10 New Year's resolutions to make your home run smoothly in 2021

The pandemic has meant that we've spent much of 2020 at home, which has seen many of us try to reorganise our space to suit our needs. And now Christmas has passed, it's an ideal time to get your house back in order – once the tree and decorations are down, of course.

Here are 10 must-make New Year resolutions to help your home run at maximum efficiency in 2021.

Tackle the challenge of finding a home for presents and special Christmas items by operating one simple rule: store 'like with like'. Keep all decorations in one place – attic, garage, loft – labelled for ease next year. Organise children's rooms so similar toys and games are stored together, likewise scarves, jewellery, socks and underwear.

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Vow to check your stocks of toiletries, cleaning materials and other household staples before you go shopping this year. Too many of the same item creates chaos in your cupboards, and will also cost you money. Keep a memo pad in the kitchen or utility room to make a list of what you really need to replace.

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Don't allow letters, bills and circulars to accumulate on the kitchen table and worktops. Assign one place for all post and treat this as a 'holding area' (this letter holder from Garden Trading is ideal). Set aside some time twice-weekly to go through the pile, dealing immediately with urgent matters, and filing away the rest.

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If paperwork terrifies you, don't make it too complicated this year. Simply take a pack of card document wallets and mark each one with categories, for example – 'gas', 'electricity', 'broadband', 'school'. Pop each letter or bill into the relevant file and find an accessible place to keep them all. Better still, opt for paperless billing whenever possible.

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Make this the year when you really get to grips with recycling. Place bins and bags in a spot where they are easily reached, and if collection facilities are not readily available, set a regular weekly time when you take everything to your local recycling centre.

You can separate your household waste with ease by investing in clearly labelled recycling bags (try this set from Amazon) or a nifty recycling unit (Joseph Joseph stock a good range of waste & recycling bins).

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Instead of a laundry bin in the bathroom, invest in a set of drawstring cotton laundry bags (buy from Amazon) to hang on the back of every bedroom door. This avoids dirty clothes piling up on the floor and is also more hygienic, as the bags can be washed too.

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It's easier to clean the bathroom, for instance, if cleaning materials are to hand, so keep a basic brush-up kit in every part of the home: bathroom, kitchen, nursery. This will also save you time and effort and make an ongoing domestic routine much less of an overbearing burden.

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Enlist the help of every family member to help your house run smoothly. Hold a family meeting before the children go back to school and agree a range of age-appropriate tasks which can be undertaken at a specific time each week; remind them that the time they help you save around the house can be spent doing fun things together.

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