AN ORGANIZED HOME FOR THE NEW YEAR

With the New Year comes new resolutions, a new fit for you, new beginnings, and even an organized/redesigned home. If you’re like me, you waited to put away all things “holiday-ish” before you dived into getting your home in order. Here are some tips for some rooms that sometimes get forgotten about.

Mudroom

A mudroom typically is a room or an area that ends up being a drop-off and catch-all for the family. Because this area is typically where you enter and leave your home for the day, you want it to stay organized to keep you and your family on track. Here are a few tips to achieve that.

1. If you don’t have room for a built-in cabinet, do what our very own Tracy Rasor, did here. A well-designed and thought-out wall unit that includes a clock, hooks for hanging, slots for small items, and magnetic and cork boards for notes.

2. A media drawer in a mudroom built-in cabinet, can keep your phone charging while hiding all the cords and plugs, keeping it nice and neat.

3. Since we enter and leave often through this area, make sure to use tile flooring for easy clean-up.

4. Placing baskets in the mudroom with labels or names on them can help organize and find things in a time crunch.

5. Try a simple and minimalist mudroom/entry area like this to avoid disorder.

6. Because our lives can get really busy with spouses and kids, placing a calendar and/or chalkboard for notes can make those hectic days, run a little more smoothly.

Closets

Getting your closet organized is a must. An unorganized closet can be overwhelming especially on those busy mornings. Here are a few easy tips that can help you get your closet organized.

1. Lisa Barron designed a closet with open shelving and double-hung rods for easy access. The use of serene, neutral paint colors allow for a relaxing and more organized closet.

2. Tracy Rasor (Desco Fine Homes) designed this fabulous closet with mirrored doors and plenty of display areas. There’s even a display of the client’s beautiful wedding dress! If your closet space permits, don’t hesitate to display some of your favorite pieces that make you happy!

3. Jewelry drawers can help keep jewelry organized and out of sight. 

4. I love these practical and simple drawers with acrylic fronts.  It makes it easy to see what’s in them!

5. We tend to keep things that we don’t need or utilize. Follow this list to help you decide on what you can use or perhaps could part with.

6. Now, if you're technology savvy...this is for you! Stylebook is a wardrobe organization and closet management app that can help get you organized in a cool and easy way!  With this app, you can upload pics of your clothes, shoes, and accessories, which enable you to virtually view your closet at any time.

Pantry

If you love to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen, an organized pantry can make life and cooking a little easier. Follow these simple rules to enjoy a well-established pantry.

1. This modern pantry designed by Tracy Rasor and Chelsea Hargrave (Jim Johnson Group) is designed with opaque glass uppers and drawers below to hide away some of the visual clutter.

2. Use wire baskets for the things you do want to be able to view and reach for quickly. 

3. A pantry can also be used to display items such as cookbooks and serving ware.  Place them where you can access them easily.  Clear jars and labeled baskets can also help keep your pantry organized.

4. When utilizing these clear containers to store ingredients such as sugar, flour, and salt they all begin to look alike. Make your life a bit easier and check out these labels that you can download, print, and place on these clear containers for identification.

5. Nancy Dubick designed this butler’s pantry to not only store but also display all her client’s silver serving ware.  Glass/mirrored doors and the pop of subtle color gives this otherwise boring pantry an impeccable designer look.  We could only dream! 

6. I, personally, thought this was brilliant! Placing directions on containers that store mixes or grains for things such as pancakes, rice, and biscuits, can make it easy for anyone in the family to prepare.

Laundry Room

If your household is anything like mine, we all get inundated with laundry! But, you can make life a little easier if you follow these tips.

1. Rebecca Kennedy (Milan Design Build) designed this prodigious laundry room with ample counter space and cabinet storage for her client. 

2. If you opt for open shelving, place baskets like these for storage. Using shorter baskets can make it easy to see what’s being stored in them. 

3. Pull out storage can help hide away such things as dirty laundry or even dog food.  

4. A hanging rod to hang laundry can help you keep your counters free of clothes. 

5. To save some space in a smaller laundry room, add a built in/pull down ironing board. 

I hope some of these tips help you start off the New Year right!