Creating a resolution to get organized can be an insurmountable task. Becoming more organized involves a whole change in lifestyle and action, and isn’t something that will necessarily come easily for most people. The key to successfully completing a resolution involves creating a plan and goals that are realistic and achievable. It’s also important to stay motivated, even when it may seem like organizing your home is more than you thought you could handle. Staying on track is also a big part of your success, and using a calendar, list, or tracking tool can help you with this.

When it comes to specifically getting organized, the first step is to figure out how or what you want to organize and break it down from there. For example, if you’re focusing on your home, start with one room at a time, and go from there. Just saying that you’re going to organize your whole home throughout the year, and just work on whatever room whenever you feel like it won’t work very well. You’ll need to make a concise and manageable plan.

For example, you can focus on one area of your home for each month, and give yourself smaller daily or weekly tasks to complete during the month for each room. If you decide to start with your kitchen, for example, you can dedicate on week to organizing your pantry (and break it down further to focusing on one shelf a day), then your fridge, then your cupboards, then your dishes, and more.

To keep on track of what your organizing and when, set up a large calendar in an easily accessible location in your home, make a list on a white board, which includes the location and times you need to organize that room, or even use a calendar or time management app on your phone. While you’re planning your resolution, it really is important to make your goals and plans realistic for your lifestyle. If you plan on travelling at certain times throughout the year, or know that certain times throughout the year that are more stressful than others, be conscious of this in your planning. If you do, your resolution becomes harder to keep up and will ultimately fail.

To be successful in your new year’s organization resolution, create a schedule of what you want to organize and by when.  Make your change to a more organized lifestyle on that is realistic, achievable, and easy to incorporate into your lifestyle. If you do have problems, don’t give up, but instead look at how you can change or accommodate your goal to be more successful.