How to Keep Your Space Clutter-Free During the Holidays (and Beyond)
Getting organized is one thing. Keeping it that way is another.
I often say that getting organized is really about having a place for everything and keeping it there. But what happens when you actually need to use those things? How do you keep your kitchen, closet, home office, or any other space from getting cluttered all over again?
This is especially worth thinking about during the holidays, when we're using our spaces differently, pulling things out for projects, and adding more activities to our regular routines.
The good news is that maintaining an organized space doesn't mean everything has to stay perfectly in place all the time. You need to be able to use your things. And using them is actually one of the best opportunities to make your organizing systems work better.
Keep Decluttering as You Use Your Things
Once you've defined a space and decided what belongs there, you've made your first round of organizing decisions. But you're not necessarily finished.
As you use things, you get another opportunity to evaluate whether they're working for you.
Grab a pen out of the pen cup and discover it doesn't write? Toss it. Pick up a kitchen knife and realize it's uncomfortable to use? Maybe it's time to swap it out for a better one.
The same thing happens in your closet. You put on a shirt and spend the entire day tugging at it because it doesn't fit quite right. Or you wear a pair of shoes and remember that one of them pinches your foot.
Those are all opportunities to make another decision.
You don't have to pull everything out and start another major decluttering project. Pay attention to what you're actually using and whether those things are still serving you.
Organize Around How You Actually Use Things
The next thing to notice is how you're using your space.
Let's say you're working on a collage. You go to your art cabinet to get some poster board, glue, and other supplies, but you have to move three things just to reach the glue.
If making collages is something you do regularly, why is the glue so difficult to access?
Maybe it belongs somewhere more convenient. Maybe the markers you rarely use can move to another spot. Or perhaps a different container would make it easier to get things out and put them away.
You don't always know these things when you're first setting up a space. You have to use it to discover what needs adjusting.
The same goes for your closet. If you have to move two other things every time you put away a sweater you wear regularly, maybe it's time to rearrange the sweaters and shirts.
Organizing isn't something you do once and then never touch again. You can keep fine-tuning the placement of things as you learn what works.
Reset Your Space When You're Finished
One of the most useful habits you can develop is putting things back where they belong at the end of a work session.
When you're finished with a project, return the supplies. When you're done working for the day, clear your desk and put your folders back in their designated places.
For example, I keep folders for regularly scheduled activities on one side of my desk and current, one-time projects on the other.
If I'm working with a folder throughout the day, I can have it out on my desk while I need it. But at the end of the day, it goes back to its designated spot, even if the project isn't finished.
That way, when I sit down tomorrow, my desk is clear and ready for whatever I'm working on next.
The same idea applies to your kitchen, your closet, or the space where you're wrapping gifts or working on holiday projects.
You can have things out while you're using them. Just take a little time to reset the space when you're finished.
Pay Attention When Putting Things Away Gets Difficult
Putting things away can also tell you when an organizing system needs attention.
If I go to return a folder to its usual spot and discover that the space is getting crowded, that's useful information.
Maybe there are folders for activities I'm no longer doing. Maybe something needs to move into longer-term storage. Or perhaps I haven't reviewed that collection in a while.
Instead of squeezing one more thing into an already crowded space, I can take a look at what's there and make another decision.
This is also true when you're putting laundry away or returning supplies to a cabinet. If putting something back is unnecessarily difficult, pay attention.
You may need to remove something, rearrange the space, or change how you're storing those items.
The easier you make it to put things away, the more likely you are to keep doing it.
Make It Easier for Next Time
This is really what resetting your space is all about.
You've defined the space. You've decided what belongs there. You use the things you need, and when you're finished, you return them to their places.
Along the way, you notice what could work better and make small adjustments.
Maybe something needs to be more accessible. Maybe an item no longer belongs there. Maybe you've learned something about how you work that changes the way you want the space set up.
Every time you interact with that space, you have another opportunity to make it a little easier to use.
And during the holidays, when there's already plenty going on, having spaces that are easy to use and easy to reset can make a real difference.
You don't need to keep everything looking untouched. Use your things, tinker with the arrangement, make adjustments, and keep going.
That's one of the secrets to living a more streamlined life.
What can you do today to make your space easier to use next time?
