We have the best of intentions to declutter our homes! With a plethora of ideas (all easy to do in a weekend), we love these ideas to help us redecorate, re-purpose, and reorganize our lives! Stay on track with our New Year’s resolutions for a clutter free life and use some time this weekend to knock this one off your list of things to do!
1. Create space in your kitchen for healthy eating. If eating smarter is one of your New Year’s resolutions, be sure your kitchen is helping and not hindering your mission. Clear unhealthy snack foods from the cupboards, and stock up on fresh, colorful fruits and veggies instead. Clean counters make it easier to get started cooking, so put away small appliances you don’t use daily, along with other clutter that has accumulated there. Splurge on pantry organization tools like clear square plastic containers that fit tidy on shelves and allow you to see the contents inside. We also love the idea of labeling containers so when empty, you can easily add to your shopping list.
2. Organize The Cabinets. Getting organized feels much easier when you are motivated and inspired — that’s why we often start with a bang around the new year but fizzle out later. Revive your excitement, the house experts at Houzz suggest by picking up a beautiful new books on the subject, like New Minimalism, by Cary Telander Fortin and Kyle Louise Quilici (a photograph from Fortin and Quilici’s book is shown here), or Remodelista: The Organized Home, by Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick. Both are packed with inspiring images of clutter-free, neatly organized spaces and include smart, actionable ideas. One of our favorite recommendations is on containment. Install pull out shelves or baskets under cabinets that allow you to organize by category (towels, hair care products, etc. in the bathroom or plastic lids, glass lids in pots and pans, etc. in the kitchen).
3. Organize your desk. It’s a wonderful feeling to start a new week with a clean, clear desk. Put on some music or set a timer to help you stay focused on the task — file or shred papers as needed, put away items that belong elsewhere and clear out at least one drawer to create some breathing space. Kitchen desks tend to be a collect all for clutter. Check out more ideas for 8 Kitchen Desk and Nook Designs to Keep Your Family Organized.
4. Organize The Closets. Empower yourself to rid your closet of freeloaders. You know what we’re talking about – those ill-fitting clothes that you’ve been hanging on to as inspiration to loose ten pounds…shoes that are still like new (but they may your back hurt to wear)…maybe the jeans that still have a little life left in them (if you were still 20). Feel inspired this weekend. Start with three laundry basked to categorize for SELL, DONATE, TRASH. There are plenty of stores that take gently worn (but still fashionable) items for consignment. For ladies, we love Clothes Mentor and for men and juniors, we love Plato’s Closet. There are plenty of organizations that will take gently used professional clothing and recycle to help those reentering the workforce. We love dress for success organizations like Dayton’s Clothes That Work. And the final basket is probably the hardest for some of us – the one that allows us to just throw it away. Free yourself of mismatched socks, shirts that have faded over time, workout shorts that lost their elasticity…once you’ve sorted, check out these closet organization tips from HGTV!
5. Furniture and Accessories. You’ve just remodeled or moved into a new house. You’ve purchased new furniture and accessories to better reflect your clean and contemporary design style. Go through the same exercise (as above) with furniture and accessories. Remember that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and try consigning unused furniture and accessories. We like Home2Home in the Dayton area. There’s no shortage for donating to organizations that assist those in need to get back on their feet or recover from disasters. We like St. Vincent de Paul as they donate items to families in need and also offer free pickup.
For a well organized home building experience, look no further than third generation Dayton home builder Peebles Homes. With new Dayton homes available in Kettering’s Prugh Woods, new Peebles Homes start in the $200s on our home sites or your own!

