is generally the most expensive to organize as containers and drawer organizers tend to be the most costly. It also takes more time to organize a kitchen, with bigger kitchens taking more time and investment. Make a plan on where your food will be stored and how you want to section the most used items within the cabinet (cans of vegetables, cans of soup, pasta, beans, rice, etc). Pull everything out of the cabinets and throw away expired food. Next, do the same for drawers. Expect several days to finish this area.

June/July

Bathroom(s). Invest in organizational items. Pull everything out of the bathroom and throw away expired medicine, makeup, and toiletries. Keep only items that you have used in the last year. Use labeled bins and under the cabinet storage to keep things neat an tidy.

August

Basement. Invest in matching plastic tubs. Purge anything that you have not used. Be aware again regarding sentimentality. Handing down your child's crib from 25 years ago is not a good idea. Safety protocols change as injuries happen and what was considered safe at the time of raising your child, might not be deemed safe now. Basements tend to be a drop zone for everything you don't want to deal with at the moment and that causes clutter to accumulate. Once you have your donation pile sorted and by the door, it will be time to start organizing. Label tubs according to what they are and store in sections of "like items" (ie; Christmas, Fall, wind glasses and serving ware). Use the parameter of the basement and keep the middle clear. By using the walls you get a clear visual of everything so finding something is simple.

September

Garage. Invest in shelving and cabinets. Now that the weather is cooling off, and in the anticipation of the coming winter months, it is time to tackle the garage. Put anything to be donated in your car. Pull everything to the middle of the garage and use the front parameter to set up organizational shelves and cabinets. Placing items on the side walls make it too hard to open your car door. If the garage will not have cars in it, then the side walls would all a lot of storage for you.

October/November/December

Misc. Closets/Crawl Space. Finish off with anything that is a small project or if everything has been done, enjoy the holiday season knowing you have reached your goals to create a new organized environment for you and your family. Celebrate your achievement!

Sample Calendar:

JANUARY

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
						1 Order organizational supplies
2	3	4	5	6	7 Purge all donation items from closet	8 Purge all donation items from dresser(s).
9	10	11	12	13	14	15
16	17	18	19	20	21 Organize Closet	22 Organize Dresser(s)
23	24	25	26	27	28	29
30	31

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For more tips on organizing visit my website at www.beautifulhomeorganizing.com.

*All pictures in this article are the actual organizations of Beautiful Home Organizing, LLC. For more before and after pictures visit my website above.