Raise your hand if your home has seen better days. Hey, we’ve all been there. One second it feels like you have everything tucked away and under control, and the next it looks like a tornado tore through the place. But with the start of the new year underway, it’s the perfect time to make a change. Here, a week-by-week breakdown of how to organize your home with tips from Cristina Gutierrez, a PureWow editor who prides herself on never losing a spice jar to the depths of her pantry (she is a Virgo, after all).
Twenty20
Week 1: Whip Your Wardrobe into Shape
Skip the color coding and arrange seasonally instead. “I organize my closet kind of like a timeline,” Cristina says. Think: Warmer to cooler as you go left to right. For instance, start with strapless and sleeveless tops, followed by short sleeves, off-the-shoulder, asymmetrical and long sleeves. Dresses can be sorted by length, short to long. This approach allows you to target a specific area of your closet and helps you see exactly what you’re working with rather than a sea of black tops side-by-side.
Week 2: Give Your Medicine Cabinet a Dose of Care
If nothing topples out when you open it, you’re already on the right track. (Seriously, though, kudos to you.) The next step here is to treat it like your kitchen spice rack. Put the most commonly used items front and center, or wherever feels most natural for you to grab quickly. Don’t forget to group your tools accordingly, too. For instance, if you use a face toner, make sure the cotton rounds are right there next to it.
Week 3: Go All Out on Your Pantry
For a sturdy foundation for the rest of your dry goods, start by stacking bulkier items, like your favorite Well Yes! soup cans, in a spot you can easily reach. Then, get familiar with using reusable containers for things like chia seeds, oats and cereal. But make sure not to Tetris them in there—this only makes it harder to get what you need and stack it all back in. Instead, divide the space vertically with some shelves. Here’s where you can get creative. Cristina says, “I like to use space dividers so I can stack things up, instead of pushing them to the back, where I always forget about them.”
Week 4: Tackle Your Entryway
It doesn’t take much for an entryway to get out of shape since it’s a drop zone for all things dirty, messy and miscellaneous. Instead, make it a point to have a spot for everything—even things you can’t anticipate—with hooks, shelves and baskets everywhere. Bottom line: Let no nook go unused.
