Fresh Start Challenge
“I’m careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can strive for; perfection is God’s business.” - Michael J. Fox
This month’s challenge is to focus some time and energy on getting tidy and organised. The New Year is only around the corner, and for a lot of people December will be packed with lots of celebrations, social events, catering, work and shopping. This doesn’t leave a lot of time to get your life in gear for the New Year, so why not get ahead and start now?
Psychology says that people with clean houses are healthier than those with messy houses (NiCole & Keith, n. d). But what does this actually mean? Well, not only does keeping your environment clean and tidy keep you active and therefore at lower risk of heart disease, I also brings a distinct shift in positive mood and greater mental health (Saxbe & Repetti, 2010). In fact research has proven that by making small daily efforts to keep your home, work space, lifestyle and self more tidy and organised, you will:
Experience less stress and depression;
Will find yourself eating better;
Will be more inclined to stick to your workout regimen;
Can enhance weight-loss and fitness;
Can experience improved relationships;
Boost your productivity;
and improve your sleep.
(Fowler, n.d)
I don’t know about you, but over here in the UK, come November, the weather gets pretty dark and cold. Therefore I could definitely use some of these benefits! However, it’s important to remember not to bog yourself down with ideals of perfectionism, as that will put you under undue pressure and leave you feeling disappointed and down. Instead, follow this challenge to help you make small but impactful daily changes towards becoming tidier and more organised, so you can enjoy waving goodbye to 2019 without anything hanging round your neck!
There isn’t a better time to start. Take the pledge today!
Day 1
Change your bedding! Fresh month – fresh bedding. Make your bedroom a clean and comforting place to sleep. Aim to change your bedding on the first of every month – if not every 2 weeks to keep your bed feeling fresh and to help you get a great night sleep.
Day 2
Decide this new rule in your head: for every room you go into, tidy/put back a minimum of 5 items. This makes cleaning and organising a lot easier as you are tidying as you go along with minimal effort. This in turn, eliminates the need for those giant ‘putting away’ sessions you inevitably have to end up doing.
Day 3
Sort through your ‘goo draw’. You know, that one cupboard or draw that’s filled full of random half used products and free samples - like shampoo, mini toothpastes, fake tan, and half used bottles of moisturiser, or that horrid bottle of perfume/cologne you got given that one time. Work out what you really want to keep and organise it into neat sections. What you don’t want, either re-gift or empty and recycle!
Day 4
It’s a Monday, the start of a new week filled with new beginnings. So why start your brand new week with an old crusty towel? Don’t! Put all of your towels and flannels in the wash and change them every Monday. You can’t feel fresh if you are drying/washing yourself with old manky items!
Day 5
Head up those stairs. Yep, we are attacking that wardrobe next. Sort through what you ACTUALLY like and ACTUALLY wear and donate the rest. No, don’t carry on hoarding that one pair of jeans you ‘once’ fit into in 2014. We both know you are not going to wear them again.
Day 6
Today is all about the SNACKS! Saddle up! Nope. Only joking. We are organising our kitchen cupboards today, not eating what’s in them - that comes on day 28, when your boss invites you to some terrible Christmas meal, you are definitely planning on being ‘ill’ for. Today, work through your pantry and re-organise everything into appropriate categories. A great way to maximise space is to decant large packaged items into those plastic takeaway boxes you get. Or, for those who enjoy more aesthetically pleasing organisation methods, invest in some mason jars to store your dry goods!
Day 7
Clean out your handbag/man bag/school bag/work bag/laptop bag – or any other kind of bag you may have. Throw it away, recycle it, or return it to its correct location in your home. Wherever the items in your bag need to be – put them there. Clean out the empty bag for any remaining dust/fluff/bits of paper and designate specific pockets/zips for specific items so that from here on out, you know where everything is and you never again have to panic for your keys or money.
Day 8
Clean out your desk! Buy some shelving, boxes, or a filing cabinet! Sort through where your different papers need to be and let them rejoice in their new, beautiful organised home. If needs be, label these new locations – and whilst you’re at it, for the love of everything Holy, please sort through that pen pot you’ve been avoiding too.
Day 9
Today is the day for the big guns. It is time…to tackle…your email inbox. Pretend you are the most adept, organised and scrupulous administrative assistant: create appropriate folders for each type of email you are likely to want to keep (e.g. Bills, Records & Subscriptions, Work/Uni, Banking etc.). Delete everything you don’t need and store the remaining items in the appropriate folders you have created. Unsubscribe to those annoying spammy emails and offers and move them to the junk folder. Finally, deal with any other emails that need your attention – stop putting it off. The aim is for your inbox to be empty and to keep on top of it.
Day 10
Organise your medicine box/cabinet – throw away/recycle any out of date medicines and stock up on the ones you need to replace (e.g. plasters, paracetamol, indigestion tablets, and vitamins etc). If you need to renew a prescription, write a letter to your doctor or phone them today!
Day 11
Clean your bathroom. Get that bleach. Grab that sink spray. Scrub with that sponge. Snap them gloves on and get cracking – and try not to itch your face.
Day 12
***AAAHH-CHOOOO!*** Is it dusty in there or what? Grab some polish and a dusting cloth or some anti-bacterial wipes and give your gaff the run-down. No one like a dusty home.
Day 13
“These boots are made for walkin’ and that’s just what they’ll do, and one of these days these boots…are gonna stay lost in the depths of my cupboard forever”. Oh, sorry are those not the words to that song? Well, they should be! When was the last time you checked out your shoe collection? I think it may be time to throw out those muddy trainers and organise your storage space better.
Day 14
Organise your freezer. Throw away or use left overs and create space for all of the cooking you may be doing come December – or new diet you may be trying come January. Create distinct areas in the freezer where particular food groups are stored to make finding things easier.
Day 15
Kids have toys – a lot of them. But how many do they actually play with or are broken? Bring out the black bin bags and sort through that clutter! Recycle the broken items and donate the rest.
If you don’t have children – sort through YOUR TOYS! Yeah, that junk draw over there? Full of random pen lids and letters you’ll “deal with later”. Well deal with it.
Day 16
Sort out your nick-knacks and accessories! We all have these dotted around our homes, be it incense sticks, candles, decorative cushions, potted plants or random displays of varying sizes. Today have a re-jig of these items. Put some away, buy some new ones, get out some old ones or re-design/locate your existing ones. Life gets boring and homes feel stale if things look the same all the time.
Day 17
It’s time to get out that vacuum and suck up all that hair and dander from your beautiful floors. It’s Sunday, the last day of the week – schedule this in as ‘Vacuum Day’, so that you go into the next week clean and ready to make another mess!
Day 18
Create your ‘To-Do List’ of anything and everything you need to achieve/work through. It doesn’t matter how big or small these tasks are – write them down and get them done! Use your notes page on your phone to bullet-list your items down and tick them off when you have completed them – don’t delete them! By keeping them on your screen with a ‘check mark’ next to them, you get to see evidence of your achievements and how much you have done. Seeing this will make you feel proud and encourage you to be more productive! Delete the list once you have crossed off every item.
Day 19
Make a list of things that are broken either in your house, to your car, or in any other area of your life. Does your garden need a good bit of work done to it? Has your car got a big scratch on it? Whatever the case may be, make a list of these things that need fixing or areas where attention needs to be paid and pay it! Either book someone in to do it for you, assign the job to a family member, or pull up your sleeves and get to work!
Day 20
Book those annoying appointments you’ve been avoiding. Yes, no one likes the dentist, hygienist, physiotherapist, or the doctor. I’m sure they don’t like you either – but that’s not a reason to not see them.
Day 21
List 5-10 weekly chores/jobs that need doing around your home and create a rota for these tasks. Write them out on a piece of paper and decorate it to look fun and fancy and stick it on your fridge for everyone to see and grumble at! Make sure that you and your family/roommates take note and share the load to make your space amazing and functional as it should be.
Day 22
Buy a calendar/planner. It’s easy to think we know everything – we are perfect after all. But sometimes we are susceptible to human error or can struggle to remember things – making mistakes likely and easy for us to feel overwhelmed. It is really helpful to get our thoughts and plans (be it social, domestic or professional) out and onto a piece of paper, where we can see it and therefore be better able to tackle them. Take the mystery out of your planning and scheduling and write it down where you can see it and better manage it.
Day 23
Clean out your car – or better yet, pay someone to do it!
Day 24
Clear out your social media. Delete people you don’t know, don’t talk to, those you have fallen out with, any ex’s, or those that don’t interact with you. Life’s too short to care about what people in your past are doing, thinking or not thinking. Free yourself from the chains of curiosity and delete the dead-weight.
Day 25
Organise your mobile. What contacts do you need to add, delete, edit? Do you have a load of photos that need uploading onto your PC to free up space? Are your apps scattered across you home pages in a disorderly fashion? Do you have tones of old text messages dating back to January? People you haven’t replied to? IOS updates to do? Replacement charging cables/headphones to buy? Today is the day to get to it!
Day 26
Do you enjoy a good nasturtium? How about an aloe? Or a rubber? We are talking about plants of course. Whatever plants you have, stop sporadically watering them and accidently near-killing them and instead, use today to do some research on what treatment/watering each plant needs. Make a schedule in accordance to this and stick to it. Pretty homes need pretty plants.
Day 27
Clear your mind. Your head probably needs some spring cleaning too…even though it’s only November. But never mind that! Buy yourself a nice note pad, or again make a schedule in the notes page of your phone of all the things you would like to do recreationally in your spare time - as ‘you time’ - and schedule it into your week. Make arrangements. Book the classes. Whatever it may be – make sure to organise time for your own happiness, hobbies and down time too. You are just as important as that crumb on the work surface.
Day 28
December can be expensive. Sit down and do some budgeting exercises. Plan how much money you have, how much you need to spend, how much you would like to spend and on whom. This will make ‘the big shop’, less daunting.
Day 29
What are you doing next summer? Do you have anything planned? Well, perhaps now use this time to plan something fun in the new year to do and look forward to, such as a mini break or a big holiday away with your family, partner or friend – or hey! Maybe you want to take yourself on a trip! Start thinking about this now so that you are far less likely to forget/put it off later and then miss out. Plan and book early to get the best deals and to grab hold of the break and adventure you deserve!
Day 30
Organise your bedside table and junk draws. Buy some extra storage units/section separators if you need to. Your underwear draw and random miscellaneous items deserve a nice home too.
References
Fowler, P., n. d. How Cleaning and Organizing Can Improve Your Physical and Mental Health [online]. Shape. [Viewed 1 November 2019]. Available from: https://www.shape.com/lifestyle/mind-and-body/how-cleaning-and-organizing-can-improve-your-physical-and-mental-health
Lopresti, C., 2016. The Powerful Psychology Behind Cleanliness - How to stay organized, and reap the health benefits [online]. Psychology Today. [Viewed 1 November 2019]. Available from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-truisms-wellness/201607/the-powerful-psychology-behind-cleanliness