“JANUARY,
The first month of the year,
A perfect time to start over
Changing energies and abandoning old moods,
New beginnings, new attitudes ”
Charmaine J Forde
It’s officially a new year and for me that means looking at the long road ahead and wondering how the hell I will organize and be more determined this year. The best way to get into that terrifying but exciting mental space is to remember that there is nothing better than taking stock of what I have and giving to the ones I don’t. On the surface, I took care of some of those things over the holiday season, and frankly I do it year-round, but there is something so refreshing, rejuvenating, and renewing in a clean sweep that begins at the beginning of a new year.
This year I came up with my “Top 5” list for each month of the year. I’m not a fan of tackling too much in a short time. My reason is simple, everything in my hands needs the dedication, time and care to be handled and thought out with consideration and love and, I’ll be honest, everything has a memory attached to it and I want to allow that. impromptu trip down memory lane. I know myself well enough that the journey down memory lane is time consuming and a short list of the top 5 will probably take me at least a week or two depending on where my journey takes me. I give myself the entire month to completely review my list because the other thing I know for sure is that one action, one thought, one intention will absolutely lead to another and before I know it I have a second top five list and maybe even a third. It all depends on what comes along the way and how my creativity flourishes.
This year my focus for January is organizing, sorting, and storing my Christmas decorations, gifts, cards, and winter gear. This is how my thought process was formed …
My daughter has taken on the task of being the home decorator for all things vacation related throughout the year, but especially the end of the year holidays when things get very busy and we move from one celebration to the next. The boxes are neatly stacked in a corner for easy access and the decorations change almost daily if she goes to the store to buy something new (ugh).
Once the holidays are over I’m ready to clean, but she isn’t, so I start to think about how I’ll go about cleaning once I get clear permission from her. It is too sad a task for her to participate in the cleaning, so I gladly do my part and take care of that task on my own. During the cleanup, I make lists of what we will need for the following year in case something is broken or crushed beyond recognition or if I see something that was too beautiful to pass up next time. Then I create new ways to pack all the decorations so I don’t have too many boxes in the attic. It’s challenging and fun to put together that puzzle.
So when I thought about putting the decorations away this year, I also realized that some of the holiday gifts were still stacked in a corner, so I considered that once the decorations were ready and in place until next year, what? what will I do? with all the gifts to pass and save? I’m an absolute supporter of donating, be it food, time, clothing, or services, so I knew right away that opening the donation station at home would take more than a few hours of my time. He would need everyone’s help to make those decisions.
Are you ready for the list? Here we go:
Set up a recycling and donation station that is accessible for everyone to contribute at any time, whether it’s for this specific project or for warehouses throughout the year.
Organize, label, and store Christmas decorations and wrap them safely and carefully for easy access next year.
Divide up empty gift boxes and cardboard boxes and wrap them tightly together for recycling. I have a few rolls of colored vinyl tape in the garage, so I use them as a wrapping material. My area recycling company picks up trash every week so it makes my life easier and the guys appreciate the individual package so it’s a win / win.
Recycle Christmas trees and wreaths. I would check to see if your city has specific collection dates and times for recycling these items or maybe your landscaper takes it away for a small fee or you can find a local recycling company in your area that will pick up debris like trees, shrubs, etc. A city near me has the entire month of January available for residents to drop off their tree with some guidelines to follow and set times. Knowing that the tree will get a second chance to put the land to good use is a great way to give back to the land.
Save the front of your greeting cards and use it for projects throughout the year in a box labeled for things like sent pictures that can be framed or treasured words that can be adorned in a collage or gift tags for the coming year. Another idea is to donate the front of the cards you don’t want to keep.
Sort your gift cards, returnable items, broken or damaged items, or gifts you might think about re-gifting and see if you can repair the broken ones or donate the gift cards or returnable items to a shelter or places like Ronald’s house. McDonald. .
It’s at this point that checking out those gift items allows me to go through my own “stuff” cabinets to see what you need to keep and what might win a new life for someone else. So, I decided to stick with winter clothes this month. Consider donating new or little used winter gear, such as blankets, sports equipment, boots, gloves, scarves, hats, coats, paddles, scrapers, sweaters, flannels, electric heating blankets, pads or rubs and creams, hand warmers, socks, kneepads. hello stockings, shawls, jeans, etc.
Last Thought: If you find that every month this year you want to tidy up your pantry and donate to food banks throughout the year rather than just around Thanksgiving time, this month would be a great time to check out the items you are could have bought a little. too much like soup, canned goods, pasta, cereal, anything boxed or canned that can be turned into a hot meal.
And so my top 5 list became my top 8 list and I still haven’t lifted a finger to get to cleanliness. Fuck!
I hope this has been useful to you and above all I hope you have fun with it. Allow your imagination and creativity to flourish and grow as you go through this list. If that’s easier for you, save your new list for February, when I list a whole new set of the top 5 ideas. If you’re really ambitious, remember how January feels like the longest month of the year, so go ahead and address your emerging ideas as they emerge. Good luck and see you here in February.
Call to action
What’s stopping you from getting organized?
What would be useful to you to gain in the organization?
Happy organizing!