It’s already a new year – can you believe it!? If the end of the year was as hectic for you as it was for me, you may find your space to be a bit of a mess right now. I find that when the physical (and virtual!) spaces around me are cluttered, my mind becomes cluttered, and that’s not going to help us reach those goals we set for the new year. So let’s get started with a little new year organization!
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After the craziness of the holiday season dies down, the new year presents the perfect opportunity to start fresh. I’ve compiled my top new year organization tips to get organized in order to start your new year with a clean space, clear mind, and a fresh start.
1. Organize Your Phone
If you’re not quite ready to tackle some of the more daunting areas of your house (does anyone else’s closet look like a tornado ripped through it after traveling for the holidays??), starting your new year organization by tackling your virtual life can be a little more welcoming.
Try looking at the following areas on your phone to go into the new year with only the things you need:
- Scroll through your app library and delete apps you no longer use. Organize your remaining apps into relevant folders and hide apps from your home screen that you don’t use often in order to create a cleaner landing page.
- Check your app subscriptions to make sure you are only paying for apps that you actually use! If you have an iPhone, you can easily see apps that you pay subscription fees to by going to Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions.
- Declutter your camera roll. If you’re someone who takes 53 photos of the same thing in order to get the perfect shot or has a million screenshots of products / recipes that you never go back and look at (aka me), set aside some time to delete all of the extra noise in your camera roll by removing unneeded photos / screenshots.
- Quick tip – if you have an upcoming flight / road trip that you will be in the passenger seat for, this is the perfect time to organize your camera roll!
2. Clean Up Your Inbox
If you’re someone who currently has 5,342 unread emails, this one may not be for you, but I personally can’t stand having a cluttered inbox. After being bombarded with ads throughout the holiday season, it’s time to clean it up as part of your new year organization!
I could go in depth on how I keep my inbox neat and tidy, but that would be a post in and of itself. At a high level, I’d recommending the following:
- Delete unwanted / junk emails. No explanation needed here 😊
- Organize important emails into folders. In my personal email, I have folders such as Travel, Family, Car, Home, etc. For work I have different folders for each project that I am working on. If I’ve read an email and do not need to reply or complete a task associated with the email, it goes directly into the relevant folder. That way, the only emails in my inbox are emails that still need to be addressed – it almost serves as a “to do” list!
3. Organize Your Computer Documents
Doing a deep dive into the files on your computer is a great way to get organized. Similar to your inbox, I recommend deleting any unnecessary files and organizing the remaining files into relevant folders. Make sure to organize the files in your downloads and desktop as well!
4. Go Through Your Physical Papers / Files
I find that one of the most impactful ways to get organized is going through your mail / receipts / other files and discard unneeded papers. It’s so satisfying to actually see a difference in your surroundings by decreasing the amount of paper lying around. Now is the time to file any important mail or receipts away and throw out all those expired coupon books.
Quick tip – if you’re a homeowner, be sure to keep receipts related to any home improvement projects you complete and find a place to store them as part of your new year organization, especially if the projects were costly! If you have proof of what you paid for materials that went into and will stay with your house (e.g., paint, new floors, light fixtures, etc.), this can increase your cost basis in your home and can help reduce your gain when you sell down the road!
This is also a good time to go through what you already have filed away. If you still have the owner’s manual to the TV you got rid of three years ago, throw it out! 😊
5. Organize Your Closet
Now onto the daunting task – but I believe in you! Time to unpack your suitcases, do your laundry, and get rid of the clothes you know you’ll never actually wear.
During your new year organization is a great time to go through your wardrobe and weed out the weak links. If you didn’t wear some of those summer tops and dresses last year, it may be time to let go. We’re also far enough into the winter season that you may notice you haven’t been reaching for certain sweaters as much this year as you have in the past. If you don’t see yourself wearing them in the upcoming months, pack them up to donate!
If your clothes feel too special to just give away, or if you want to make a little extra cash, try selling them on Poshmark! I’ve made hundreds of dollars over the years selling my gently worn clothes on Poshmark and would highly recommend giving it a try. It’s also a great place to find cute pieces at a highly discounted price.
If you’re interested, use the code giannademarco_ when you sign up on Poshmark to receive a $10 credit! You can also shop my Poshmark closet here or below!
6. Organize Your Bathroom
I recently discovered that I was still holding on to a chunky glitter eyeshadow pallet from freshman year of high school. Needless to say I tossed that right in the trash and have no regrets. If you still have old makeup or cotton candy scented perfume that you bought in 2010 taking up space in your bathroom, it may be time to toss it out.
Consider what products you actually use on a day to day basis and try to get rid of the rest. If you have nice products that you don’t really use, but don’t want to throw out, check if your mom / sister / friend might want to take it off your hands!
7. Clean Out Your Car
Is there any better feeling than a clean car? If your car could use a little TLC as part of your new year organization, I recommend working through the following:
- Throw out any trash in the door pockets / center console
- Vacuum the interior
- Wipe down smooth surfaces with a microfiber cloth like this one. Quick tip – I keep a microfiber cloth in my center console so I can quickly clean surfaces when I notice dust building up.
- Get a car wash
- Add an air freshener (or replace your existing one if needed!). If you want something a little nicer than the dangling tree air freshener, check out how cute this one from Bath and Body Works is! They have a ton of different shapes for their car air freshener holders throughout the year and so many great scents to choose from too!
- Make sure you have necessities stocked up. I always keep tissues, napkins, lotion, chapstick, and a couple hair ties in my car and it definitely comes in handy! If you live in a cold area, I also recommend making sure you have a blanket in the trunk during winter in case your car breaks down in the cold weather!
8. Clean Out Your Pantry / Fridge
Take stock of your pantry and fridge and clear out any expired items. Check whether open boxes of cereal / granola / crackers, etc. are still fresh and toss them out if they have gone stale.
If being more mindful of your health is a priority for you this year, maybe use this opportunity to get rid of any foods that won’t help you on that journey.
9. Plan for the New Year!
Perhaps my favorite new year organization item on the list – organizing your life and planning for the new year!
I love getting a new planner and adding all of the important dates for the year to my calendar (color coded of course using felt tip pens). For the past couple of years I’ve been loving the simplicity of the Blue Sky One Tree Planted planner, which you can find at Amazon, Staples, or on the Blue Sky website.
When setting up my planner for the new year I do the following:
- Add birthdays and other important dates
- Block out known travel plans
- Add appointments using small sticky notes (that way if they change or you have to cancel, you can easily move it to another day)
- Write out my goals for the year in the goals section or in the notes section. I also like to add goals each month in the month view notes section.
Google calendar is also a great tool to use if you prefer to keep a virtual calendar. I use Google calendar for planning bigger things, like travel and events that involve family or friends (highly recommend shared calendars for group planning!) and my physical planner for day to day tasks.
I hope this new year organization list gave you a little inspiration to get organized for the new year. Let me know your favorite ways to start fresh in the new year and any resolutions you made this year in the comments below! Be sure to check back here for my latest posts!
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