With 2023 fast approaching, there’s never been a better time to start thinking about upgrades and tweaks you want to make in your life to kick start the new year.
Whether you want to start shopping more sustainably, reassess your relationship with money, or incorporate more reading into your life, we’re here for it. Furthermore, bettering your day doesn’t have to mean depriving yourself of anything.
For many of us, organizing our lives is top of the priority list for the new year. We all know that life admin and clutter are among our least favorite tasks – but, boy, does it feel good when we can eventually tick those banal chores off that “to do” list.
From decluttering your closet to moving on from unfinished projects, we spoke to Mimi Bogelund and Victoria Nicholsen from The Spark Joy Collective – both of whom have been trained by Marie Kondo herself – for their tips on the five best ways to seriously organize your life in 2023.
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1. Finalize or forget unfinished projects
We’ve all got an unfinished project (or three) that we’ve been meaning to get around to for some time – whether it’s a much-needed bit of DIY in your apartment, color coding your books, or having that vintage dress you bought a year ago altered.
However, you may not realize that just having that project hanging around in the background may be cluttering your mind as well as your home. Bogelund says unfinished errands can “drag us down and make us feel disorganized, and often we simply don’t have the time to do it.”
If this sounds familiar, try assessing how much time the task is going to take, and the costs involved, and make a call on whether it’s worth it or not.
In some cases, says Bogelund, “Figuring out how to get something fixed can be a serious challenge and sometimes you have to accept it’s time to just let it go.” If that’s the case, why not do something like donate the too-big dress to a local charity shop? Then not only are you ticking off a task, but you’re doing something good at the same time.
2. Plan ahead
Look, we all know it’s tempting to leave things to the last minute – shopping for a dress the night before a wedding, anyone?! But truly, the stress that comes with getting something done just in the nick of time is doing you (and your cortisol) absolutely no favors.
Whether that’s getting an outfit ready ahead of that all-important interview, or decluttering your current apartment before you move, you’ll thank yourself for pre-planning.
Bogelund suggests that “if a house move or home renovations is happening in the next year, declutter now before you’re under pressure. You’ll be ready and have the full benefits of being on top of your stuff until it happens.”
3. Accept that there’s no quick fix
As much as we would like it to be a three step process to managing your life, as with most things, there simply isn’t a quick fix for getting organized. It’s also worth bearing in mind that getting organized doesn’t just refer to the decluttering of physical objects, but can also relate to anything digital, and the way in which you live your life from day-to-day and organize tasks.
Bogelund suggests that you “start with the end – what do you want to feel different?” Is it one area that you need to gain more control over, or is it that overall feeling of ease you want to cultivate? Take a step back and assess which area you most want to tackle, and make a commitment to yourself that 2023 will be the best time for a fresh start and to face it head on.
4. Organize your calendar
There’s nothing like a new diary or calendar to give you that all-important back to school feeling, and the new year offers a literal blank page from which to start. Start by adding in birthdays, anniversaries, and any important dates you need to know about.
“If I had to choose just one tip guaranteed to make the new year feel organized, it’s choosing and booking that all important holiday,” says Bogelund. Doing so ahead of time will give you the chance to budget, plot, and – of course – plan those all-important outfits for Instagram!
5. Marie Kondo your home
Your home should be your haven, so now is the ideal time to take an audit and identify anything that isn’t supporting your current lifestyle and the person you are today.
Nicholsen suggests that you “think about how you want to use each area of the home — are you now working predominantly from home and need a better space for your desk? Has your family grown or become smaller? Do you some rooms need swapping around. Is your kitchen and laundry area set up for ease of use?”
Once you’ve established what you’re aiming for, try taking a note pad and walk through each area of your home so you can make a note of what needs doing to ensure it’s more aligned with your vision. This list will then enable you to draw up an action plan for the year ahead.
