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Hi, everyone!

Happy new year! I’m not someone who often makes new year’s resolutions…I prefer to make goals for myself throughout the year. This year is no exception—I didn’t make a “resolution” per say, but I am craving a little order in my life after the holiday. So, I set an organization goal for the month of January: do one small project every day to make the Bauer household run a little more smoothly.

I’ve been posting these projects on my Facebook and toGather pages and thought I’d use my blog to recap those tasks. It’s not too late to try these at home…better late than never!

On January 1, I focused on properly storing your holiday decorations—particularly tree ornaments, which are SO fragile. If you take time to use a special storage box like this one (Santa’s Best 27-Count Tier Organization System) you can ensure your family’s precious memories will last a lifetime. Also, I love the color of this box...I like to organize all my Christmas decorations into red and green containers so they're easy to find.

January 2: Keeping a tidy desk is almost impossible…unless you have something like the Neat Desk. While the mail—at least mine anyway—is mostly junk, important bits come in and you just never know if you’re going to need to keep. Instead of filing it or leaving it for another day, take five minutes every day to sort and scan your papers. Do it every day and it will pay off.

January 3: Tidying up the living room shouldn’t take forever. But by the time the toys, clothes, jewelry, and shoes are returned to their appropriate spots, a half hour is gone before you know it. This year, I got smart and bought every Bauer—even Brosky—an ottoman. And tidying up takes half the time. If you’re feeling really ambitious, think about what you’re putting in those bins—like toys. Now that the kids have newer, “better” toys, donating the old ones is a great idea.

January 4: Last year, you might remember our shoe organizer DIY…we made one to house the kids’ school supplies. This idea is along those same lines…hang your office supplies in a shoe organizer. If you want to keep those things within arm's reach, hang them right next to your desk on the wall. If you want to hide it a little, hang it on a door, on the side of a book shelf or inside a tall cabinet.

January 5: If you’d like to make your kitchen feel neat and tidy, hang your papers, photos, and stuff inside a cabinet. I read in a design magazine one time that the number one reason kitchens look cluttered is because of the things we hang on the fridge. Do me a favor: take a picture of your kitchen with your fridge decorated as is. Then, remove everything and take another picture. See the difference?

January 6: By standing your cookie sheets and cutting boards up--and using the tension rods as dividers--you can organize and maximize space. Now, if you've got an astute eye, you'll see there are a few less items in our "after" picture. We did that on purpose...part of the organizing process includes weeding things out. Do you really need six cutting boards? Is there a better place to store that basket? Be sure to take some time to ask these questions and try to be as objective as possible.

I'll recap again next Tuesday…remember to check Facebook and toGather every day for a new tip!

From my home to yours,
—Jill