4 Actually Attainable Organizing Goals I’m Setting for My Home This Year

I’m in an on-again, off-again relationship with home organization. When I’m on, I’m more inspired to keep my surfaces tidy, put things away, and tackle all those disorderly nooks and corners of my apartment. When I’m off, I start to abandon my own organizational systems, I cut corners when putting things away, and the mess and clutter just seem to pile up. This year, I’d like to reach an equilibrium with the state of my home. I don’t need it to be in perfect, tip-top shape all the time—because, for one thing, I know that’s not realistic, and that’s not quite my style anyhow. However, I would like to establish a bit more consistency and make a commitment to myself to keep my home more organized. So, I’m setting home organization goals for myself this year—and I’m keeping them simple and attainable.

Put Coats and Bags Away, Not Down

When my entryway is a mess, the rest of my apartment usually follows suit, and it makes my daily routine feel far more chaotic. So, one of my biggest organizing goals for myself this year is to keep my entryway in order—and that’s mostly determined by what I do with my coat and bags when I return home at night. My entryway consists of a small hallway with two closets (I’m very lucky) and a nook where I have a shoe rack and a small chair. Since the shoe rack is right there and visible, I’m pretty good about putting my shoes back in their spot when I get home. But, for some reason, I tend to bypass both of my entryway closets and just load up that poor, small chair with my coat, scarf, bag, and anything else that I have in my hands when I enter my home. This quickly causes a domino effect, turning my entryway into an overwhelming dumping ground for miscellaneous things I pick up on my way in and out of the house.

So, my new rule for myself this year is to put away my coat, bags, and whatever else I’m carrying right when I enter my house—and keep my entryway chair clear.

Deal With Mail Immediately

Mail is another common culprit of entryway clutter. However, I don’t have a console table in my entryway, so my mail usually ends up on one of the surfaces in my kitchen—which, to me, is even worse. I hate having to push a pile of mail out of the way as I’m trying to prep food on my already limited counter space. The even more annoying part is that the pile is almost always 100% junk mail that I have no need to hold onto in the first place.

So, my second clutter-related goal for myself this year is to simply deal with my mail immediately when I enter my home. Since the majority of my mail is junk, that mostly just means throwing it straight in the trash or recycling bin. However, I’m also making it a goal to deal with packages right away, as well, which means not only opening the package and putting away whatever was inside it, but also breaking down the box.

Clear My Kitchen Surfaces Each Night Before Bed

As mentioned, I’m not exactly rich in counter space, so cluttered surfaces in the kitchen can lead to a lot of frustration. To keep my kitchen surfaces more streamlined and organized, I’m working on making it part of my nighttime routine to clear off any excess from the counters before I go to bed every night. This means putting back any spices that I took out for cooking, putting away any rings or jewelry I took off while food prepping, tossing any trash, dealing with any mail piles (in case I failed at my previous goal), and finishing up with a wipe down to keep the counters clean. I’m hoping that making this a part of my daily routine will both discourage me from putting miscellaneous items on the kitchen counters and also make my daily cooking feel more relaxed and enjoyable.

Complete One Organizing or Decluttering Project Each Month

In addition to the daily routine of keeping my home more organized (or at least trying to), I also have a laundry list of organizing projects I want to tackle. While some of the projects are smaller—like reorganizing my sock drawer or finally sorting through that bin in the back of my closet—I’ve been putting them off because I never know exactly where to start. I’m hoping to break my list up into approachable, bite-sized tasks with the goal of completing just one organizing or decluttering project each month. First up for this month: I want to declutter the floor of my hall closet, which has become the storage destination for miscellaneous items, to-be-donated clothing, and other things I won’t even be able to see until I start decluttering.

While one project a month may seem unambitious, I feel like starting low with my goal is the only way to insure that I will stay focused and actually start checking things off my list. And if I feel inspired to complete another project in the same month? That’s just a bonus.