Tuesday, January 03, 2012

How Do You New Year?

 I've had the same new year's resolution for three years running, and I finally did it this past year (slow down and enjoy the simpleness of life).  I kind of look at a resolution as a wish that you have control over, so for this year, I decided it was time to really ship shape up and get more orderly.  I'm not doing it because I need to (though I do), but I'm doing it because I want to (this is the key, don't you think?)

For me, I needed to organize my thoughts even more than actually organizing my surroundings.  I went super simple with my strategy--I jotted down everything that felt chaotic to me or that I felt wasn't as orderly as I would like it to be.  Each though went on a new card.  Then I made 4 columns--things to tackle right away (to give me some success), things to get to in the near future, things to do after my first 2 lists were done, and things accomplished.  I've been able to move a few things over to that last column and it felt awesome.  I'm such a visual person that a board like this helps me stay focused--you may be able to do the whole thing in one list if that works for you.


I conquered the daily paperwork/homework issue by turning my pantry into an office.  Remember my post about small office spaces?  Add this one to your bag of tricks:

My pantry, turned home office 
I couldn't indulge in the entire space, but because we don't have desk space in our kitchen I needed a spot to put the things we use every day.  I always use fun canisters and containers to hold colored pencils and markers because they're out all the time.  I like to choose pretty vessels and containers when I organize so I can enjoy them on a daily basis.  My files are held in the  vintage breadbox and I try to label things clearly so everyone in the family knows where to find things (and hopefully return them).

 Tomorrow I'll be posting about the rest of my resolution to live an orderly life--organizing my time to reflect my values.  Please weigh in with strategies you use to lick your home into shape.

1 comment:

  1. Dani, you are always doing what I meant to do while you were growing up. both you and Kate have such a juggleing act going. Mostly, I just get the deer in the headlights look and nonproactive behavior. Lists are a great thing. I use them all the time to organize, prioritise, and accomplish or discard goals.

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