The end of December is a natural time to begin considering a home edit as you start to reassess and think about all the things you want to take with you into the new year, and what you want to leave behind. This goes for both changing out your old habits for new ones, and taking the time to organize items in your home, particularly those responsible for creating clutter. Whether it’s under the guise of spring-cleaning or simply a new-year-new-you approach to home organization, a good, deep declutter doesn’t always have to be a chore. Before you begin the home edit for the year, you'll need to say goodbye to the holiday decorations and give your home the attention it needs to get back in order.
Read our a guide containing a few tips to help you achieve your house goals.

Fluff Your Stuff

Once the hustle and bustle of the holidays has passed, your house may be in need of some decluttering. The seasonal decor needs to be packed away as you plan to organize and start the new year afresh. Make sure to fight the winter blues by giving your home a good cleaning and boost comfort with candles, cozy throws, warm drinks, and good music.
Start fluffing in these areas:

Sofa Pillows: Be inspired by the color of 2021, Illuminating, and inject just the right amount of sunny into your interior. Adding a happy hue to your home through throw pillows is not only affordable, but it is an effective way allow a small piece of the rainbow to spruce up your space.

Bathroom Towels: We use our bath towels every morning and night. Wouldn’t it be great to have a spa-like experience instead of using the same dingy towel on repeat? An inexpensive way to elevate your bathroom is to purge the old towels with replace them with new ones. Look for towels that are 100% cotton and tout maximum absorption. Even changing your bathroom palette by introducing a new color could boost your AM/PM wellbeing.

Make the Bed: We spend a significant amount of time in our beds resting, relaxing, watching television, and even working from home. Your sleeping pillows, sheets, and coverlets support these activities and deserve some focused attention. Take apart your bedding layers completely and give them a good cleaning. Vacuum your mattress, clean or replace your mattress cover, and consider replacing your sheets and sleeping pillows. Be sure you are treating yourself to maximum support and luxurious thread counts for an ideal sleep experience.

Clean Up

A year hunkered down at home likely means you’ve accumulated many not-so-essential layers to simply get you through 2020. Expired beauty products, broken kitchen gadgets, and worn-out linens will not inspire you for the new season ahead. Consider going through cabinets and home goods to get back to basics that will keep you thriving in 2021.

Organize the Cabinets:So, you got some new goodies over the holiday. Instead of packing them into overstuffed kitchen cabinets, pantries, bedroom closets, and junk drawers, take a few extra minutes to organize cluttered spaces. Empty those drawers and gather find any similar items that you are willing to donate. This goes for linen and shoe closets, too. The lightened load will help you with the home edit procedure.

Toss Expired Goods: Receive new gadgets or appliances over the past year? A great organizing tip is to flip through that stack of old manuals and warranties, toss out paperwork for items you no longer own, and remember to send in forms to activate new warranties as needed. Label and store everything together in one binder or storage bin.

Clean & Corral Your Essentials: With cold and flu season is at its height, you'll want to do what you can to keep illness at bay by regularly sanitizing often-handled surfaces. Tables and counters are obvious spots, but don’t miss areas like doorknobs, faucets, phones, and other tech devices. As time-consuming as this may seem, your health is a worthwhile consideration during the home edit. As a reward for your hard work, add a new cutting board to your kitchen scheme. It can serve as a decorative piece, help you prep in the kitchen, or serve as a charcuterie board at your next get-together.

Set Your Backdrop

Adding more “stuff” to your space won’t help unless you have the right mindset to maintain order. Carefully consider the layers you add to your space, making sure they are necessary while still complementing and supporting your lifestyle. A few little tweaks can make all the difference for how you work, play, and live.
“Merchandise” your bookcases: When it comes to bookcases, give your pieces breathing room and a little personality. Don’t hesitate to inject a little rainbow ROYGBIV or patterns into the interior of your bookcase. The unexpected color can add just the right amount of interest. Make sure your accessories are spaced far enough from each other to accentuate your added color-coded detail.

Improve Your Zoom Scheme: With so much time spent on virtual conference calls, it is important to consider where you perch yourself. A thoughtfully curated scheme of plants, books, boxes, and accessories can quickly elevate your computer conferencing game in the new year.

Reuse Accessories: Repurpose items from your home by simply moving things around. Your kitchen flower arrangement or library encyclopedias can take on a whole new life when relocated into the bedroom or office area. Have your bookcases and shelving become an unexpected drop zone. Edit those areas and arrange beautiful canisters, candles, and framed photographs for your bookshelves to give new life to you and your home so you can take on the new year in style.

With over 25-years of experience, Kerrie Kelly is creative director for Kerrie Kelly Design Lab, an award-winning California interior designer, author and contributor; product designer and multi-media consultant, helping national brands reach the interior design market.