Use the New Year’s wave of energy to organize your space. People have done it for many years as they set New Year’s resolutions, gathered paperwork for taxes or simply celebrated a fresh start by doing something out of the ordinary. As the days begin to lengthen and the sunlight grows stronger take advantage of this natural increase in energy. What can you do? What would make you happy? Want to have all the holiday decorations put away? Want a decluttered purse? Want to be free of an overstuffed inbox? Want a cleared countertop? Want to stop misplacing your cell phone? Ready to clean a closet? Ready to clean a shelf in a closet? What improvement would make your space more comfortable, less cluttered, more energetic or more calm? Opportunities abound from small areas to larger longer range projects. However, I advise starting with a small area in order to achieve quick success. Choose a task that will make a noticeable difference once completed. A psychological perk is that small successes build confidence to do more. Don’t wallow in crafting a major plan or agonize over choosing the best place to start. If I asked you to think about a small organizational project that would make your life better – what would you answer in two seconds or fewer? Select a finite task that will make an impact but will also be doable and realistic. Imagine how good you will feel once it is done. Then get started.
Here are some ideas:
- declutter one kitchen drawer, get rid of the unnecessary things
- select five items from your closet that you never wear, donate them
- pair up the socks in one drawer, say good-bye to the singles
- reduce a stack of magazines by half, recycle the oldest ones
- put away unused items from a kitchen counter
- clean out the trash in your car, organize the remaining items
- sort through linens and toss the oldest that are no longer used
Resolve to complete your one selected task today. What could be better than the satisfaction of having already accomplished a New Year’s Resolution?