This is Your Year: 7 Things to Organize Today

Getting organized before the new year starts isn’t just about tidier rooms—it’s framed as a direct way to reduce stress, sharpen how people perceive their space, and make better day-to-day lifestyle choices. The core idea is to tackle seven “often ignored” areas at once, so the year begins with systems in place rather than last-minute scrambling.

The first priority is paper and documents. People are urged to review paper-tray and folder setups immediately, even if they don’t have a system yet. A simple two-part workflow is recommended: keep documents to read in one place, and move read items into an archive drawer. For future retrieval, the approach relies on topic-based folders using binder dividers. For digital documents, the guidance is to centralize files in a family Dropbox folder with a folder structure that makes searching easy, and to scan physical paperwork with a phone scanning app so records can live in the same digital system.

Next comes the junk drawer—an all-purpose catchall that tends to accumulate items without a home. Instead of waiting until “desperation,” the new year is positioned as the moment to sort it. Items that belong elsewhere should be re-homed; those that no longer serve a purpose should be donated, sold, or discarded.

Finances are treated as another high-impact organizing target. The checklist includes organizing a budget, tracking recurring subscriptions, and setting up spreadsheets for bills and automatic payments. It also calls for organizing receipts and long-term expenses, plus warranties that need to be saved. For people who have the time, renegotiating contracts for the new year is offered as a practical add-on.

The routine planning layer matters too: organizing a 2023 planner by adding yearly events and predictable appointments, stocking the supplies needed for the year, and setting up page categories (yearly, monthly, weekly). If the planner includes blank pages for tracking—such as a bullet journal hybrid—getting familiar with the layout early is presented as the difference between owning the system and actually using it daily.

The guidance then shifts to the physical and digital work environment. Since tasks and projects change over time, the workspace should evolve rather than stay fixed. Each object in a home office—or even a laptop setup—should be evaluated for whether it still serves its purpose. The same logic applies to apps, programs, and devices.

Finally, the year should start with wardrobe cleanup and a “command center.” Wardrobe organization uses three piles: keep, store for weather/seasonal transition, and donate or sell. The command center—whether a bulletin board, home planner, binder, or shared system—acts as a single repository for bills, receipts, maintenance needs, cleaning tasks, future chores, reminders, and family schedules. The payoff is framed as calmer household management: everyone contributes to the same information hub, reducing missed tasks and mental load. The transcript also mentions the Tokyo tote pack by Bellroy and other Bellroy organization products, plus a 52 weeks Challenge from Home Storage Solution 101 for room-by-room organizing with deadlines.