Welcome to 2025! Every new year brings new hopes and goals, but there's one that is surely a perennial: getting better organized.

With the holiday season in the rearview mirror and children back at school, now is the time to get started. For some, tackling organizational challenges is easier said than done. Oftentimes, just not even knowing where to begin may make the project feel overwhelming.

Recognizing this, Houston organizational expert Carroll Cartwright of Neatly & Co. has some tips and tricks for getting organized, as well as sharing her local go-to spots for her favorite organizational accoutrements.

  

Photo by Leah Wilson

Bespoke drawer dividers keep items neat.

Cartwright founded Neatly & Co in 2020 when — like so many others — she found herself working her corporate job from home. What started as a personal quest to declutter her own cabinets and closets has grown into a business with 10 employees that serviced 158 clients in 2024 alone.

“It turns out that I really love it,” Cartwright tells CultureMap. What’s more — she’s great at it. Her thoughtfully-designed and practical storage solutions put Cartwright on the radars of top interior designers like Kara Childress and Benjamin Johnston, the likes of which consult Neatly & Co. during the planning stages of their new builds and remodeling projects to ensure that clients receive truly bespoke solutions that align beauty with functionality.

“Most clients want to feel like they’re walking into The Four Seasons Hotel when they come home,” Cartwright says. It’s this epiphany that led Neatly & Co. to offer end-to-end move management in addition to their organizational services. These stress-free transitions are what clients have come to expect from working with top interior designers, and Cartwright and her team blend seamlessly into that turn-key realm. Organizing, packing, and unpacking ensure a chaos-free experience for clients during what could otherwise be a stressful experience — and Cartwright is a pro.

Here are Carroll Cartwright’s top eight steps to getting organized in the new year:

• Start with a Plan: Write down every area in your home. Identify spaces that feel the most stressful or daunting to tackle. This is your task list!
• Pick Your Priority: Assess how much time you have and choose a project you can complete in that timeframe. Thinking you can do your house alone in one day is not realistic! When getting started, go for an easy win! Starting small (like under the sink or a single closet) can help you build momentum to then continue tackling other areas of the house.
• Create a Centralized Sorting Zone: Before taking on an area, designate a spot for the purge AKA items you’re donating, selling, or throwing away. Once you’re done with one area, handle those piles before moving on.
• My Foolproof Method for Organizing Any Area:
  Purge – Start by removing everything from the space and letting go of items you no longer use, need, or love.
  Categorize – Group similar items together to understand what you have and how they fit into your space. Now that you have your categories, do a second sweep and reduce any extra duplicates you don’t need. Of course there are exceptions, but you really don’t need more than 1 or 2 of any single item!
  Consolidate – Combine like items to streamline your belongings, ensuring everything has a clear home.
  Curate – Thoughtfully choose which items to keep and arrange them in a way that feels functional, intentional, and visually pleasing.
• Complete Each Area Fully: Always finish one area before moving on to the next to avoid feeling overwhelmed and leaving areas undone.
• Make It Functional: Organization only works when it makes sense for your lifestyle and daily needs. Keep frequently used items in logical spots. For example, your cutlery drawer should be near the dishwasher for easy unloading. Create designated areas for common clutter areas like countertops and mail.
• Use Dividers and Organizers: Compartmentalize drawers and cabinets using dividers to group items by category for easy access.
• Daily Maintenance for Clarity: End each day by tidying surfaces like countertops and desks. This ensures a mentally clear space for the next day. Beginning the day with a clean environment boosts productivity!

If bespoke cabinet, closet, and drawer inserts aren’t in the budget, fun, off-the-shelf items work great.

“Depending on what you’re looking for, I love Rejuvenation, Restoration Hardware, Kuhl-Linscomb, and The Container Store,” she says. “It’s more fun to be unique when looking for product! I also always look at home stores like Biscuit Home for fun storage items or antique stores around town for bins or, like, an antique drip-dry for a laundry room! Makes it more bespoke and sets you apart!”

Regardless of whether one chooses to repurpose items from around the house or pop around town for fresh, new (or antique) finds, one thing is for certain — the only way to finish a project is to start one. Good luck!