GOOD OLD JANUARY has arrived, the promise of a new year and endless to-do lists. It’s the month that goes on for, what seems like, an entire year and for some reason our homes our filled to the brim with stuff. Christmas stuff, toy stuff, leftover food stuff, new appliances, old appliances, the list goes on.
We know that Christmas can be a time of overconsumption, that in itself is overwhelming, so this January we’re trying to go easy on ourselves but still do a bit of a reset in order to kick-start the year. In order to make sure we’re doing things properly, we called in the professionals for this one and chatted to Hazel Burton, founder and owner of The Home Reset, an organisation company based in Dublin.
After 17 years of working in finance, Hazel needed a career ‘reset’ herself, and having always been passionate about organising and decluttering, The Home Reset was born. The company promises to deliver a hassle-free home that you want to spend time in, we couldn’t ask for more. Keep reading for Hazel’s foolproof tips on resetting your home in an attainable way this January.
Taking down Christmas is a golden opportunity to kick-start your reset. Hazel explains that while you’re putting away decorations and ornaments, it’s the perfect time to go through the items you didn’t use and also give next year’s you, a little dig out:
If there are decorations that you didn’t get around to using or you just don’t want to use them again, it’s a great time to make a box of charity donations. Also, make a list for your future self to make next year’s decorating go smooth, for example if batteries need replacing, if lights don’t work, also label the decorations as you go room by room which will make next year’s decorating a doddle.When you’ve taken down Christmas, your home will already start to feel clearer and calmer.
This is a crucial tip that Hazel says will transform your reset. Don’t try to tackle the whole house, if you do chances are you’ll have three or four unfinished projects which will just add to your January workload. If it’s the kitchen counter that’s really getting on your nerves, and that’s where the visual clutter is gathering, that’s where you start:
Let’s identify something we can start small with today! If things need a home, let’s identify that. If things need to be recycled or bills need to be sorted, recognise it. By starting small and focusing on countertops for example and giving yourself fifteen minutes to simply deal with them it’s the perfect way to start.
After we’ve identified what we’re going to be tackling, it’s important that we get some results; emptying and categorising everything from your selected area will help with this. Kids art is a big one that can gather on kitchen countertops and cause a lot of clutter for example, paper bills, old Christmas cards etc. These are the types of items that simply build up and if we don’t go through them and categorise, the task becomes greater.
This is where the fun starts and the actual decluttering can commence. Hazel explains how important the decision making process is, “After you’ve emptied and categorised it’s time to decide is it a donate item? Is it for recycling? Or is it something I want to sell? Essentially, the important factor here is to deal with the issue, face it straight on and make that declutter decision.”
Once you move onto the actual rest, it’s about finding a permanent place for everything that makes sense for your home. By building a system that works for you and your family, the clutter should be able to be maintained. Finding a place for the kids art to live permanently, or making that decision to contact the bank and tell them you don’t need paper bills, these are simple resets that will set you up to keep your space manageable.
It’s all about maintenance from here on out, and buying the gorgeous storage baskets etc. also comes after the actual reset and once you’ve decided what is staying and what needs a home. Hazel promises that the maintenance should come naturally at this point:
How do you keep it going? One in one out – when the kids get something new, something has to leave, so that the volume of actual stuff stays at the same level. Another great tip is to love it or let it go, this is a constant conversation you can be having, by letting it go it’s not always to domate which is great, but you can sell clothes or items that you aren’t loving.And finally, put back not down, having a place for everything and putting everything away is not a stressful system, it’s a relaxed way to live. If you have a place for everything then we can maintain an organised home.
The Home Reset is a professional organisation company based in Dublin. You can find out more about Hazel by heading over to their website or follow along on their organisation journeys on Instagram here.
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