Start the Year Off Right

Maintain

Now that you’ve created a mission statement and used it to guide and organize your household, the most crucial element in your success is how well you can stick to your plan.

• The 15-Minute Clean-Up
  Have your entire family spend fifteen minutes picking up odds and ends around the house that accumulate during the day (sorting mail, putting away newspapers, picking up clothes, etc.) Set a designated time of the day to do it, such as after dinner or before bed, and make it a habit.
• Question the Need to Buy New Things
  When you discover the exhilaration that freeing yourself of clutter brings, it will inspire you to rethink your relationships with material things. When you put the effort into creating a clean, open environment, you will be motivated to keep it that way, and that includes resisting buying more things to detract from your new clutter-free space.
• The Monthly Purge
  Things tend to pile up in your home rather quickly. Don’t wait to do a yearly purge—do it on a continual basis. It can help to always have a “donate” box somewhere in your home and add to it on an ongoing basis. If you bring a few new articles of clothing into your home, put a few old ones into the giveaway box.
• Re-evaluate
  Successful families recognize that as they grow and their goals evolve, so do their needs. Several times throughout the year, re-evaluate the systems you have in place to organize your family. If they’re not working for you, try something else.

“I’ve never been a naturally organized person. One day I looked around my home, and I just felt overwhelmed. There was just too much stuff! I couldn’t even begin to know how to manage it all. So, I started by setting a timer for 15 minutes. My first goal was to get rid of anything I hadn’t used in over a year. It took weeks, 15 minutes at a time, twice a day. But, finally I started to notice a difference. And, the difference encouraged me to keep on going. Today, I teach my kids the same process, and still take 15 minutes a day to help stay on top of the clutter.”

—Kyla Arsenault,
Mommysavers member

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Other articles from this issue:

• Create a Family Mission Statement
• Schedule Important Things First
• Organize
• Purge
• Maintain
• Determine Your Financial Goals
• Re-evaluate Expenses
• Revisit the Family Budget
• Simplify
• Make Financial Records and Information Easily Accessible
• Savings on the Road