Organization in the new year

It seems that for many the new year is a time for resolutions, changes, and trying to "lose" things from their current way of doing things. This year I have decided not to set about "losing" anything, but to set about positive change. To frame things in the positive in a way that adds to my daily life instead of worrying about having to lose (generally a negative) something. One of the areas I always seem to like to re-work and make even more efficient than it was is organization of our home, our lives etc. Here are some websites that I felt had some very useful and practical information.

While I may not choose to incorporate all of their suggestions, in reading over these I was left with some very positive changes that my family can make to the coming year.

I hope your 2012 is filled with much happiness, good health, and positive energy.

Here are some useful organizational websites and tips:

OrganizedHome is a site that I find has easy to understand useful information for those looking for quick ways to change something on the home front. They seem to have tips for all times of the year.

House Beautiful is not only a site that has some great information on organization, but it has some fun and interesting tips for decorating your home, getting rid of clutter, organizing furniture, and pretty much anything you would want to do with the look of your home, they seem to have some useful information.

Buttoned UP has so much useful information. You can get their newsletter via email, they have daily tips that while short are useful and give you much to think about in ways to change how you do things not only in your home, but with your personal self, your finances, the whole picture. I find it to be a useful site about balance in all areas of your life. So if you are looking to make some easy, small, positive changes to your life, your home, your finances in 2012, take a few moments to look through this site. You may just find something to be of use for you.

Lastly I will lend a few tips that I started to incorporate into my life in 2011 that I plan to continue to in 2012:
1. Do a load or two of laundry daily and you won't get behind.
2. Find a 5 minute routine for the morning and for the evenings. In the mornings I use the 5 minute routine to do a quick wipe down of bathrooms and kitchens. I use the evening routine to pick up the million toys that my little girls leave all over the house so that at night I don't go to sleep with a messy looking house. Perhaps you don't have children, but you could instead use your 5 minute evening routine to make sure your dishwasher is loaded and ready to be run, your "stuff" is picked up etc.
3. Leave a small basket by the door of your house that can hold winter gloves, hats, scarves, and whatever other winter apparel that seems to always find its way to the floor. By having the basket handy things will always be picked up and easy to find in a quick minute.
4. If your floors look clean people tend to think the rest of your house is clean even when you know it may need a better cleaning than you had time for. So always make sure you vacuum or dry mop your floors daily (if you have pets) or every other day if you don't. it only takes a few minutes and makes the whole house look much better.

Please be sure to post any tips you have to a more organized house and life. Happy New Year to you all.