How to Be Organized By Month

January means a fresh start, and I like to start with the biggest challenge in most homes: the closet. Whether you spend a few evenings a week or one entire Saturday on this task, you're going to feel like a new person when you're done. I'll take you through the process: clean, declutter, donate, store, and preserve your new-found organization... (continue reading Get Organized in January)

Get Started with Closet Organization

• Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated Monday, January 16, 2012

The closet, which we tackled in January, may present the biggest challenge, but the kitchen tends to have the most clutter. Think about all of those appliances, pots, pans, cooking utensils and piles of paper clutter! Take a deep breath, and we'll work through the process again in your kitchen: clean, declutter, store and maintain your new organization... (continue reading Get Organized in February)

Get Started with Kitchen Organization

• President's Day is celebrated Monday, February 20, 2012
• Valentine's Day is celebrated Tuesday, February 14, 2012
• Mardi Gras is celebrated Tuesday, February 21
• Ash Wednesday is observed Wednesday, February 22, 2012
• Leap Day is celebrated on Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Organizing paper, mail and finances in march will mean less headaches in April (tax day is on a Sunday this year!). Now that I had the right mail management system set up that I follow each week, I find paper management to be a very grounding process (continue reading Get Organized in March)

• Purim is celebrated Thursday, March 8, 2012
• Daylight Savings Time begins on Sunday, March 11, 2012
• St. Patrick's Day is celebrated Saturday, March 17, 2012
• The First Day of Spring is Tuesday, March, 20, 2012

Nothing will get your day off to a better start than a clean, well-organized bathroom, and nothing will make hosting guests easier than a well organized linen closet. Start by decluttering these spaces by tossing old toiletries and medications, and then donating old linens to an animal shelter. If that old sheet set is too ratty for a guest to use, it's not good enough for you, either... (continue reading Get Organized in April)

Get Started with Bathroom Organization
Get Started with Linen Closet Organization

Holidays & Special Events

• Palm Sunday is observed Sunday, April 1, 2012
• Good friday is observed Friday, April 6, 2012
• Passover is observed Saturday, April 7, 2012
• Easter is celebrated Sunday, April 8, 2012
• Income Taxes are due on Sunday, April 15, 2012
• Earth Day is celebrated Sunday, April 22, 2012
• Administrative Professionals Day is observed Wednesday, April 25, 2012

It's time to get back into the closet to store winter clothes, donate what you didn't wear this season, and re-arrange for spring and summer. It's also time to delve into shoe and boot organization and storage. Since you already organized your closet in January, you'll have a little extra time to work on your shoe collection... (continue reading Get Organized in May)

Get Started with Closet Organization
Get Started with Shoe Storage & Organization
Get Started with Boot Storage & Organization

• May Day is celebrated Tuesday, May 1, 2012
• Cinco de Mayo is celebrated Saturday, May 5, 2012 (How to Organize a quick Cinco de Mayo Party)
• Mother's Day is celebrated Sunday, May 13, 2012
• Armed Forces Day is celebrated Saturday, May 19, 2012
• Memorial Day is celebrated Monday, May 28, 2012

Garages, with their combination of tools, sporting equipment, appliances, beach gear, bikes and even sometimes, cars, are an easier job than you think. The trick is to think like a department store manager and organize your garage into zones, much like a department store is organized. This makes so much sense, I almost look forward to this yearly task. I've provided a How To and storage solutions that will work in any garage space. ... (continue reading Get Organized in June)

Get Started with Garage Organization

• The Atlantic hurricane season begins on Friday, June 1, 2012 (How to Prepare for a Hurricane)
• Father's Day is celebrated on Sunday, June 2012
• The First Day of SUmmer is Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Since we've already gone through the kitchen once in February, we can spend a little less time decluttering appliances and a little more time fine-tuning our meal plans. As I have wirrten in the past, meal planning has always been a challenge for me, but I found that once I committed to planning 2-3 days in advance, and mastered some go-to meals, it became a permanent and welcome part of my routine... (continue reading Get Organized in July)

Get Started with Meal Planning
Get Started with Kitchen Organization

Holidays & Special Events

• Canada Day is celebrated Monday, July 2, 2012
• Independence Day is celebrated Wednesday, July 4, 2012 (Fourth of July Party Planning Checklist)
• Bastille Day is celebrated on Saturday, July, 2012

We've gone over paper clutter, mail management and personal finances earlier in the year. This month, let's go back through each of those systems. How are they working for you? Do you need to re-adjust?

This month we'll add in daily routines. Do you follow the same routine each day? A routine can be a very powerful weapon in the fight for productivity, and they can be customized to your life.... (continue reading Get Organized in August)

Get Started with a Daily Routine
Getting Started with Mail & Paper Management
Getting Started with Personal Financial Management

• Friendship Day is celebrated Sunday, August 5, 2012
• Back to School

September is the month of prep work. You should begin organizing linens, linen closets, bathrooms and guest bedrooms without the threat of guests arriving at your door any minute. Take the time now to carefully declutter and clean these areas so they are working for you when holiday guests arrive. Think about donating old linens to a shelter, purging your guest bedroom of old clothing and donate it, and go through and toss old medications, toiletries and make up... (continue reading Get Organized in September)

Once you've decluttered these spaces, you can maintain them in 20 minutes a week using the Weekly Organizing Routine.

Get Started with Bathroom Organization
Get Started with Linen Closet Organization

• Labor Day is celebrated on Monday, September 3, 2012
• Grandparents Day is celebrated on Sunday, September 9, 2012
• Back to School
• Rosh Hashanah begins Sunday, September 16, 2012
• The First Day of Autumn is Saturday, September 22, 2012

Store the flip flops and begin shining your leather boots: Fall is here! Do a closet sweep for any summer clothing you did not wear and can therefore now donate (bonus: donating old clothes means you can fit new into your closet), store your summer clothing, and wash winter gear like mittens, scarves and hats.

This is also the time to decide what you'll do with wet, dirty shoes and boots. I like to use a tray by the door to corral anything that has attracted Winter sludge... (continue reading Get Organized in October)

GetStarted with Closet Organization

• Columbus Day is observed on Monday, October 8, 2012
• Thanksgiving Day in Canada is celebrated on Monday, October 8, 2012
• Halloween is celebrated on Wednesday, October 31, 2012

The calm before the storm? We're heading back into the kitchen, and this time we'll work on pulling serving dishes, utensils, and china out of the cabinet for inspection. This is also the time to organize your food storage containers since you'll be handing out or receiving holiday leftovers and baked goods in the coming months... (continue reading Get Organized in November)

Get Started with Kitchen Organization
Get Started with Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping
Get Started with Holiday Organization

• Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 4, 2012
• Election Day is on Tuesday, November 6, 2012 (register to vote)
• Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on Thursday, November 22, 2012 (Get organized for Thanksgiving)

No heavy lifting in December, it's all about purging your home of clutter and then donating the useful, clean and well-made items to a worthy cause. I like the juxtaposition of clearing your home before you receive new items this time of year, and before you welcome in 2013. You need to clear out the old before you can receive the new. If you're one of those people who has a hard time letting go, fear not: I've got a ton of resources to help you with this process. ... (continue reading Get Organized in December)

Get Start Clearing Clutter
Get Started with Donating

• Hanukkah begins on December 9, 2012
• Christmas day is Tuesday, December 25, 2012 (Get Organized for the Holidays)
• New Year's Eve is celebrated on Monday, December 31