Now that you’ve made some SMART goals for the year it’s time to get organized. Organizing can help us stay focused, find things more easily, and reduce stress. Here are several areas you may want to consider organizing – or developing a plan to get organized – during 2023:

  1. Digital organization. Developing an organizational structure/pattern that works for you is very important these days. We have so many things to keep up with digitally and if we don’t have a way to organize them it can be very time-consuming to find them. In some cases, it can be downright overwhelming! I like to think of it like organizing notebooks:
    • Use digital folders. Digital folders can be used in two ways. First as a “notebook” and then within that “notebook” as dividers. For example, many of us pay bills online. One suggestion is to have a folder that functions as a “notebook” titled “Home Bill Pay”. Then inside that digital folder maybe you have a folder for each year labeled, “Home Bill Pay Receipts and Documents 2023”.
    • Decide on a labeling system. For some people, it may be easier to use a number to identify files quickly when they need to find them. In this case, maybe you use the pattern: date_name.of.company_amount (12-16-2023_Georgia.Gas_50.34). Maybe it is easier for you to see names first and following this pattern works best: name.of.company_date_amount (Georgia.Gas_12-16-2023_50.34).
    • If you have too much to organize and the idea of going back and organizing what was there previously feels overwhelming; then consider starting fresh in 2023 and going forward from there. I have been known to make a few simple folders such as, “All Financial from 2020 and Earlier” or “Photos pre-2019”. It is kind of like a junk drawer. You know it’s there and you know you’ll have to deal with it at some point, but at least the new stuff is better organized making it easier to tackle the “junk drawer” little by little at a later date. Ultimately, you have to decide what works for you and your household. Whatever the labeling system is, be consistent, adapt it to other types of files, and make sure everyone who needs to access those files knows the labeling system.
    • Use filters and labeling in Email. These days our inboxes get super full. If you are like me and don’t delete your emails then take advantage of the resources your email server offers you. All of them have filters. Taking the time to understand how to use and apply them within your email could save a lot of headaches.
    • Back up your devices regularly. If you have ever lost all your photos when a phone got lost or broke or if you’ve ever had all the storage taken up when you needed to save something you know the frustration that comes from procrastinating on backing up your devices. Especially your phone! Set reminders monthly to back up your devices and follow through.
  2. Kitchen & Pantry Organization can help you to provide a clean and safe food preparation environment, but it can encourage less eating out and healthier eating patterns. Eating out less has been shown to not only have a positive impact on your bank account but on your health as well. When we eat out we tend to eat larger portions, consume more sodium, and eat foods higher in fat. Especially saturated fat.
    • Meal plan. Did you know that in the U.S. it is estimated that 30-40% of our food supply is wasted? Much of this is due to spoilage. Meal planning reduces spoilage by helping you purchase only what you need at the grocery store. It also makes it a lot less likely you will have spoilage. You will also save money and will be less likely to overeat.
    • Clean out what you don’t use. There are some really amazing and useful kitchen gadgets out there. Take the time to really evaluate what you use the most, what you really need, and what is taking up space on your counter surface or in drawers.
    • Set times to regularly clean out your refrigerator and pantry. There are two issues here. One is spoilage and the other is preventing food born illness. The foodsafety.gov website has some great info on this, including how best to handle food in power outages and emergency situations.
  3. Plan how you will use your time. This can be by the hour, days, weeks, months, and more. The point is taking time to plan things out can help you accomplish goals and reduce stress. This does not mean there can’t be flexibility.
    • Create an ideal schedule. An ideal schedule is just what it sounds like. It is ideal. It doesn’t mean it will happen just the way it is “planned” out. The point is to give yourself structure and help you stay on task. This is especially helpful for the undesirable things we all need to do at home and at work. Many people find it helpful so they don’t feel overwhelmed and can break up the things they don’t enjoy doing but still make sure they get done in a timely manner. Consider doing this for work and at home. If at work part of your job is making phone calls think about how much time you should devote to that task weekly. Schedule it on the calendar and aim to stick to it. If you have to move it commit to moving it instead of not doing it at all. In the same way, you can do this for your household responsibilities. Schedule a time to clean your bathroom or floors. Then consider scheduling a time with yourself to rest. Rest is important and much more enjoyable when you don’t have other tasks hanging over your head.