Happy New Year everyone! 2023. It’s going be a good one! I just have a feeling. :) I’ve missed you all! I hope you had the best holiday with loved ones. I’ve been soaking up every minute with this crew while my kids are still out of school.
Ad and Kole start school next Wednesday and Ellie heads back to college this weekend. While our time all together as a family has been the best and I’m grateful for it, I can’t help feeling a little sad about her leaving again. Plus the holidays are over. Plus we’ve had nonstop rain. {Sigh} The new year is always an interesting time for me. One minute I’m feeling inspired and motivated and ready to set ALL the goals and take on the world! Then the next minute I’m feeling post holiday let down and just want to curl up on my couch with my cozy blanket and Netflix. Ha. Maybe some of you can relate? I usually feel better once we are back in a good routine so I’m looking forward to that and to more time working on fun projects this year!
Kole and I finished taking down the last of the holiday decor today. I enjoyed it for so long and then yesterday I sort of snapped and wanted it all put away immediately! Ha! When you’re done you’re done. :)
Our theatre room (where I put everything so I can organize my attic space) is still a disaster at the moment, but I’m making progress! I need a few more hours and that should do it. It feels so good to have the house clean and clutter free! It also feels a little empty, but I enjoy taking my time bringing our home back to life throughout January.
{gratitude journal/similar clipboard & notepad/garden party scissors/gold scissors/favorite pens/desert sage planner/stripe black planner}
A few days ago I lit a candle and gathered up some New Year favorites and cleaned my office. It felt so good! I ordered two new planners for the year (crazy I know but I use them both depending on my schedule and mood!). I also ordered more of my favorite pens and scissors for my office and pulled out my gratitude journal. Now I’m set for 2023!
The stripe planner is thicker and is the planner I use the most. It has a full page for each day and I like to have plenty of room to keep track of everything.
For days or weeks that are a little more chill I like the layout in this planner with three days on a page and room for just a few to-dos.
1- weekly planner 2-fabric storage boxes 3- gel pens 4- page marker flags
5- handheld vacuum 6-long cardigan 7- gratitude journal 8-food storage containers
9-joggers 10-stanley tumbler 11- scissors 12- nike running shoe
These are a few more staples for me this time of year! Items I use and love all year long but especially in January!
{fern plant/citrus art – similar here & here/gold landscape art/gold bowl/gold tray/angular bowl/stripe rug}
I also ordered a few fun things to spruce up my empty home – wouldn’t be a new year without a good Target order right? :) I’m excited to start decorating!
I’m also excited to start organizing! I’m doing my organizing challenge again this year and seriously can’t wait! I love the way it keeps me accountable for going though my entire home in just 9 weeks. I don’t always get every single thing done I set out to do, but I always get SO MUCH ORGANIZED. It really creates such a feeling of peace and calm for me. Both inside of our home and inside of my head! :)
Here are details for the challenge. It starts this Monday, January 9th. I so hope you’ll join me!
Our schedule..
Week 1 – BATHROOMS
Week 2 – LAUNDRY ROOM/ENTRY/MUDROOM (shoe drop zone!)
Week 3 – KITCHEN
Week 4 – CLOSETS
Week 5 – BEDROOMS
Week 6 – FAMILY/LIVING ROOM
Week 7 – HOME OFFICE/PAPER
Week 8 – PLAYROOM/TOYS
Week 9 – GARAGE
I’m going to be doing this right along with you again! Yes a lot of these spaces in my home are already organized, but some of them aren’t. I have a few spots that need some serious attention and most of my organized spaces can all use a quick tidy/re-fresh. Even if your home is mostly organized I think you can benefit from this challenge. We all can! It’s a great time of year to get rid of clutter and really focus on spaces that need attention.
This is what I want you to do this week..
1 – First, click HERE to sign up for my e-mail list and download my Get Organized Challenge Printables. Print them and fill them out. If you don’t get a follow-up e-mail soon after check your junk/spam! It’s one large PDF but you can choose what you want to print. There are 3 pages that include a general checklist and tips. If you feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.. follow this printable! Obviously every home is different and some things might not apply, but it’s a good general idea of what items are important to focus on. I also included 3 pages of the same checklists that are blank. If you’d rather fill out your own checklist items for each space, print out the sheets with blank lines and get to work making your to-do list. I like to walk though my home and really look at everything I want to organize and write it all down! There is also a printable that has every space on one page if you don’t feel like you need as many to-do lines. Most of us will need the 3 pages. ;) Print just a few or print them all! Use whatever is helpful and make these checklists work for you.
{GET ORGANIZED CHALLENGE PRINTABLES}
2 – Follow me on IG if you aren’t already. I’ll be sharing pictures, tips and my progress on my main feed and in stories. I would LOVE it if you would share your before/after pictures on IG too! Tag me at erin_sunnysideup and I’ll share some of your before/afters in stories to help motivate us all and give us more ideas!
3 – Buy black garbage bags if you don’t have them already. A label maker and a small hand held vacuum is helpful too but not necessary!
4 – Get a friend to do it with you! I’m serious. Right now call or text a close friend or family member and get them on board. It’s so much more fun and it will hold you accountable each week!
Ok.. that’s it for this weekend. *Print the printables, make your lists, get your garbage bags ready, follow me on IG and text a friend!
I’ll be writing one post about the assigned space to kick off each week with some ideas and tips that have helped me. Here are a few general tips I like to share each year to keep in mind before we get started..
General tips:
This isn’t a cleaning challenge. Cleaning and organizing go hand in hand so let me explain. The goal of this challenge is to get rid of items we don’t need and to organize the cupboards, drawers, piles, hot spots in our homes that are cluttering up our lives. If you finish cleaning out all of your bathroom cupboards/drawers and have time to then wipe off counters and mirrors and scrub your shower.. go for it! But the main goal is to PURGE like your life depends on it and organize all of the hidden messy spaces. Do that first! Then if you have extra time during the week you can do some deep cleaning too.
I’ll say it again.. be ruthless with purging/donating items! Pump yourself up before you start to get rid of as much as you can. Less is more. Trust me.. you won’t miss things! To truly be organized you have to be comfortable living with less stuff.
If you’re short on time one week and can’t really get around to organizing your space, just commit to purging items you don’t need/use/love. Just doing that alone will make a difference! You can come back to that space to organize it all later. Feel free to move ahead if you complete spaces early, just don’t get burned out! It might be better for you to put your feet up and rest if you complete a space early so that you have energy to tackle a new space the next week. :)
Don’t buy organizers YET. Wait until each space is complete to see what you really need. Then if organizers would be helpful you can order exactly what you need.
Resist the urge to over organize and have everything labeled and color coordinated. Yes.. this is coming from me. The one who loves to over organize and label everything and make it all color coordinated. Ha. ;) That’s my personality (I have a touch of OCD in case you haven’t noticed!) and I’m a more naturally organized person and it’s part of what I do for a living. If that’s you too then great.. go for it! Live it up and label away! If that’s just NOT you.. take the pressure off of yourself immediately! The goal of this challenge is to get rid of clutter and to set up systems that work for you/your family and that will be sustainable. For example: If having all of your cereal dumped into clear cereal bins isn’t something you want to keep doing every time you get groceries.. don’t do it! Designate a spot for your cereal boxes all together in your pantry/cupboard and line them up. Done! Something you can easily maintain. (I’m talking to you mom.) ;)
Don’t waste too much time making decisions. You want to move fast and get as much done as you can in the time you have. I always say when it doubt.. donate! Plus moving fast keeps your momentum up!
Get a good playlist ready! Or download a good book on audible or find some fun podcasts to listen to while you work. Make this fun! It’s time to party! My kind of party. And you’re all invited. :)
Along with my Organizing Challenge Printables you’ll also see that all of my old printables are back in my library! New 2023 calendars and to-do lists and everything got a re-fresh this year! My printables are a new color that is pretty close to the color of my office at the moment.. a sort of green/grey. Obviously I’m a fan. :) Here are a few of the long time favorites that are back in my library for you to download..
This is a great printable if you just have small spots you can tackle in 15 minutes a day! So fun to check them all off the list. :)
This is the goal page I try to fill out at the start of each month. I love having the reminder close by of things I want to work on! It always helps keep me on track.
Some months I take it one step further and use this habit tracker to motivate me to make certain goals a habit! I’ll put small things like “hang up clothes after I take them off in my closet” and check off each day that I do it. That was NOT a habit for me for a long time. Ha.
I LOVE filling out this printable at the beginning of each year! I walk through my home and make a wish list of what I would love to do to update different spaces.
This is an oldie but a goodie most of you will remember! Such a great printable if you have big projects you want to tackle! It’s always easiest to break things down into smaller to-do’s that can be accomplished one at a time.
These are just a few of the organizing printables inside my library! Check out the rest when you sign up HERE. I hope they are helpful!
Alright friends. Enjoy your weekend and get some rest because on Monday.. we organize! I can’t wait.
Things are feeling less gloomy around here already.
:)
xoxo, Erin
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