Organization Tips to Kick Off the New Year

Yeah, yeah, we've all said it  before: “This new year, I will be perfectly organized.” It's hard to keep to our New Year's resolutions. Enough of the talk—let’s do the walk! There’s a lot we pack into each year, and one way to take charge of our busy lives is by making small differences and starting the year off right. Whether you’re looking for a quick fix to tackling your tasks or need to do a complete organization overhaul, here are some tips to help you achieve a more organized year.

1. Do a quick sort of your paper stacks.

Who gave paperwork the right to take over your desktop? Here’s a quick way to do some damage control on those surface squatters. Sort your paperwork using bulldog clips and create customized task labels using Avery Return Address Labels. You'll be able to identify and create specific tasks such as:  “file,” “need a signature,” “mail,” or whatever action you decide. Once you’ve got your papers organized by task, you’ll know exactly what you need to do next without having to second guess.

2. Keep key info handy for referencing.

All information is not created equal; some are just more important than others. Whether you’re planning the household budget, collecting tax receipts, or even putting together a health record for pets, keep all your key information together. A great solution is an Avery Heavy-Duty Binder. A portable and easy to access binder that is designed for frequent and long-lasting use, and built to resist wear and tear. Easily organize your information with dividers for easy reference. You can create customized divider tabs right from your desktop with Avery Index Maker® Dividers and the free Avery Design & Print Online program. With simple, step-by-step instructions to guide you, you’ll be able to create customized divider tabs that look professionally printed in minutes! - Your binders will be just as organized on the outside as they are on the inside with binder spine labels. Create your labels with Avery Removable Organization Labels to organize your tax binders by year, recipe binders by cuisine, and health records by name.

3. Move paperwork off your desk.

Consider your desktop as prime real estate. That’s valuable space you’ve got there! For important paperwork you don’t reference often, relocate all unnecessary paperwork off your desk. You might move them into an accordion file, an organizing tote, or a filing cabinet. And when you do, be sure to nestle them in file folders labeled with Avery File Folder Labels. Why use these labels? They feature TrueBlock^® Technology, which completely cover-up what’s underneath, like existing marks or old labels. Not only will you be able to reuse file folders again and again, they’ll also be easy to read, with no distracting marks showing through.

4. Pack it up and put it away.

There are some things we must keep such as tax forms, bank statements, and home records. There are also some things we feel the need to keep like, baby blankets, personal letters, and that funky-looking family heirloom-- Or it could be separation anxiety. Whatever it is, we don’t want it cluttering up our living space. If it’s not your everyday stuff, it might be better off in storage boxes, but it doesn’t have to remain there incognito. With Avery Removable Labels, you can dutifully archive your belongings and identify the contents at any time. They come in handy as reminders, too—for dated documents, add a “destroy by” date so there’s no questioning it later, and for breakables, include a bold “fragile” warning so your boxes will be handled with care. Ready to get this year off to a fresh start? Let’s get crackin’! Whether you choose to do one tip or work through all of them, just stick with it and you’ll find your efforts will make a difference in your overall organization.