Top 3 Ideas to Get Organized in the New Year

When I think of organization my mind goes straight to cleaning, but organization is not just making sure that everything in your house in nice and neat.  Organization also means being prepared and having the things you need when you need them. When you have good organization, you plan and feel productive. Once you’ve gotten organized and stay organized, the feeling of accomplishment makes it all worth it.

It can be easy to say that you are going to be organized but it can be difficult and overwhelming to accomplish. I suggest starting with a few goals and incorporating those small changes to your daily routine.

Here are some things that you can start to feel more organized.

1. Write things down

For me, one of the worst feelings is realizing that I have forgotten to do something, such as to pick something up on my way home, or worse yet, miss a doctor’s appointment. There are so many ways to keep track of things that this should not happen. You can use a planner and plan out the week ahead of time to make sure you remember (which is what I do). There are lots of different notebooks that you can buy that fit into your bag to jot down notes and reminders in. If you don’t like to buy notebooks, then you can use the notepad on your phone for free and you can even set an alarm for it to remind you of what you need to do! If you’re not sure which one to use try one for a little while and see which works best for you.

2. Declutter regularly

Being an elementary school teacher, this tip was a bit hard for me to follow in the beginning. I would start to put things away and think “Oh, I could use this for…” knowing full well that it had not been used in 2 years. There are many people that think having a lot of belongings is a good thing, but it can cause more harm than good. It can cause frustration when you try making it look ‘clean’ and even anxiety when it becomes overwhelming. If the item has collected a layer of dust either donate it, if it is in good enough shape, or throw it away.

3. Get into a routine

This last tip is my biggy. If you want to really see change in your life make it a routine. Make it a routine to plan out the week. Make it a routine to toss things out as soon as you see it is not being used. Put an alarm on your watch if you need a reminder to keep you on track. Once you get used to doing it, the task becomes automatic and you feel weird if you don’t do it.

There are variety of things you can do to get organized in the new year. It can be very hard or even daunting, but once you have set some goals and start getting into the routine of things it gets so much easier. So here is to an organized year! 🥂