My New Year’s Resolution for 2009: Get Organized

Life is hectic. There are meetings, conventions, office work, deadlines, family, chores, shopping, and the list goes on. I’ve made up my mind, and my biggest New Year’s resolution for 2009 is to Get Organized! Yes, it could be a tricky task, and I’d rather just forget the whole idea, but I am determined to do it. Well, let’s get started:

1. Make a list.

List are always good. I forget things, ask our sons. If something is not on a list chances are we won’t pick it up when we go to the store. Sorry, but I cannot remember everything. List also make you feel like you have accomplish something, even on your busiest days.

On this list I’ve added what I want to organize, which is my desk, our closet, and our photo albums.

2. Gather supplies.

Among the supplies are trash bags, a shredder for important papers, several boxes, shoe boxes or plastic storage boxes are also great. a permanent maker, and cleaning supplies.

3. Getting down to work.

After sorting, shredding, and supposing what I know is trash, I can use the extra trash bags for items I want to donate to our local charity or good will.

The boxes hold items I want to sell. Shoes box hold extra photos or mementos to add to our album. After sorting through my desk, I make sure to make the boxes so I know where they go. And finally, before putting everything I need back in my desk I’ll clean it. At least I’ll have a head start on our spring cleaning.

Our closet takes a bit more time since we have plenty of clothes and shoes to sort. If you can wrestle your mate into helping it can go a lot quicker. It can also be a intimate time to yourselves since you will need to try on older outfits to see if they still fit. I thought we would have fun with it so I brought a bottle of wine and slip in our favorite CD.

Once the clothes are sorted we will donate them as well to a local charity or good will. If you know of family members who are about your same size it’s always nice to ask if they may be interested in sorting through them before shipping them off.

Organizing our photos albums will take the most time. I always need time to reminisce and decide which photos go in which album. If you enjoy scrap booking have all your supplies ready to you can start work once you have sorted the pictures. I like to add dates and places where the picture was taken. A photo journal is a nice way to share a story about your journey.

The best way I think I will actually complete my goal of getting organized is to set aside a certain time on the weekend to work on each task. I’ve got my list so that’s a great start. And once I mark this resolution off my list I can move on to something else; like cleaning out the garage, but that will be on a whole new list.

Happy New Year.