Are you doing some January home care to start the new year looking good? I know this is when I get in the mood to organize, clean and make some notes about what projects I want to tackle in the upcoming year.

Oh, the pressure to declutter and get rid of your old stuff is on!

I do know that I need to always be editing and organizing a closet or cabinet can make me feel so good!

Of course, I like doing it for a few days, then I get tired of doing the deep clean and want to stop. I have to pace myself or it gets to be too big of a job that I don’t want to finish.

Here’s what I have tackled this January, so far.

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Clean One Closet

This year, after editing my Christmas decorations and getting it all stored away, I started in with this closet.

This is supposed to be a coat closet, but we live in the Houston area and we don’t wear a lot of coats. :-)

Years ago I made it a storage closet for my table linen and decor. My husband put some wire shelves in there and I hang my tablecloths on the rod. I have a few vases and some candles in there too.

This Christmas I was trying to find some things in there to set the table and found it was just chock full of stuff that I hadn’t used in years. We entertained all the time when we lived overseas and I kept most of the things I used in Norway and Australia. Since we don’t entertain like that here in Texas, it was time to clean out this closet and let some things go.

I kept less than half of what was here. Although I have plenty to use, this closet is more organized and I can see everything I have now! :-)

I do keep some faux branches and I really hate when they get tangled together, so I wrap them with tissue paper and stash them in a trash can in the closet. They are so easy to use when I want to pull them out.

Clean A Few cabinets

I have cleaned more than one cabinet so far, and hope to do a few more. Even if I just did one though, I’d be happy I did something!

When I started putting my Christmas table up I realized this antique buffet was stuffed full of dishes and several wood cases of flatware. I had one of my own and several from family members that had passed to us. I believe I could sit more than 100 people at dinner with all the flatware I had.

Those wood boxes take up a huge amount of room and are so heavy! I only use one set of silver plate flatware really, so I got rid of a few. I did buy this lightweight cloth divided box for some brass flatware. It doesn’t need slivercloth, so this was perfect.

I love the window in this lightweight box for flatware storage.

Cleared out buffet cabinet in my dining room. Much better!

I organized my deep medicine cabinet by my sink years ago.

Medicine cabinet when it was first organized, several years ago.

I love it, it really helps me keep things off my bathroom counter.

Although I’ve maintained it pretty well, I’ve gotten a little sloppy with it lately, so I decided to tidy it up.

The other cabinet I cleaned out was in my home office. It was chock full of some of my old paperwork, like my old project photographs and publications I’ve been in. I somehow kept multiple copies of a few. :-/

I dumped a whole thick portfolio of professional photos into the recycling bin that I used to use around 10 plus years ago, when visiting a possible client.

It is just amazing how business has changed for designers with websites, social media and portfolios available online so that you don’t have to go sell yourself in person at a first visit. It is already done by the time they call.

I never review website photos with anyone now in person, unless I want to pull out my cell phone to review a particular project, etc. They’ve already seen and read what they want to see and know about and are ready to move forward when I arrive at the front door.

This cabinet now has just a bit stashed on the top shelf and I have room for games and puzzles. I even have an empty shelf!

Furniture Maintenance

We moved my MIL back to be near us this January, in an Assisted Living nearby.

Her furniture has been moved a lot in the last 5 years. This is the fourth senior living place we have tried for her.

I was noticing that all these moves have been hard on her furniture which was rather used in the first place. She has some pieces she’s owned for many, many years.

I decided to take this wood conditioner over to her place and use it on some of her wood furniture. I’ve seen this used by DIY-ers on YouTube and wanted to try it out. I thought it would help clean it and touch things up to look a little more fresh.

Here’s the top of the antique secretary desk that was her mother’s.

Here’s the lovely finish after polishing! I hadn’t gotten to the bottom part yet but the top looks so much better without much effort.

The top looks much better on this antique secretary desk after some polishing.

I was so excited about how it looked I went home and applied this conditioner to my white oak tabletop. It has an oiled finish on it and honestly, I haven’t done much to it over the years. We eat on placemats and use coasters here.

The finish looked dry and washed out though.

You can see I had started the polish on the right side of the tabletop.

It is all done here except for the light part in the center going up the table.

Consider Future Home Projects

I found if I tend to some organizing and cleaning out, it helps me consider some of the priorities I need to have for the next year with my home.

Do I need a new piece of furniture or to rethink the use of a space in my home?
Would I enjoy or use a certain space more if it was reconfigured or repurposed in some way?
Do I have any appliances or fixtures that aren’t working properly or don’t meet our needs anymore?

I have two areas of my home I am considering a change for this year. Can’t make a decision on it yet though. More to ponder.

What are you organizing in your home now? Are you considering any new projects this year? Let me know in the comments.

I have a video of how the secretary desk polished up in my Instagram reels. :-)

This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.