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Reaching Your Resolutions: Getting organized in 2022

Experts say organizing all starts with getting rid of your clutter
Posted at 12:23 PM, Jan 04, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-05 06:02:45-05

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Looking around the house this time of year—many of us realize we have a lot of stuff.

"After Christmas we all suffer from this influx of all these gifts and all this stuff we need to find room for in our houses, so I think it’s a great time to get organized," said Amy Wopperer, Owner and Organizer of Simplify Buffalo.

She often organizes entire WNY homes, taking them from cluttered to neat.

"A lot of people want to be organized, but don’t know where to start or how to go about it so I realized that I’d be able to help people by sharing that skill with them," said Wopperer.

She’s sharing 7 tips with us, to help you tackle organizing in 2022

Tip #1: Where do you start?

With the reason why.

"Like why do you want to get organized and keep going back to that. Make it a mantra. I want this space, more than I want this stuff," said Wopperer.

From there, she says to start with a small project, like your mudroom or a junk drawer to motivate you to keep going.

Wopperer brings organization to junk drawers
Wopperer brings organization to junk drawers

Tip #2: Get rid of the clutter

De-cluttering is a huge part of getting organized. Wopperer says it's impossible to be organized and stay that way if you have too much stuff.

"The most organized of houses can get cluttered. Everyone struggles because we all have so much stuff," said Wopperer.

Tip #3: Throw away the stuff you don't care about first

As you’re de-cluttering, it can be hard to let things go, but she says to start with something easy.

"Start with something like under the kitchen sink, you’re not sentimentally attached to the cleaning products, let’s just be black and white, do I use it do I not use it. Then you can move to more difficult things like sentimental items," said Wopperer.

Tip #4: If it's sentimental, treat it that way

And with sentimental items—she says to ask yourself why you’re keeping it.

"If it's really important to you and sentimental, you should be honoring and keeping it in a nice way," said Wopperer.

She says to display them or keep them in a nice bin to look through.

Tip #5: Don't buy your containers until the clutter is gone

Shop for containers once you know how many you need.

"A really common misconception is to run out to the store and buy all these bins and containers. But the first thing is to take everything out of that space, inventory it," said Wopperer.

Wopperer says head to Target, Amazon and Home Goods for good containers at a fair price.

Wopperer says the organizing process can take some time, but keep at it
Wopperer says the organizing process can take some time, but keep at it

Tip #6: Bring the whole family in on it

If kids know where things go in the classroom at school, they can do the same thing at home.

"They're gonna get it and them being part of it, saying this is where your Legos go, this is where your blocks go, it makes clean up so much easier," said Wopperer.

Tip #7: Leave space for growth

She says it’s normal for this process to take a while, but once you get there, the key to keeping it that way is going back to de-cluttering.

"The less stuff you have, the easier it is to maintain the space. If you have a bin for toys, make sure there’s a little bit of room for growth in there. That’s the guideline or the guardrails to keep you in line," said Wopperer.

To check out Simplify Buffalo, click here.