Happy Wednesday! I am so happy to see this week cruising along! We had our first full Monday of the year and a great Tuesday, so let’s go Wednesday. Let’s Look is back for 2022 and I’m excited for it. I love to see how other people do things and this is the perfect link up for it. Today I am sharing how I organize for the new year. It’s always a little different, but there are somethings I always do.

Honestly, I get more organized for a new school year than I do for an actual new year. The new school year is a huge change in our daily routines and I need to get things in place for that. That being said, I do try to use the new year as a reset.

As a teacher, I love having the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day off. Usually we get a little more than a week based on how they fall in the week. This year we were off Friday – Sunday. Typically we have some tournament and see our family a bunch. This year we didn’t have either because of, well you know…. (We all stayed healthy, but things were still impacted.) We spent a ton of time together playing games and and relaxing. It was really nice!

I am certain that this was the first winter break I did not build some type of bookshelf or cube storage unit. It was glorious!! I did move one bookshelf around because the Billy bookshelf I want is out of stock in our area. I’m looking to expand our library to the opposite wall and want them to match!

Even though I didn’t build anything, I spent a ton of time purging and organizing over break. I know I’ve shared this a bunch this week, but it feels so good. Every time I put something away, went to a shelf/cabinet, looked at something, I stopped and sorted through it. I moved things so they could be together, got rid of duplicates and anything we haven’t used in years, and put the space back together in an organized, functional way. It took me a long time, but it was so worth it.

The biggest project was the kids’ clothes and books. I haven’t gone through their clothes in a while and we cleared out so many things that didn’t fit or didn’t feel right or they just weren’t wearing. I haven’t gone through their bookshelves either. As a lover of all books, I have a hard time getting rid of books. But the librarian in me remembers that if there’s too much, you can’t find what you want. At the end of the project, it was a lot!

Cleaning out my spaces makes me feel ready for the new year. I don’t do it before school starts. I am too busy soaking up every last minute of summer and I have absolutely no desire to be inside for one extra minute.

My calendar is my physical tool to get organized for a new year. In January, I take note of when everyone needs to go to the dentist and the doctor and make all of those appointments. I don’t know about where you are, but our dentists are scheduling so far out right now. I just made my next two dental appointments yesterday. The lady who cuts the boys’ hair is also crazy booked lately. I scheduled their next two appointments yesterday, also.

I also use my calendar to start planning our summers as soon as winter break is over. There are some fun things I want to do and camps the boys love, so I start looking at how we can fit it all in during the summer. Thinking about that warm sunshiny fun makes me so happy!

Coming off our winter break of loosey-goosey meals pushes me right back into meal planning. I always have good detailed meal plans for the first few months of the year. By mid to late April, wheels start falling off and we get through the school year on a wing and a prayer.

I think that’s all I usually do to get organized for the new year – purging, appointments, planning summer fun, and meal plans. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!