Here’s to a new year and a newly organized you!

The new year is a great motivator in tackling those organizing projects that you successfully managed to put off all last year. So, what went wrong and how do you avoid making the same mistakes this year.

Even with the best of intentions, most DIY organizing projects go off the rails by setting goals and time frames that do not fit into your schedule. Right off the bat you are setting yourself off for failure. Having an ambitious goal such as de-cluttering and organizing your entire home is great. But you need to break that down into digestible portions and set a realistic schedule that will allow you to accomplish each task. Celebrating the small wins will give you a sense of accomplishment and the energy to take on the next challenge. Here are my 3 tips that will put you on the right track for getting organized in 2019.

Create a project plan: Make a list of all your projects. (Closet organizing, garage clean out, paper management) Next you need to determine how much time you are able to devout to these projects and schedule that time on your calendar. This will vary week to week. The time allotments will help you prioritize your list. Cleaning out a garage can be a multi-day task so it is unlikely that will happen during the work week.

Start Small: Your home or office didn’t get cluttered in one day and it will take more than one day to whip it into shape. Start with a draw, a medicine cabinet or your desk top. Small projects add up to big impacts. One small step leads to another and another. It also feels great when you see what you have accomplished.

You’re not in this alone: Ask family members or friends to help out on a larger project. Young children especially like to be involved if you make it fun for them. Celebrating with a pizza party is always a great way to say thank you.

A word about containers. Although it is tempting to buy all those neat new containers before you have started a project, don’t. Until you have sorted, discarded and organized items into categories, you won’t know what size and how many containers of each size you will need. Doing this at the end will avoid buying the wrong types of containers.

Happy organizing in 2019!