We Asked Highly Organized People How To Stay Neat & Tidy All Year Long

If Thanksgiving is a holiday that centers on being thankful for what you have, then the new year is a celebration of half-assed attempts to acquire whatever it is that you don't. Hence why phrases like "getting organized" and "de-cluttering" tend to get tossed around a lot this time of year, right alongside similar sentiments about exercising more, "figuring your career out" (whatever that means), and not texting your scummy ex-boyfriend back anymore. It's all very festive, isn't it?

But while it's easy to get the motivation to tidy your space (not to mention your phonebook) in early January, what happens by the time April — or worse, September — rolls around? It's not your imagination: there's a reason you keep making the same resolutions year after year. But don't despair in your desire for a clean and orderly space. There are strategies both physical and mental that you can put into place now to help ensure your hard work lasts into the spring and beyond. In fact, we asked some of the most organized people we know — as in, women who literally do this stuff for a living — for their tips on being tidy all year round, and they had plenty of thoughts. That's right, get ready to pick an entirely different resolution for 2020.