5 Ways to Get Organized in the New Year
At the beginning of every new year, we make resolutions to improve our lives. I usually hear people say they want to manage their money better, have more fun, or focus more on the things that matter most. If these are your resolutions, here are five ways to get organized in the new year.
Get Your Taxes Ready for the New Year
This is the best time to gather the documentation you’ll need to file your taxes. (I know, big fun…) Grab a folder to put all the year-end forms you’ll start receiving. Take an hour or so to organize receipts and any other papers you’ll need to file. Getting those documents organized now will allow you to file earlier and move on to the other organizing goals you may have.
Use the New Year to Save Money Automatically
Start putting a set amount of money into your savings account each month. Determine how much you want to save and have that amount automatically deposited so you never miss it. This will ensure that you have CASH to spend on your next vacation or to purchase Christmas gifts.
If you don’t plan on spending the money, leave it in your savings account, and you’ll have a nice little nest egg for any emergency that may come up.
How to Plan Activities for the New Year
Plan activities for your life and family now to avoid the “What do you want to do this weekend?” question. Taking a few minutes to jot down the activities you would like to do on your calendar will allow you to have some scheduled fun this year. Select 1 or 2 outings each month so you can be flexible if something else comes up on your selected day.
My friends always laugh when I tell them that we have activities already scheduled for the year, but for us, it’s one less thing to think about and gives us something to look forward to. I find that if we don’t plan anything, we don’t do anything.
Schedule One Household Project Per Month in the New Year
Here’s a little tip my family implements each year: We list 12 household projects we would like to complete this year and add them to our calendar. The projects could be as small as organizing under the bathroom sinks or as large as landscaping the front yard. Putting these items on our calendar gives us a blueprint and a schedule to get these tasks done.
I’m sure you can probably find more than 12 projects to complete, but let’s start small to stay motivated… 😉
Use a Calendar in the New Year to Keep It All Together
I highly recommend using a calendar to organize your time if you’re not already. Once you start using a calendar, you will feel on top of your schedule because you will know where you are supposed to be at any moment.
Using a calendar can also remind you of things you need to do. For example, if you know you have a birthday party coming up, that means you need to purchase a gift. You can set a reminder to purchase and wrap the gift days ahead instead of running to the store to buy a gift card on the way to the party. (Yes, we are all guilty!)
By the way, if you’re going to use the calendar on your phone, don’t forget to set reminders!
Cozi is the calendar I have been using for the past 15 years to keep my entire family organized. I’ve tried other calendars but kept coming back to this one.
What I love the most about Cozi is how I can keep everyone’s schedule in one place. Each family member has a linked account and can access the calendar on their computer or phone. I also love creating a shopping list and sharing it with my husband when he makes a run to the store.
I’ve recently started storing my recipes in the app, and I love how it allows you to add the ingredients to the shopping list! I’m still amazed that after all these years and all this app can do, it is still FREE!!
Bonus Tip! Follow a Meal Plan to Save Time and Money in the New Year
I created a 4-Week Dinner Meal Plan to help my clients plan meals for their families. This printable plan features 28 delicious family-friendly meals, so you never eat the same meal twice each month. It also includes a shopping list for all the required ingredients, making preparing dinner a breeze! To make it even easier, you can order the ingredients online from your favorite grocery store and have them delivered to your home!
Click here or on the photo below to check out my 4-Week Dinner Meal Plan. Enter Code: MEAL30 for 30% off, and never wonder or hear “What’s for Dinner?” again!
That’s It! Now You are Ready to Begin a New Year!
These organizing tips are designed to help you get it together this year to feel more in control of your daily life. At the end of the year, you will be able to look back and see how much money you’ve saved, how many activities you’ve enjoyed, and how many home projects you’ve completed.
You’ll also feel more on top of your schedule and ready to take on the world! 🙂
Let me know in the comments what changes you plan on making this year and how you plan to stick to your goals.
*This post contains affiliate links. Read more about my disclosure policy here.
Related Articles:
Not only did your list get me thinking about organizing this morning, I also talked to my husband about making lists of projects and weekend trips! Amazing how simple a thing can get one excited for things that haven’t even happened! Good list. I think I’ll be referring back to your blog often this year!!
Hi Selene, It’s good to know that the post was useful to you. Our family gets very excited when we sit down and plan our outings and vacations for the year. It gives us something to look forward to. Thanks for stopping by…I’m glad you plan on returning! 🙂
“Start putting a set amount into your savings account each month. ”
Great advice. I also have that set amount drafted into a credit union that is clear across town. Inconvenient money is less likely to be spent. It’s the only way I can stick to doing a good job saving.
That’s an excellent point. If the money is not easily accessible, it will be harder to get to. I’m glad you found a way to make it work for you! Thanks for your comment! 🙂
Great list. Thanks for the reminders. I always wait until the last minute with my taxes and I hate it!!! LOL Happy 2016!!!
Great list! I’d be so lost without my calendar app!!! Happy New Year!
I just discovered your blog after you liked my post about increasing happiness and productivity. I am now a subscriber of your blog and it is awesome. You have many helpful resources!
Thanks for following and for your kind words. I LOVED that post and I’m sure I’ll be visiting frequently. 🙂
Thank you.
LOVE this – and what a great list! Thanks for sharing your inspiration & ideas 🙂
Thanks…I’m glad you found it interesting! 😉
I made my list of household projects for the year already. It makes things so much easier because I know ahead of time what I need to work on and when. Great tip!
Whoa, Tanya! You are on the move! That’s great that you are already planning out your home projects. Are you like me and finding out that there are more projects than time and money in the year? 😉
Yes! When you put it all down in writing, you realize that there’s always something to do! But at least you feel empowered to be organized. 🙂
The HomeZada team is getting all these things in order. Lots on the plate and trying to get as much organized as possible in January. Especially love getting our house projects and our travel organized.
It definitely makes life easier! I don’t know why, but this year I am really inspired to get more organized than ever. It’s good to know that I’m not alone. 🙂
Great idea to pre-plan your weekends! I find that Friday creeps up on us and without a yearly plan, we get to the end of the year having just attended a bunch of birthdays and sitting through a ton of kids sporting events. Coupled with the list of home projects, it helps ensure a good balance of family time and home projects.
Thanks for your comment! I’m glad this post was helpful to you. The real test will come at the end of the year when we look back and see how much we’ve accomplished. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Great post! I already keep the calendar and a folder for my taxes. However, I never thought about pre-planning weekend activities for the kids for the year. This is a great idea! I don’t know if I will plan a year in advance, but I can start with three months at a time. In 2012 I had grand plans of all these house projects I would complete. I made way too many plans and didn’t get most of them done. You are definitely right about starting small. I plan to give it a try again this year, but with just one project per month. Thanks again for the great tips!
Thanks! I’m a list maker so I love to move my ideas from my head to paper. I get the activity ideas from the kids and my husband and I come up with the household projects. Let’s see how we do this year!
Thanks for your comment. 🙂
I keep a folder for each year’s taxes so I can keep tax documents there I receive throughout the year.
That makes the job a lot easier! Great idea! 🙂
I actually just made a little folder for my tax documents today!
Yay! You’re on your way! Hopefully we can get it together this year. 🙂