Looking for a quick and easy New Year’s resolution win? This isn’t your same-old list. Instead of trying to build (and fail at) a whole new habit, try something more satisfying and less ambitious. Here are three quick New Year’s organizing tips anyone can do.

Progress can sometimes be a shortcut or even a mistake. Here is a bit of interesting trivia on the origin and legend of our favorite New Year’s bubbly drink. Just like the invention of champagne was considered a happy accident, your New Year’s transformation can be a bit fun and lighter than it’s been in the past.

The New Year doesn’t have to be about drastic habit changes. A quick refresh can feel great, too.

New Year’s Organizing Tips Anyone Can Do

1. Fluff, combine, or replace your pillows. Whether we are talking bed pillows or couch pillows, this is a one-time action that can cozy up your house. Yes, you can clean your bed pillows in the washer and dryer (unless they are down pillows). Combine thin, wimpy bed pillows in a single pillowcase to give you a fluffy, designer look. Make or buy pillow slipcovers in the exact right size for worn couch pillows; it’s a very sustainable and affordable option. Donate pillows that are too scratchy; the fabric can be recycled. Trash old pillows. When that’s done, reward yourself with a new pillow or two to increase the cozy factor. It’s still winter, after all.
2. Arrange your hanging clothes in rainbow order-ROYGBIV-just once. (ROYGBIV=red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet) You don’t have to keep it up all year, but arranging your clothes this way gives you a new perspective. Most people rediscover clothes they haven’t seen in a while and new outfit combinations. It’s an easy, affordable way to “shop your closet,” which might be exactly what you need this January.
3. Create an “aging out” box to help you declutter. I explain why this is way easier than a full declutter in SORT and Succeed. If you feel like getting rid of things is hard, create a box that you will fill, seal, and set aside for some time period. Those Spanish books you’ve never gotten around to opening? That ugly gift from your MIL? That pile of papers from college in the back of your closet? All that costume jewelry? Instead of trashing them or painfully wading through them today, put them in a box and mark in big letters “TO TOSS ON 1/1/2023.”  Store the box out of your way. There. You’ve made a decision in less than 15 minutes, but it was painless. Next year, when you come across that unopened box again, you’ll be confident that you don’t need anything in that box, and tossing or donating will be completely painless.

Will any of these be a good starting point for your New Year’s organizing efforts?

If you aren’t sure, take my SORT and Succeed free online organizing course now.