After the holidays, your apartment is probably a mess. I know ours is. From running around to different family to eating yourself into exhaustion, it’s easy to let your apartment go. But, now is the perfect time to get re-organized and ready for a fabulous New Year in your fabulous apartment!
I have a huge family, which is such a blessing, especially around the holidays. After attending six (YES, six!) Christmas celebrations between my family and roommate-boyfriend Matt’s family, we had more goodies than we could even carry. Since we were running around all week, the gifts started piling up and we were faced with a serious issue of space.
Our apartment, and most apartments, don’t provide much when it comes to storage. In fact, we have basically none aside from our bedroom closet and a small hall closet that is already jam packed. Here’s what we came up with to re-organize and make our apartment feel big enough to accommodate everything, old and new!
Under the bed storage
This saved us! Walmart and Target have great under-the-bed boxes that are big enough to store out of season clothes, Christmas decorations (and all those gift bags we accumulated), and other random supplies. These boxes are cheap and are so helpful, plus if you have a bedskirt around your bed, they are invisible!
Reorganize + Donate!
While reorganizing (aka condensing your stuff!) can get wasteful if you do it too often, I think it’s important to go through everything every 6 months or so…especially after a good holiday. Look for:
- Clothes you haven’t worn in 1 year
- Things you forgot you have and have no current use for
- Kitchen supplies you have never touched
- Duplicates (socks, Tupperware, etc.)
- Extra THINGS
Cleaning out your apartment gives you a fresh start for the new year: a clear mind, clean apartment, and space to grow.
Cleaning out and DONATING (not just putting the stuff in a box and forgetting about it…which we have done in the past) was helpful. It got us thinking and thankful, plus it was cathartic to go through old clothes (and socks) and make a big pile of things to give to Goodwill. Plus, any donation is tax deductible, so you may save a few bucks in April.
Deep Clean
Get yourself ready for the new year with a deep clean of your apartment. Check out this article for more tips on that. With a little extra time off (hopefully!), now is the perfect time to clean up and prepare for a great year. For us, that means cleaning like vacuuming and dusting, doing laundry, and buying random things we need like lightbulbs and on-brand dishwasher detergent.
Prioritize
Figure out goals for your apartment in the New Year. Is now the time to get that IKEA bookshelf you wanted? Do you really just need a new kitchen knife set? Reward yourself with a fun buy and let it help you organize further.
For more organizing tips check here how to redo a small closet and here how to avoid becoming a clutter addict.
Papers, books, brochures and magazines tend to accumulate on flat surfaces all around the house, and the family room is no different. In fact, the family room is often more cluttered because it’s a central gathering place in the house. If you don’t have the floor space, a stackable file cart will do.Make a quick sweep of all flat surfaces by piling papers in a bin, then sorting and purging as necessary. Take a vow, and get your family to.
Hahaha….yes this is how really is after the holidays! Very useful post! Thanks!
So glad you thought it was helpful! I thought it was a good reminder that it’s a New Year for your apartment, too! Happy New Year!