New Year, New Budget: Get Organized

We’re kicking off our New Year, New Budget series by tackling your New Year’s resolutions. The goal is to help you make progress, while sticking to your budget. Year after year, one of the biggest resolutions is to get organized. I chose to tackle this one first because I need a lot of help myself. I won’t begin to tell you how to organize—that’s isn’t the goal of this series. Our purpose is to help you get it done, inexpensively. If it’s coupons you need to organize, I’m your gal but we’ll leave the rest to the organizing experts.

One of the first things people do is rush out and buy storage containers. I know this because they are featured in the weekly ads all month long! Flylady is fond of saying that you can’t organize clutter. You can only get rid of it, but sometimes you will need to store things. Before you buy stock in Rubbermaid, take a look at what is around you. Does your home decor feature baskets? Put them to use as mail collectors, paperback book storage or office supply containers. They have the advantage of looking good and often come with a handle for easily moving room to room as you do.

You’ll probably find several more ways to sort your stuff just by thinking green. Empty peanut butter jars are the perfect size to store crayons, marbles and other trinkets kids’ seem to collect by the dozens. Baby wipe containers snap shut tightly to manage office supplies, toys and batteries. Before you toss out the next empty carton, consider if it could replace a purchase. Of course, don’t hold on to it “just in case” or you are only contributing to the clutter you’re trying to organize.

Don’t get caught up in buying a bunch of systems, storage units and books thinking it will finally be “just the thing” to organize your life. Although, I did find a ton of help from It’s All Too Much and have read it on more than one occasion. Just remember, your local library is a great (free) resource if you need a little guidance in your quest to tame the clutter. You can make progress on your resolutions, without adding to your budget, if you use the assets already available to you. In fact, you can actually make money on your clutter. Watch for more posts this week as we share a variety of ways to sell old books, gadgets, clothes and more!

This article is part of our New Year, New Budget series. We are concentrating on New Year’s resolutions and helping you find ways to tackle them inexpensively. This week focuses on the popular “Getting Organized” resolution.