Crafty Ways to Get Organized in 2013

As we ring in the New Year, we are given a hope for new beginnings, resolutions and new promises of getting organized! As you look forward to 2013, my hope is that you are full of inspiration to start the year off right! Here are some crafty ways to encourage your family, set goals, organize schedules and de-clutter the “stuff” that easily consumes our lives.

Family Mission Statement and Family Goals: A Family Mission statement is the foundation for which your family is based upon. Get creative to establish and identify your family’s Mission, and put it into words! It can be hand written, typed, framed, made into wall decals, applied to ceramic pieces (tiles, plates, etc.), made into a sign or poster, mounted on a wood door or displayed on wood art. The possibilities are endless! Check out these great ideas from Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=family+mission+statement. A New Year also means setting new goals! As a family, you can create a bucket list, or a check list of things you would like to accomplish individually or as a family throughout the year. Check out these creative ideas to make your bucket list come to life: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=bucket+list.

One Family Calendar: As the New Year kicks off, the activities and schedules are in full swing before we know it. Between school schedules, sports, music lessons, church activities, clubs, etc., it is often hard to keep track of everyone’s schedules. Here are some great options to implement one calendar in your home:

1. Online Calendar: There are online calendars, or apps for your computer, smart phone or tablet. Check out Cozi for a FREE online calendar that the whole family can use: http://www.cozi.com/family-calendar.htm.

2. Wall calendar: A wall calendar is a great way to centralize family activities! You can get a “Mom” calendar that is designed to fit a family’s schedule, print a custom calendar that includes family pictures, birthdays, and other events(http://www.createphotocalendars.com/personalizedcalendars.htm), jazz up your walls with a dry eraser wall decal calendar (http://www.wallpops.com/dry-erase.aspx) or paint a door or wall with chalk paint to make a creative calendar!

Chore Chart: A chore chart creates organization and sets daily and weekly goals for everyone in the family. Here are a few tips to help make your family chore chart a success:

1. Chart: There are many ideas to make a custom chart! You can use a simple white board, turn a metal cookie sheet into a piece of art with custom made magnets (http://www.etsy.com/listing/83249330/set-of-10-custom-chore-magnets-custom), use felt pockets and popsicle sticks, make a chore punch card, or hang a door knob hanger and clothes pins! Check out Pinterest for these tutorials: http://pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=chore+chart.

2. Board Game: Chores are usually not very fun…but why not make them more fun by turning them into a board game. Create a chore chart board game by assigning each space a specific chore. Each day, they can roll a dice or spin a wheel to move along the game board and move to their next chore. For each chore that is completed, they can earn points or earn “fake” money. At the end of the week, count their points or “fake” money and they can “buy” something out of a treasure chest full of prizes. Whoever gets to the end of the game at the end of the month, can pick an extra special reward!

3. Age Appropriate: Make chores and tasks relevant to the child’s age and abilities.

4. Reward System: No matter what kind of chore chart you create, make sure to set goals and rewards. This can be a monetary allowance, or something fun for the whole family to do together.

5. Rotation: Mix up the chores weekly or bi-weekly.

“Papers”, bills, mail, and coupons. At our house, paper seems to overwhelm my counter tops and desk! Here are a few ideas to organize and maintain “papers”, bills, mail, and coupons.

1. “Papers”: My family is consumed by paper! This includes school papers, newsletters, flyers, reminders, and the list goes on! Organizing these “papers” can feel like a defeating task, but keep it simple and you can get it together! You can make folders, binders or wall files per person and tuck away the papers that you need to keep. Using a mail box or wall file holder is a cute way to store personal papers! (http://pinterest.com/pin/221591244135856334/)

2. Bills: Organize your bills by their due dates and put them into a filing system. A shutter makes a perfect organizer to line up your bills according to their due dates and get them off of the counter! (http://www.etsy.com/listing/92162669/shutter-mail-organizer). Once the bills are paid, you can discard or file them in a month to month folder/file system.

3. Mail: Create an inbox and outbox to sort your mail. You can use baskets, file folders, stackable files, wall files or you can recycle old paint cans to stylishly store mail! (http://pinterest.com/pin/14144186301282315/).

4. Coupons: Organizing coupons equals saving money! You can use a pocket file, envelopes, or binders to sort the coupons that you get from the store, printed online or clipped from the newspaper. Sort each coupon into categories such as: store, product type, expiration date, or shopping trip.

Getting organized in the New Year is no small feat; however, you can accomplish many great things with a little creativity! I hope that you embrace every day in 2013 and aspire to reach your New Year goals!