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Many people’s New Year’s resolutions center around improving their health, eating better, and getting in shape. Those are all admirable goals, so why do so many of us fail to meet our own expectations? One reason might be that we have not addressed the core problem that prevents us from living that healthier lifestyle in the first place. Many of us struggle with organization, which prevents us from being able to focus on our self-care. If this sounds like you, here are 7 ways to be a more organized super you in the new year.
1. Set Realistic Goals
You didn’t
create the clutter in one day, so you can’t realistically resolve it that
quickly. Living with disorganization can cause a lot of stress and worry and you
do yourself no good if you heap more stress upon yourself. Choose one area/room
to focus on each week (or month!) and work on organizing that space. Take time
to create systems that will work to help you maintain that organization.
2. Build Some New Habits
Being
organized is easier if you train yourself to keep up with it daily. Take a look
at your current behaviors to see what you need to change. If you tend to leave
the mail lying around, place a recycling bin or shredder for the junk mail in a
convenient location and take care of it immediately. If you have a hard time
starting a task, set a timer for 10 or 15 minutes and just work on it until the
timer goes off. If, when the alarm sounds, you want to take a break, do that.
If you find the completion of the task in sight, keep going. This trick can
help motivate you to build those more organized habits.
3. Create an Outgoing Box
Anything
that needs to leave the house, whether it is items to donate or library books
that need to be returned, should be placed in that spot, ideally, near the door, you use most. Then, you will pass them repeatedly, and, eventually, take them
where they need to go. Building a habit of taking care of tasks as quickly as
possible will free up the energy you spend worrying about those responsibilities.
4. Buy a Label Maker
Sometimes we
become disorganized because we forget where everything should go. This problem
seems to increase exponentially with every additional person who lives in a home.
Labeling drawers, cupboards, closets, and any other space you can think of will
help everyone remember where to return items after they’ve finished using them.
This trick can help save you money because you won’t buy duplicate items if you
can find the ones you already have.
5. Create a Family Schedule
Create a family schedule that everyone has access to. Whether you use a smartphone calendar or a large
whiteboard, making a schedule will help you save time and energy. It will also
allow you more easily take time for activities such as exercise, because if it
is on the schedule, it is important, and you can find a way to plan other
activities around that.
6. Schedule Your Chores
If you want
to dust the house twice a week, put it on the schedule. If you want to tidy every
room of the house at a certain time, schedule it. Make it a family event in
which everyone participates. Couple it with something fun like a movie night to
help motivate those members of the family who are less concerned about the
organization than you are.
7. Meal Plan and Prep
We don’t
usually think about groceries when we think about organization, but most of us
know the frustration of staring into a cluttered refrigerator. Planning your
family’s meals a week ahead of time, inventorying the kitchen, and then buying
only what you need to make those meals will help you minimize the food waste
and frustration. If you can prep most of those meals ahead of time or cook and
freeze entrees, you will save money by eliminating last-minute take-out orders
when you don’t feel like cooking.
Though it might seem daunting at first,
being organized is worth the effort. It helps eliminate your stress, saves you
money, boosts your confidence, and improves your relationships because you have
time and energy to focus on the people you love. Another self-care task to add
to your organization list is adding Superberries Aronia berry Concentrate to
your everyday nutrition. The nutrient-rich Aronia berries will help you feel good
and give you the energy you need to help reach your goals in the coming
year.
