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A pleasing layout and beautiful furnishings can only truly be appreciated in a space that is organized. Clutter will ruin the look of any space. 

The beginning of the new year can be the ideal time to get rid of clutter. During the holidays, we accumulate more clothes, toys, gadgets and home goods. If you don’t free up space, your home can begin to look unkempt. Put in the time during a few dreary winter days and when the weather warms up, you will have systems in place to keep your home neat so you can enjoy some free time. 

Being purposeful in designing a functional home will avoid a lot of headaches and mess. Jenni Booth, one of my designers at EOS Interiors, has mastered the art of creating organization where clutter and chaos once ruled. Here are a few of her easy suggestions for purging your home of clutter and tips to get started.

Clutter generally accumulates when items lack a designated “home.” How often have you needed something as simple as a hammer, but can’t find it? It’s time to develop a system for storing and retrieving all of your household items. Make the task of creating a system a family project, so everyone is involved in the solutions. Disorganized people generally have few or no systems in place. Having a plan of action for mail that comes in, or a home for scarves and gloves, avoids the problem of having to create space every time something enters your home.

Develop a system for dealing with recurring clutter, such as mail, magazines, newspapers, receipts, coats and shoes.

Mail accumulation is a common problem. Six days a week, paper that may or may not be useful is entering the home.

I recommend throwing away the junk mail immediately. Keep a trash can by the area that you sort through your mail. Junk mail frequently makes up half of the mail that we receive each day, so eliminating this paper will be help tame the clutter.

Put magazines, newspapers and other reading materials that you want to keep in a designated location, such as a basket near a cozy chair. Take care of any urgent mail immediately and put anything left over in a designated area. This quick sorting usually takes a couple of minutes and the system will save time, avoid a mess and prevent the loss of important papers. Set aside time each week to completely go through the remaining mail.

The system you create for dealing with mail can be used for other recurring clutter. Your coat, car keys and shoes should have a destination when you walk through the door. Keys can be left on a hook near the entryway. Once you are in the habit of using the hook by the door, you won’t be left searching for keys that get lost as soon as you put them down.

Purging doesn’t have to be time consuming and daunting when done daily. Have a space, such as a bin, in your closet designated for items to give away. When you are getting dressed and come across an item that is dated or worn, toss it in the bin. Every so often, collect the bins throughout the house and donate the items or have a yard sale. You will feel better knowing that you will get a tax write-off for your unwanted items, or you will have a little extra cash in your pocket if you opt to have a yard sale.

Designating bins for old clothes gives you time to get comfortable clearing them out of your drawers. It won’t feel like as big of a decision to get rid of your possessions if you have a time to retrieve items, should you so choose. While things are in the bins, if you don’t miss them or think of them, then it is clear that they were good items to let go of. If you go back to the bin before the drop-off date, then feel free to reclaim that item. Purging as you go allows time to part with an item without questioning whether a quick, irrational decision was made.

Have a one-year rule: If you haven’t used it in the last year, you don’t need it. Often people don’t get rid of things because they fear they will need or miss the item. Over the years I have thought of a few things that I once had that, for whatever reason, would be handy again. The items are usually so trivial that they can easily be replaced or done without. It is possible to have a few moments like this if you purge well. Keep in mind that disorganized people will lose items far more often than organized people will miss an item that they let go of.

Jessica Dauray is owner of EOS Interiors, a full-service interior design firm with locations in Greensboro and Wilmington. Have questions for a Design Wise column? Contact Dauray at jess@elementsofstyleinc.com.