Decluttering 101: Starting the Year Fresh

With the end of the year in sight, many people are beginning to formulate their New Year's resolution. Some people might even be taking steps to begin working on their resolution right now!

The past two years have been chaotic, and your home has likely taken a good deal of abuse from constant habitation. Fortunately, all it takes is a little elbow grease and an eye for simple, practical design to declutter and clean up your space. Organizing your home doesn’t need to be boring; in fact, the whole process can help you feel happy and empowered as you reclaim your space.

Give Small Items a Home

It’s human nature to use something and put it down at your earliest convenience. This works well in the moment, but it often results in spaces filled with clutter, bottles, and containers! To solve this issue, consider investing in a sturdy tray to hold small and medium sized items. 

Using a tray comes with a variety of benefits. Trays give you a designated spot to place your things once you’ve used them, reducing the amount of clutter on your tables and counters. In bathrooms and kitchens, high quality trays protect your essential items from water damage. Best of all, when you don’t want that clutter to show, you can pick up the tray and slip it into a hidden spot, away from the prying eyes of any guests.

Outside of their utility, trays can add a great deal of personality to any room. Whether you’re accessorizing your beach bungalow with a Savannah Palm Pedestal Tray or brightening your rustic bathroom with a natural Acacia Wood Tray, you’ll find a style for any space.

Create Purposeful Space for Clutter

Some things are never going to be easy to keep organized and put away. For example, your daily jewelry: you may take it off to wash your hands, do chores, or go to sleep, but you probably need it again the next day. To avoid having jewelry and small clutter strewn about, create purposeful space for those items. For example: key hooks, ring dishes, and ‘in use’ clothing baskets. 

Think of ring dishes as tiny trays for your valuables. Particularly useful for fans of jewelry, ring trays give you a spot to safely store your rings, necklaces, watches, and whatever small tidbits you may find in your pockets. Like trays, these tiny platforms keep your valuables safe, away from the depths of your sink drains, and easy to spirit away should an unexpected guest make an appearance.

A vintage inspired, sophisticated Marcheline Ring Dish makes for a gorgeous accent on any kitchen counter, while a gold-rimmed Botanical Ring Dish is perfect for adding a chic touch to your bathroom.

However, these items aren’t just for your kitchen and bathroom! Adding a ring dish to your living room is a perfect way to collect pocket change and prevent keys from being lost. Fans of incense may even find that these beautiful dishes are perfect for catching fallen ash in their meditative spaces.

Make the Necessary Beautiful

Just because something is needed doesn’t mean it has to be ugly or boring. While store-bought plastic soap dispensers may be the norm, they don’t need to be on display in your home. Investing in a more beautiful, less wasteful storage solution can dramatically improve your overall home decorating experience.

With a wide range of pumps, styles, glasses, colors, and engravings to choose from, The Polished Jar produces a limitless number of solutions for storing your soap, hand gel, and lotions. Our luxury soap dispensers are custom-made just for you, and the range of designs ensures that you’ll find something to fit in any space.

In addition to their beauty, our luxury soap dispensers also help you spend less money. The pumps on our dispensers can easily empty the containers, preventing you from throwing out the little bit that always gets stuck in store-bought bottles. There’s no additional work for you, either; refilling our luxury soap dispensers is easy, especially when paired with our funnels.

Clean Thoughtfully

In addition to the material side of decluttering and creating organized, peaceful spaces, there’s also the human element. On your way to “new year, new me”, it’s important to take time to make sure that you’re doing the job properly. Regardless of how many extra baubles and bits you may buy, the ultimate goal is to rid yourself of unnecessary clutter!

Before you start cleaning, take time to observe your habits. If you share your home with others, take note of their habits, too. Where do you usually put things when you get home? What sort of things, necessary or not, are you bringing in regularly? Consider, too, what you already have. If you have anything you no longer need, consider donating or recycling it. 

Once you’ve taken the time to observe and clean, you’ll be well on your way to a less cluttered, more organized home!

For more tips on organization and turning your home into a stylish oasis, visit The Polished Jar Blog, and be sure to check out our online store to shop our full collection of handmade decor.