Happy January! To be honest January has always been a strange month to me. I feel like I have split personalities! I swing from highly motivated setting goals and making to-do lists of ALL THE THINGS to highly unmotivated craving nothing but a cozy blanket and a good book or movie. It’s almost comical how quickly I go from one mood to the other! I’ve learned through the years to hold space for both moods this month. I’m motivated when the mood strikes checking things off my list and when I’m feeling tired or burned out or just a little sad (for whatever reason!) I give myself permission to relax. Somehow I always make it through the month feeling more like myself once February rolls around. Can anyone relate? :) Regardless of my January mood, I do love that it’s a month when I can attempt to get my house (and life!) back on track. It feels so good after a busy December doesn’t it!? Time to exhale and really think about the new year ahead. I started making a list of things I want to do this month (during one of my motivated bursts of energy.. ha) and then decided I would share it here too! These are all things I usually do in January (or things I’m trying to do this month!) to set myself up for a good year.
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1 – Fine tune your morning routine. I’m really working on this one! For me it’s simple and includes waking up earlier, making my bed, tossing in a load of laundry and going on my morning walk before I run Kole to school. Simple but I struggle with it because I’m such a night owl and I wake up like a zombie each day! To really pull it off I have to go to bed at a better time which is also a long running goal. I feel so much better when I start my mornings with intention and go on a quick morning walk so I’m definitely making mornings a priority in 2026!
I know it helps that we have year round walkable weather. If I didn’t I would be looking into a walking pad. I have friends who have them and love using them every day in their homes when they are working or for a quick morning walk!
2 – Set reasonable daily goals and find an accountability partner. Addison and I are LOCKED IN with some simple goals this year and we put them in a shared notes app so that we can each check them off every day. We are hoping that if we do it together we’ll stay motivated and remind each other and celebrate at the end of each day when we check them all off. Our goals are pretty simple.. but also hard for us. Ha. The 12/3/30 is our treadmill time! Walking on a grade of 12 at a speed of 3 for 30 minutes a day. I’m hoping to do a quick am walk and then in the evening go to the gym with Kenny to do some treadmill time and weights. Ad and I set an 11:30 bedtime on week nights because we’re trying to be realistic for us! That means I have to get my computer/phone work done in the am. I usually like to do projects in the am, but then the day gets away from me and I’m up way too late working on a blog post. Like I am right now.
Goals are starting after tonight. ;)
3 – Put new sheets on your bed and donate the old set. I always buy new sheets for the new year! My favorite sheets are from Amazon and such a good price so I feel like I can justify the splurge. I usually get new sheets for the kids’ rooms too, but this year since my girls aren’t using their beds at the house as much I’m just getting a new set for us and Kole.
Favorite Sheets
4 – Clean out your fridge. Always feels so good right!? I love a good January fridge clean out! Everyone is usually motivated to eat better and there is nothing like having healthy snacks prepped and ready to go. You can find all of my recent fridge organization favorites HERE and below are some past pics for inspiration!
Fridge Organization
Fridge Organization
5 – Clean out your pantry. My pantry is such a mess right now! I usually keep it pretty organized but the wheels came off the bus during December. I can’t wait to get it clean again! Below are some older pantry pics.. I’ll share an updated pic of how it’s looking when I get it clean this month!
Organization Favorites
Storage Organizer, Wrap Organizer
6 – Edit the clothes in your closet. I gave my closet a major overhaul last year and it felt amazing. It’s always my hot spot! Now that I have systems in place I’m going to spend 15 minutes a day going through all of my clothes again. I’ve learned that I just have to do this every year! I love clothes too much and buy new items each season and if I want to keep my closet organized I can’t have too many clothes in it. That’s the secret to keeping anything organized! Less is more. So I will be doing an edit and donating anything I don’t love to wear! I’ll share updated closet pics when I get it done. :)
7 – Organize hats. I finally tackled our hats last year when I organized our closet and can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner!
Hat Organizer
Linen Storage Bins
Wall Hooks, Shoe Organizers, Boot Shapers
8 – Go through all bathroom drawers. Wash all drawers and organizers and only keep products you really use and love. I do this every January and absolutely love waking up to clean bathrooms drawers in the morning! Here are some past bathroom pics for inspo!
Similar Drawer Organizer Trays
Drawer Divider
Similar Drawer Organizer Trays
Clear Slide Out Organizer, Lazy Susan Organizer
Vanity Organizer
9 – Refresh your medicine cabinet. My medicine cabinet is a mess! I need a different system and will be sharing what I come up with when I get to it!
10 – Clean out the junk drawer (clean out ALL the junk drawers). Such an easy win! This is usually the first thing I do every January because it doesn’t take long and it motivates more organizing! Nothing like opening a clean drawer. The angels sing! Every time. :)
Bamboo Organizer – customizable (I used 2 sets for this drawer!)
11 – Establish a a system for incoming paper. We are using less and less paper with computers and phones but there still seems to be random piles! Set up a filing system for important papers and some type of inbox for daily mail/paper. I just ordered this cute organizer to keep in our kitchen! Still figuring out where it will land. I always have random paper/mail I save for Kenny to go through and this will be a perfect organizer to hold it all so that it’s off the kitchen counter.
Countertop Organizer
12 – Add soft lighting with lamps and candles. It’s such a bummer when the Christmas lights come down and it’s still getting dark early! I love adding small lamps and candles in each room to keep things feeling cozy through winter.
Rattan Lamp, Rechargeable Light Bulb
This little rattan lamp is my absolute favorite! It sold out so fast and finally came back in stock.
Rechargeable Light Bulb
I use this rechargeable light bulb so I don’t see the cord!
Brass Candle Holders, Taper Candles
I’m definitely keeping these candles sprinkled around the house for the next couple of months too!
13 – Clean and organize your car. It feels amazing to get into a clean car to kick off the new year! I shared a few car organization tips a while ago in this blog post. You an also find my favorite items to keep our cars clean and organized HERE. I still love and use everything I shared!
Car Seat Side Organizer
Car Organization Favorites
14 – Go through pictures on your phone and delete any you don’t need. I’m trying to figure out a set time that I can do this every day for at least 10 minutes! I want to habit stack it on something else so that it becomes part of my routine.
15 – Schedule important doctor/dentist/beauty/gym/friend appointments as far out as you can (get your yearly mammogram!). Health needs to be a priority! I always do this in January and it feels so good to be on top of important appointments. I put hair/beauty/gym appointments in the same category because mental health is just as important. When we look and feel our best we show up the best! I also try to schedule lunches and get togethers with friends.. a major mental health boost! I have friends who are good about scheduling things too and it always makes us happy to have time together to look forward to in the new year!
16 – Read a good self development book or listen to a motivational podcast. I love an inspiring book or podcast and if I’m driving alone I’m always listening to one! You can see a round up of my favorite motivational books HERE (including a couple I ordered this year!) and The Mel Robbins podcast is my favorite. If you have any to recommend please share them in the comments!
17 – Level up your skincare. I’ll be 49 years old this year and I’m definitely seeing more lines and wrinkles. It’s a privilege to grow old and I’m embracing it! While also trying to find any products I can that help the situation. ;) These are a few favorites I’m bringing into the new year. I wear this sunscreen every day.. I think wearing a good sunscreen is the most important thing you can do to keep your face from aging! The neck cream I just ordered and will let you know what I think of it but I’ve been hearing good things that it actually works! Fingers crossed.
Clean Skin Club Towels, Under Eye Masks, Neck Cream, SPF, Colleen Rothschild Favorites
You know how much I love Colleen Rothschild! The CR items here are some go-to favorites. I also ordered this cute container to hold my clean skin towels and LOVE these under eye masks! They help with my dark circles from not enough sleep so hopefully I’ll use less of them in the new year. ;)
18 – Start a gratitude journal. Life can be hard and busy and stressful and sad and sometimes just overwhelming. If you’re feeling down for whatever reason taking one minute a day to write down something you are grateful for can make a huge difference. It really helps to put you in a different mindset. I have a spot on my morning walk (a pretty look out spot) where I stop and think about one thing I’m grateful for each day and that works too! Any daily gratitude practice will help rewire your brain to focus on the positive things in your life.
Gratitude Journal
This is a simple, favorite gratitude journal I’ve used in the past. I like it so much I gave them as gifts at one of my holiday parties.
I made these bookmarks to put in them. A January gift idea for a friend you care about. :)
19 – Set limits for your news and social media intake. I have learned to be so careful about how much time I spend absorbing news and social media. I personally think the less the better! And this is coming from a so called “influencer” (I’ve always hated that word and prefer blogger or “sharer of fun things”.. ha.). I try to only check in with IG accounts that lift me up and inspire me and make me happy. I can’t watch the news without feeling down so I just stay away from it all together. When there is something big going on I always hear about it and I choose to focus on positive things during the day. Everyone has to decide what’s best for them! January is a great time to think about what you want to consume each day.
20 – Establish a set time to plan for the upcoming week. A favorite quote says “failing to plan is planning to fail.” No truer words were ever spoken! If I don’t schedule things that are important to me they just DON’T HAPPEN. I always buy a few cute new planners every year so I can switch things up when I’m feeling unmotivated! (I use my simple to-do planner most days!) Set up a time each week to plan for the week ahead whether that’s Friday afternoon or Sunday evening or first thing Monday morning. Then be intentional about the week in front of you.
To-Do Planner, Notes & Plans Planner, 2026 Planner
We’ve got this! Cheers to living our best lives and making 2026 our best year yet!
And just like that.. the more motivated me is back. ;)
xoxo, Erin
