There’s always a spark of hope that comes with every new year. Resolutions are made, changes are welcomed and new ideas are formed. In the spirit of new beginnings and starting with a clean slate, below are some tips to help you take action and get organized this new year.

10 Ways To Take Action & Get Organized This New Year

1. Declutter

You may have done this before Thanksgiving or before Christmas, but there will no doubt be more things that need to be out of your house or your life to welcome a new year.

Action: Allocate clutter into categories (ie keep, toss, donate).

Outcome: Create a fresh and organized home.

Free online help: Declutter Clinic: Sell, Donate or Throw?

2. Plan a Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning may not be your favorite task, but for some people, cleaning is a good way to relax or provide stress relief. You might love the result of having a clean living space.

Action: create a weekly cleaning guideline and use it however it best fits your schedule and your family.

Outcome: a clean home (where everyone can contribute in some way).

Free online help: A Simple Checklist For Cleaning

3. Start Small and Have Do-able Targets

Setting realistic goals will improve your chance of success, because grandiose resolutions or targets will likely result in failure. You can start by having your car repaired and checked, cut down to two glasses of wine a day, or wipe the bathroom bench tops over each morning. Small things lead to big things.

Action: Choose three tasks that you will start to do daily.

Outcome: A more organized lifestyle that can be expanded on. Once you have mastered your three tasks chosen, choose three more.

Free Online Help: 5 mistakes of goal setting and how to avoid them

4. Take Advantage of Your Calendar and Use It For Everything

Some people don’t want to be boxed in with too many schedules, but including reminders, tasks, vacations and other important events in your calendar will help you remember things. Your calendar can be an old school planner or on your smart device.

Action: Choose whether you prefer paper or electronic planners and start noting your daily to-do’s.

Outcome: The reminders will prompt you to stay on top of your daily tasks.

Free online help: How To Choose The Best Planning System For You

5. Create a Daily, Weekly and Monthly Routine

Creating routines will make it easier to accomplish your tasks in no time. Making your bed every morning, doing your laundry or paying your bills immediately after receiving them will make your life stress-free.

Action: Start creating routines based on what you do already. Then build on these to include things that you want to be doing.

Outcome: When life gets overwhelming or stressful you can refer to the routines you created and stay on top of things.

Free online help: 6 ways to create a productive morning routine

6 ways to create a productive evening routine

4 ways to establish a family routine

 How To Split Chores Fairly In The Home With FREE Weekly Chores Roster Printable

6. Create New Storage Solutions

Invest in new storage systems in your office and home. Have labeled plastic containers for the kitchen or a box for all your bills that need to be paid on your scheduled day of each week.

Action: Take a look at what containers you currently own that can be used instead of buying new things. Permanent markers can be used to label if you don’t have a label machine or stickers.

Outcome: Using what you have will be cheaper, but if you can’t then purchase items that will help you stay organized.

Free online help: Storage tricks, paperlessness, home Apps and multi-purpose rooms

7. Filing System

If you are just starting to organize some of your documents at home, create an effective filing system strategy that suits you and follow it the whole year. Now if you already have an effective filing system, just continue using it.

Action: Start with that pile, drawer, or area that stresses you out the most. You will either file, shred or throw the papers.

Outcome: Your home will be visually less cluttered and your mind will be less anxious.

Free online help: Filing The Paper Molehill Before It Becomes a Mountain

8. Packed Lunch, Organized Dinners

Packed lunches are not just for kids, with thousands of recipes posted on different websites, you’ll have a whole new love of taking lunch to work. There are also hundreds of sandwich recipes that you can try and not just the usual peanut butter and jelly. It can also save you money.

You can also lessen the stress of dinner decisions if you plan out a week in advance. Not only will this save you money, but the pre-planning will save you time overall.

Action: Start preparing for the next few days. Buy the ingredients you need to get started.

Outcome: Calmer mornings and less stress eating.

Free online help: Stop The What’s For Dinner Dilemma

9. Track Your Progress

Mark down each day that you’ve made successful strides towards keeping some of your resolutions. Mark a successful task with a big check or a big red X on your calendar. When you see the chain of success, you will be motivated to keep on going until all your goals are achieved.

Action: Do something right now so that you can mark your calendar. There’s no time like the present!

Outcome: Even if you don’t want to, tracking your progress will motivate you to do more.

Image credit: Pinterest

10. Celebrate Your Success

Don’t deprive yourself of something nice whenever you reach a goal. It can be a movie or a nice dinner out with your better half or with your kids.

Action: Make a list of things you will reward yourself with once you achieve your first week’s goal.

Outcome: You’ll work harder to ensure you “deserve” that reward you have set for yourself.