After the dust settles from another New Year’s Eve celebration, it is time to begin marking down preliminary plans for the upcoming year.

Most New Year’s resolutions have a shelf life of two to three months maximum. Whether the plan is to increase personal fitness or save money, most resolutions begin with grandeur but usually sputter out by March or April.

This year, treat yourself and expand your peace of mind; resolve not only to get your home organized, but to keep it that way throughout the year.

For homeowners looking for a bit of order and clarity amongst their everyday chaos, 2008 will be known as the year of organization. With countless products and experts in the city, getting your small space organized and keeping your New Year’s resolution has never been easier.

Before beginning the journey into complete organizational Zen, it’s best to start small. Pick one room that is in dire need of organization and assess the damage. If it’s been so long since you seen the floor of your spare bedroom that you’ve forgotten the carpet colour (or was it hardwood?), it would be best to start there.

If you are at an utter loss at where to begin, don’t be surprised. Simply pick up the yellow pages and call in the experts: the professional organizers.

Since she started organizing Calgary homes two years ago, Sylvia Daoust and her upstart enterprise Sort It Out have helped countless pack rats, amateur collectors and organizationally-challenged homeowners create harmony amongst the clutter.

Big or small, Daoust has seen it all, but she particularly enjoys the challenge of helping those homeowners with limited space make the most of their meager square footage.

A self-professed natural organizer all her life, Daoust is passionate about helping others restore order in their homes and is a member of the Professional Organizers of Canada.

“In a nutshell, Sort It Out is all about working on one space at a time, focusing especially on small spaces,” says Daoust. “For example closets, pantries, offices, laundry rooms, etcetera; making these small spaces work for people without spending a lot of money.”

Many families are experiencing an overload of information, activities and clutter in and around their homes, Daoust says.

Keeping things simple is the key to clearing the mind and minimizing the disorganized space in the home.

Believe it or not, many homeowners have objections about letting a stranger into their home to help organize their personal goods. But Daoust says the all-important step is making that first phone call.

“Unorganized spaces can get a lot worse before it ever gets better,” she says. “And it becomes emotional for some people. Phoning the experts can be difficult, but it’s the most important step towards complete organization.”

When homeowners seek out a professional organizer, the result is much more than labeled bins and attractive baskets throughout the home, she says.

Organizers help motivate homeowners to create a simplified life. They help coach homeowners through the organizing process and offer personalized solutions to maintain order long after the job is done.

After the initial phone call is made, Daoust usually sets up an initial consultation with her clients. She takes everything out of the room, closet, office or pantry and takes pictures and measurements of the empty space. Then she draws up a personalized plan for the space and shops for inexpensive organizational products for the homeowners.

After the installation, the room is re-organized, always leaving a small amount of flex space for the homeowner to use for himself or herself. Afterwards, Daoust leaves final tips and tricks that she has accumulated over the years and regularly follows up with her clients to see how their newly organized space is holding up after weeks and months of practical use.

It’s a completely educational process for the homeowner from start to finish.

Luckily for homeowners there is a certain school of thought to keeping your small space organized. There are universal rules that can be applied to any space, no matter the shape or size.

Rule number one: Think vertically.

“Thinking vertically works in any case,” says Daoust. “Closets, pantries or additional shelving is the key to maximizing space; going up rather than going out.”

Tall shelving units such as bookcases, are both appealing and functional without taking up valuable floor space.

Bookcases can be used for more than just books by using baskets, bins or boxes. Work your way up and get as much off the floor as possible. Wall shelves allow you to use all of your walls from the floor to the ceiling as storage space.

When trying to maximize space in a small room, it’s best to have one well-designed prominent piece of furniture or shelving rather than many smaller pieces cluttered with various items. One large piece will add plenty of much desired character to a space that’s on the smaller side.

Next, Daoust recommends always buying multifunctional furniture for your home.

“Always think of at least two uses for your furniture; being multifunctional is key,” she says.

Storage ottomans are excellent investments for any home, adding a practical and decorative touch while not eliminating storage space.

Some homes seem to be steadily decreasing the size of the spare bedrooms and don’t offer a lot of space for furniture.

Luckily, many children’s beds can be purchased with additional drawers underneath to keep toys or clothes.

A clear plastic storage bin designed to specifically fit under the bed is the perfect place for rarely used items such as wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, keepsakes or winter clothes.

Bench seats or chests are also perfect for storing large items that are rarely used and can also double as additional seating or be used as a coffee table because of their size. Hooks are also a well-known secret amongst the organizationally inclined.

Like wall shelves, hooks turn empty walls into storage units. They can be used for almost anything that you need to use on a regular basis like coats, umbrellas or keys.

Daoust recommends using the backs of doors for a shoe organizer to keep both your well-used runners and brand new pumps out of mind’s eye, but always readily available when you need them in a rush.

There are hundreds of furniture products on the market that can be used in more than one way, from futons and Murphy beds to nesting tables.

Lastly, Daoust’s most important rule is to be creative with your small space. Especially when it comes to double duty, high traffic areas like the kitchen or family room.

“The kitchen is the busiest place in any home so you have to try and be creative in keeping it organized,” she says. “You can store materials inside cupboard doors, use cork boards to keep schedules, phone numbers and reminders. Try to eliminate as much dead space as you can.”

A great example of creatively eliminating dead space is the use of a pot lid rack. Pot lids are frequently the bane of cupboard space and keeping them all organized in one spot can save major headaches when it is time to cook up daily meals.

Use inserts to make drawers completely organized and to help keep everything in its own place.

Kitchen nooks can also double as a practical space for a laptop computer.

If you don’t have an office and have the computer in the family room, under the desk is a great storage area for rarely used items, such as discs, extra ink or paper.

“Take a look at any room and use what you can,” she says. “Be creative to fill every space, but keep everything organized so you know where it is when you need it.”

Your small spaces don’t have to be used for their intended purpose either.

Realign your space to suit your needs.

Whether it means removing doors or re-purposing a space into something else, the key is to think creatively.

Creative thinking is an essential element in design, and good design can go a long way to maximize a small space.

Just ask Jayne Creighton, a local interior designer for Calgary design firm and shop Willow Studio.

Creighton has been on the Willow Studio team for over five years and has designed countless successful projects.

Willow Studio began as a small design consulting business in Calgary 11 years ago.

Since then, the business has become a full-service design store in Mount Pleasant and has recently expanded offices into Bragg Creek and Regina.

Besides her education and expertise in design, Creighton is an expert in maximizing small spaces almost out of necessity; she has been living in her one and a half storey 1920s catalogue home for the past 23 years.

At 1200 sq. ft., practically tiny by Calgary standards, space comes at a premium within her Tuxedo-area home, but she’s not complaining at all.

“A lot of people seem to want a room to look larger but I don’t necessarily think that’s a good thing,” she says. “It’s definitely a trend, but you still need a small conversational type area. No matter what size the room is you still need something that is small and cozy.”

Cozy is good, says Creighton, but you don’t want a room that feels like the walls are closing in on you.

To keep a small room feeling cozy, while at the same time maximizing the space to help it breath and feel expansive, there are a few industry tips to fool the eye.

“I find there are three things that really help when decorating small spaces: glass, mirrors and white,” says Creighton. “Mirrors are reflective, glass disappears and white illuminates. I use those three elements quite a lot in small spaces.”

It all starts on the walls. Most designers recommend using paint with delicate hues. Even though dark colours may appeal to the interior design savvy, the lighter the colour, the more open a space will appear.

An off white colour on the walls will make the room expand while dark colours, such as browns, reds and greens will close a room in.

Keep the colour trend flowing throughout the room as well by using shades of the same colour for trim, detailing and furniture. A bright monochromatic scheme will keep a room feeling bright and breathable.

Choosing art can be very important to opening up a small space and, as an added bonus, can usually become a great focal point or conversation piece for any room.

A well-selected landscape painting can also trick the eye into making a room seem larger than it actually is. A perfectly placed mirror can expand a small space, especially if mirrors are placed opposite to windows. The reflection of light will brighten any room exponentially.

When it comes to furniture, it makes sense to have small couches, chairs and tables in a small room.

“I like antiques, so I usually end up buying Art Deco furniture and reupholstering it because it is usually at such a small scale,” she says. “All the furniture I have was built at the same time, basically, as the house. If you like a more modern look, there are lots of options for condo-sized homes, but everything has to be small scale.”

Creighton’s Art Deco reupholstered white couch and chair ooze coziness in her living room while the large glass coffee table opens up the room to guests. Glass-topped tables make you think you’re seeing more space and less clutter, as they carry zero weight visually; a simple visual trick that yields great results.

Furniture placement is almost as important as the furniture itself. Instead of simply placing all your furniture against one wall to open up floor space, use the angles in the room to create a visually enticing furniture arrangement.

However, rules are rules, and they are meant to be broken, says Creighton. You should follow design principles as much as you want, but ultimately the final decisions should simply come down to whether you can live with something or not.

“I’ve broken a few rules because I like having some drama in my rooms,” she said. “I like high contrast looks. High contrast looks do not make a small space look bigger but they make a room feel more dramatic and in the end, a little bit cozier. To make a space look larger, you would be better to go with all one colour.”

Creighton uses dramatic wall colour in her living room and dining room with perfectly selected pieces of art to completely involve guests in the rooms. Over the years she has amassed a large number of worldly artifacts and pieces of art, but smart design details and careful placement devoid the rooms of clutter and amplify the coziness.

The principles are there, it is just up to homeowners to put them into practice.

What many homeowners don’t realize is how simple the process can be and many of Creighton’s and Daoust’s clients don’t lack ability but rather free time for a large organizational undertaking.

If you find that pile of junk in the garage, spare bedroom, closet or laundry room just keeps getting bigger and bigger, or if you feel like a new take on the interior design of your small space would really help open it up, make your 2008 resolution one to finally get organized.

Story by Dan Leahul, Photos by Dan Leahul and Jeffery Bochert