Let's Sort It Out By Deb

The start of a New Year might be just another day, but it is also a great opportunity to set some changes in motion.  There is a reason that people set New Year’s Resolutions and not mid-year resolutions. It’s because of those fresh start feelings that come with a brand new year!  If you are ready to make a fresh start and finally get your living or workspace organized and under control, you can start the New Year fresh with these 10 tips on how to get organized for the new year tips that I have put together that will help you transform your space and bring you peace of mind.

One thing that you will notice with these organizational tips is that it’s not always about stuff.  Sometimes you need to focus on getting more than just your “stuff” organized. So, yes, while organizing something like your website passwords doesn’t seem like it will help you get your house in order, it actually can. A better mindset leads to better choices and future follow through.

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How to Get Organized for the New Year

Start Small

First and foremost, you need to start small.  If you really want to know how to get organized for the new year, you need to make sure that you don’t become overwhelmed.  When organizational skills aren’t your forte, you can’t just say “I’m going to be completely organized from here on out”  and expect it to stick. You have to work your way into becoming more organized. It’s unrealistic to think that you can make such a drastic change, and even just trying to completely change overnight is a mistake, so don’t set yourself up for failure; let’s take this step by step.  So off we go….

Clean out your inbox

A good idea is to start with how to get organized for the new year is something that you deal with in your daily life, like your email inbox.  Having a cluttered inbox is distracting, and can actually slow down the organizing process in other areas of your life.  Now obviously you won’t be able to clean it up all at once, but what you can do is set aside an extra 15 min a day to go through it and delete all the gobbledygook that is invading your private space.

Organize a hard copy of your passwords

While we’re talking about computers, here is one of the most important organizational tips that need to be done ASAP.  Get a notebook, journal, or password book and write down all of your passwords.  I’m talking about email, social media, banking info, credit cards, retailer info, and any other websites you commonly use.  Now take this password filled notebook and place it in a safe place that makes sense to you, no point in filling it out if you can’t find it later.  Make it easily accessible so you can continue to add to it as new passwords are added or changed. The peace of mind that will come from doing this is huge.  You might be surprised to find a weight lifted off of your shoulders once you complete this little task.

Organize your junk drawer

Don’t try and deny it, we all have a junk drawer somewhere in our house. There is no judgment here.  We all need a place to store our loose change, extra batteries, scotch tape and all of the other random things that accumulate in our homes.  But there are actionable steps that you can take to be sure that your junk drawer doesn’t get out of control.

Having something called a junk drawer may seem counterintuitive to leading a more organized life, but let me tell you it isn’t.  What is counterintuitive is having an overflowing messy junk drawer. The takeaway is that it doesn’t have to be messy and cluttered.  As I said, we all need this space, so avoid setting a goal of eliminating the junk drawer because then all these things would just accumulate elsewhere in your home and that does no one any good. Instead, aim to declutter and clean out your junk drawer every 3-4 months. To make this job a little bit easier going forward, grab a handy Junk Drawer Organizer like this one that will help you keep things in order inside of the drawer.

Get rid of those DVDs once and for all

I know that it’s hard to get rid of these, but how often do you actually watch the DVDs that you have stacked on the shelves in your home?  I have encountered people with hundreds and hundreds of DVDs in their entertainment center, all the while they only watch Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu.
If you really can’t bring yourself to part with the DVDs, consider putting them into a DVD binder like this and ditching their boxes, depending on your decor style you may prefer a look closer to this one.  You will be amazed at the amount of space that you will reclaim in your house.

Toss out expired food, meds, makeup, toiletries, etc. 

The new year is the perfect time to go through your pantry, your medicine cabinet, your makeup bag and the rest of your house looking for products that have expired.  If you have food, makeup or toiletries that have expired, toss them. You will be shocked to see how incredibly satisfying this is! If you have medicine that has expired, check out what the FDA has to say about how to dispose of them safely.

Create a Mail System

This new year make it a priority to deal with your mail properly once and for all.  Many people who struggle with organization end up with piles and piles of mail scattered throughout their home.  In order to avoid this, you need to create a mail system. As soon as you walk into your home with mail in hand make it a priority to deal with it then and there.  You either file it where it needs to be, put it with your other bills or you toss it out. That’s it. No need to keep it hanging out on your counter, cluttering up your space. I wrote a post completely dedicated to Mail Organization, check it out here.

Put all of your instruction manuals into one place

Instruction manuals and product warranties need to be kept, but where?  Spend a little bit of time to gather these and put them all together in one place, I suggest a 3-ring binder.  If you have manuals for products that you no longer own, toss them.  Whenever you get a new item with a manual or warranty packet, make sure to add it to the binder.

Get your closet under control

Most likely you go into your closet at the start of every day.  If our closets are disorganized and chaotic it can greatly influence how we feel and I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to start my days feeling disorganized and chaotic.  Some scientific studies such as this one from the National Institute of Health, have proven that a more organized space can bring about more pleasantness in our mindsets. Pleasantness sounds like a much better start to the day, don’t you think?  For my favorite closet organizational tips, check out this post I wrote on Closet Organization.

Just do it

Yes, I did just quote a shoe company here.  Seriously, just wishing you were more organized isn’t going to get you very far.  You actually have to do it.  I know it’s daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. I know that some of you feel somehow less than because your space is not as organized as you might want it to be, but I can assure you that truly is not the case.  Everyone has their own skill sets, even those who are seemingly born organized have to be intentional about the way they do things in order to keep their spaces organized and clutter-free. You can do the same thing.

So if you want to change how organized you are, you need to just do it. I know you’re thinking that it’s easier said than done, but it’s not as difficult as you may think.  Trust me, you are going to feel so much better as you complete each task.

This is a great list of organizational tips for getting started on your new organizing journey!  For more ideas on how to get organized for the new year and tackle other areas in your home, check out the following posts and you will be well on your way!

• The Well-Stocked Refrigerator/Freezer
• The Well-Stocked Pantry
• The Ultimate Guest Bedroom
• Let’s Get that Kitchen Organized

I know many people are putting organization on their resolution lists, so why not join in and start the New Year off fresh?   What organizational tips would you add to this list? Share your suggestions in the comments below.

 

 

 

P.S. I’d love to connect with you — don’t forget to follow me on social media.