What area should you always organize or declutter in January

The January Organization Trio: Kitchen, Taxes, and Holiday Items.

While the kitchen naturally becomes a priority after holiday cooking, January offers a perfect opportunity to tackle two other crucial areas: tax preparation and holiday item storage. Here’s how these three areas work together for a powerful start to the new year:

• The holiday experience is still fresh for making improvements
• Tax documents begin arriving naturally
• Winter weather often keeps us indoors, providing time
• Organizing these spaces now prevents scrambling later

Kitchen Reset

The post-holiday kitchen needs attention while the memories of holiday cooking are fresh:

• Clear out expired holiday ingredients and leftover specialty items
• Evaluate which new kitchen gifts deserve space and reorganize accordingly
• Deep clean areas that worked overtime during celebrations
• Reset pantry and refrigerator with healthy options for the new year

Tax Document Organization

January brings the first tax documents, making it the ideal time to create your system:

• Set up a dedicated 2024 tax folder (physical or digital)
• Sort last year’s documents for upcoming tax filing
• Create categories for new documents you’ll receive
• Establish a simple processing system for incoming W-2s, 1099s, and receipts
• Review year-end statements while they’re readily available

Holiday Item Storage

Before the holiday memories fade, carefully organize decorations and gifts:

• Document what worked well and what didn’t this season
• Test lights and discard broken items before storing
• Take photos of successful decorating arrangements
• Create detailed labels for boxes
• Make an inventory of supplies needed for next year
• Store items in climate-controlled spaces to protect them

By addressing this trio of tasks in January, you create a foundation of organization that benefits you throughout the entire year. Each area supports different aspects of your life – daily living, financial health, and future celebrations – making January’s organization efforts particularly impactful.

What things you should declutter first in 2025

As we step into 2025, decluttering takes on new meaning in our increasingly digital and environmentally conscious world. This year’s approach focuses not just on physical spaces, but on creating harmony between our digital, mental, and physical environments.

• Begin with a thorough digital declutter of smartphones, emails, and cloud storage, as our virtual spaces increasingly impact daily life.
• Next, tackle physical spaces through an eco-conscious viewpoint, evaluating fast fashion, single-use items, and possessions that could be replaced with eco-friendly alternatives.
• The home office deserves special attention making sure that it supports current hybrid work patterns, while maintaining boundaries between professional and personal life.
• Technology decluttering takes priority this year – assess and responsibly recycle outdated gadgets, consolidate streaming services, and streamline digital subscriptions.
• Address storage spaces with renewed purpose, especially pandemic-era purchases and items that no longer align with current lifestyles.
• Mental space clearing is equally crucial – evaluate commitments, social media connections, and unfinished projects from 2024, keeping only what genuinely adds value.
• Children’s spaces require regular assessment as young ones grow, while kitchen areas benefit from thoughtful organization supporting healthier habits.

In 2025, successful decluttering isn’t just about creating tidy spaces; it’s about crafting environments that enhance well-being, support sustainability, and make room for what truly matters in our lives.

Where you should start

Starting your organization journey strategically can make all the difference.

• The kitchen typically proves to be the most impactful first step. As the heart of daily activity, a well-organized kitchen creates immediate positive ripple effects throughout your entire home. This space influences your eating habits, morning routines, family gatherings, and even your budget through better meal planning and reduced food waste.
• Following the kitchen, the entryway or mudroom serves as an excellent second focus, as it prevents clutter from spreading throughout your home.
• Your primary bedroom comes next, as it should serve as a peaceful retreat and its organization can improve your sleep quality and morning routine.
• The bathroom attached to your main bedroom naturally follows, completing your essential morning and evening spaces.
• Once these foundational areas are optimized, you can move on to living spaces, home offices, and storage areas, building on the momentum and organizational systems you’ve established in those primary spaces. This sequence ensures that the areas most crucial to your daily routines and well-being are addressed first, creating a stable foundation for tackling less frequently used spaces.