5 Ways to Be More Organized in the New Year

1-Get Clutter Free

• Go online and search this keyword phrase: junk mail opt out. Ridding yourself of the junk mail piles you end up recycling is worth your time.
• Spend ten minutes with each child in their closet…create piles for donation, handing down or mending.
• Go through your refrigerator and eliminate expired food.
• Dive into your own closet. If you haven’t worn it or thought about it in a year, time to move on.
• Use baskets. They are a great way to organize clutter, toys, remotes, mittens and hats or whatever needs to be out but simultaneously in hiding.

2-Take a Look at Your Pantry

• Take everything out and remove food with expired dates.
• Empty the four bags of opened raisins into one container with a tight sealing lid.
• Empty your torn and taped bag of flour into a large see through jar…see where we’re going with this?
• Prepare your pantry for shopping in bulk for the New Year. It will save you time and money.
• Paint the inside door of your pantry with chalkboard paint. Tie a piece of chalk to yarn and tie the yarn to a small screw so you always have an instant note pad for what pantry staples need replacing.

3-Delegate and Automate

• Think of what you can pass on to others as a favor or as a paid service. Most likely you will save time and money in your ability to focus on your work or your family instead of trimming your own trees or repainting your basement.
• Do your grocery shopping online. With most services your food will be delivered and with your local food co-op, you pay online and go pick up your food.
• What responsibilities can your babysitter take on while overseeing homework? Can he/she clean up the kitchen, chop veggies for dinner or fold a load of laundry?
• Think about your day digitally…do you have automatic backup plugged in for your hard drive? Are there any manual updates you make that you can automate?

4-Donate

• We are a society of Stuff. We have too much of it and need support going through it. Call your mom or best friend…she’d be happy to tell you what you don’t need anymore.
• Go online and search Do Good Donor. This will lead you to a list of charitable organizations you can choose to donate your items to.
• Make a monthly note on your calendar to take a walk through your home, setting aside items no longer in use or that would be better off in a new home. Call or email to choose a pick up date and set your items outside. It’s as easy as that.

5-Calendar

• When your life gets put on a calendar, the universe conspires to make things happen for you.
• Color code your children, spouse, family and work activities to keep things straight.
• Be sure to add timely reminders for: oil changes, changing furnace filters, outdoor window washing, renewing license tabs, etc. These are things that happen on a regular basis where you can put them in the calendar for the whole year during the first week of the New Year.
• Other things to pay attention to that benefit from getting space on the calendar:

• Be mindful of how quickly your pets go through their food. Always have an extra bag on hand or plug into your calendar to pick up more dog food a week before Rufus runs out.
• Library materials and when they are due.
• When deposits and tuition are due for children’s activities.
• Choosing a day and time for bill paying.
• Book club nights or your spouse’s volleyball league times.