TAMPA, Fla. — As the holiday decorations come down, our instincts to purge and organize go up!
A recent survey from Civic Science shows 40 percent of Americans are ready to get rid of much of their wardrobe if they haven't already done so.
Jillian Stidd owns Live. Love. Organized. She says getting organized is more than just a thorough cleaning, it has to reflect the rhythm of your life.
"You do not want to spend the money organizing that you cannot or will not maintain. You go back to your old habits. This is kind of like restructuring new habits," Stidd says.
Once you decide on the area you want to organize, Jillian says take everything out of it. If it's the master closet, try to pile it all on your bed!
"Because that pile says a lot about how much stuff is really crammed into that closet. When it's all spread out, it doesn't appear as much. so that's a really good tip to get them psychologically ready to let go."
Then separate the pile. "So you have keep, donate and trash. Keep it really simple like that and then just fill those bins and then have extras behind or trash bags behind."
Jillian says it's great if you have an area in your home to store extras.
"This means you only keep in your home 1 of everything in your space where you're working. That goes for your kitchen, your bathroom. That goes for anything you have (extra) stock of or a second of goes to the back stock area."
Also, Jillian says maintenance may be the most important tip she can give you. You have to revisit the space you organized every 3-6 months and make sure everything is back in the space you wanted it. If you stay on top of it, you won't have to go through the entire process again in a year.