5 Ways to Get Organized

When the 1st of January rolls around every year, it seems that we're always setting the same resolution: find new ways to get organized. But this time, we mean business! To help stay focused, we made a list of 5 realistic goals everyone can do to get organized more in their daily life.

There are probably a million and one digital apps out there to help you stay organized, but there's something about a physical paper copy that makes things more final. Need some extra motivation to keep a planner? Use planner stamps, stickers, different colored pens, page flags, paper clips and photos. You can even upload your own stamp designs for custom planner layouts that fit your personal style. It'll feel more like you're scrapbooking rather than doing productive planning! Keep the agenda in your purse to always be prepared.

This one is pretty straight-forward: label things that belong to you! Branding your creations adds a splash of professionalism and quickly gives your work a consistent look. Labeling your belongings also makes sure everyone knows who the owner is! Packaging stamps, tags and label stickers make the process super easy. Whether you knit, bake, garden, craft or write, there's a design to fit your theme. Label everything from your school or work notebooks, folders...even your dishes.

Date stamps are such a versatile way to get organized and definitely aren’t the boring office gadget they've gotten a reputation for. Use a dater on photos, homemade canned goods, planners, kids' artwork, paperwork, snail mail, scrapbooks...the list goes on! It's a quick way to keep things fresh, in chronological order, add decoration, or help jog your memory. If you need to date anything with a non-porous surface, make sure to use quick-drying ink to avoid smudging!

Raise your hand if you've lent a book to a friend and never gotten it back! Ex libris book plates quickly mark ownership in your personal library to help the borrower remember that it's yours. There are a few ways to mark your books, the most popular being stamps and embossers. They're quicker than writing and more cost-effective than labels or custom printing. Keep the tradition of printed books alive by managing your book collection! To learn more about book plates, read our quick guide.

So many memories come and go throughout the years that it's hard to keep track or remember them all. Keeping photos (and their captions) in a scrapbook provides a tangible, cataloged solution to treasuring those memories. Memory keeping not only helps you organize, but is also a great de-stressor! Use scrapbook and travel stamps, washi tape, colored and patterned paper, stickers and embellishments to tie together your theme or style. You can even provide an extra layer of organization by dating your photos (see #3)!