SORT and Succeed: How to Organize Everything This Month

Post published:January 1, 2023
Post category:Organizing your home and life

Ready. Set. GO! It’s Get Organized Month, and you’ve got the SORT and Succeed system to organize everything this month, just not all at once. How about taking it just 15 minutes at a time and seeing real change, maybe for the first time ever?

I’m continuing my tradition of a short, actionable, and inspirational post each day in January to keep you focused, motivated, and inspired to organize your home, head, calendar, and even your photos.

SORT and Succeed: How to Organize Everything This Month

Need a refresher on SORT and Succeed? The SORT and Succeed books and this article on SORT and Succeed are easy to read and re-read in just a few minutes.

Sexy? Maybe.

Effective? Definitely.

Dance moves? Absolutely not. 😉 You do not want to see me dance.

Today’s challenge? Organize your purse/wallet/backpack. I know you can do it in 15 minutes or less. It’ll feel soooo easy, almost not worth doing, but that’s exactly the point! No getting overwhelmed.

You’re thinking, hey, give me something harder. I’m in a mood! I want to really toss things out. I want piles and piles of things to leave my house.

Fair enough. But let’s do this this little SORT and Succeed project first, OK?

SORT and Succeed Steps

Start with a written plan. Write down your goal in 5-words or less. No, really, write it down. Make it real. Go on record with your goal: Organize my purse/wallet/backpack before noon.
Organize into groups. Put makeup together. Cash together. Receipts together. Gift cards together. You can even have a pile of “little things.” Hey, this is easy, right?
Reduce, release, reset. Toss the trash. File receipts if you need to keep them. Package like items into pouches like these (affiliate link) or similar. Face your money the same direction in your wallet. If you respect your money, it will respect you back. Re-stock your purse/wallet/backpack with meds, tissues, hand sanitizer, quarters for the parking meter.
Tweak. Little things that you never have time for? Shake out crumbs or vacuum the lining. Collect change in a jar and lighten your load. Replace a worn wallet. Buff the scuffs. Touch up scratches with a Sharpie. Make sure you have your favorite pens.
Succeed and Celebrate! Did you do it? In about 15 minutes? Do you feel refreshed? YAY! This calls for a celebration. Claim your reward. Treat yourself to a second cup of coffee. Take a walk around the block. Call a friend and tell them that you just completed your first organizing challenge of the year. Reward yourself just like you would encourage your BFF, co-worker, or child. Reward yourself for a job well-done. Go ahead. Really. This little bit of brain-training will prime the pump for bigger organizing tasks to come.

Don’t get overwhelmed by biting off too much, too early in the month. Instead, savor your small but meaningful win. You can do SORT and Succeed over and over again this month and get more organized every day.

Did you nail this mini-project and still want more? Keep the wins coming by taking care of these great first of the month organizing routines.

Check back here daily in January for organizing prompts. Click the links below:

15. Choregasm

21. Bigger than a Breadbox

22. The Art of Laundry

30. Backwards

31.

Tags: New Year, organizing plan