Episode #137 - Fresh Start 2025: Get Excited and Start Planning

Welcome to organizing with these, where we simplify and organize our lives for the better. I'm Deanna Ball, your host, here to guide you towards a more organized and enriching life. Together, let's explore practical strategies, inspiring stories, and expert advice to simplify every aspect of our lives. Are you ready to embark on this journey with ease? Let's start.

Hello, friends, and welcome back organizing with ease. I'm your host, Diana Mull, and I'm beyond excited to bring you this special episode as we wrap up 2024. Can you believe it? We're just a few weeks away from 2025. Today's episode is all about reflecting on the past year, setting ourselves up for success and getting excited for the year of transformation that awaits us in 2025.

Whether you're focused on home organizing, work projects, or personal growth, I'm here to guide you through practical steps to get you a fresh start. If this is your first time tuning in, welcome. You've chosen the perfect time to get inspired and start planning for an organized, productive, and fulfilling year ahead. And to my returning listeners, I'm so glad to have you back. Let's get ready to make 2025 our best year yet.

Now, before we start setting goals for 2025, it's really important to take a step back and to reflect on what this year brought us. So I want you to think back about what went well for you in 2024 and, you know, did you face any challenges and what were they? Maybe you actually achieved a big personal goal like completing a home project or starting a new career path or perhaps you faced some obstacles that just completely threw all of your plans off and believe me we've all been there. So let me share with you a quick story of my own life. This year, I had set a goal to completely declutter my home office by the month of June.

But as life often does, unexpected challenges got in the way. Family commitments and other work projects kept me busy, so busy that my decluttering plans kept getting pushed back. I remember feeling so overwhelmed by the growing piles of paperwork and clutter. Yes. You heard me right, and, yes, that was happening in my closet.

But instead of giving up, I decided to break the task into smaller steps. Like I always advise you to do, I actually did the same step by step, little by little. And you know what? By the end of September, I finally had the organized productive space that I had envisioned. So, as you reflect on 2024, ask yourself, what were your biggest wins?

What areas of your life felt chaotic or out of control? Maybe it was the cluttered garage? Or perhaps it was your daily routines that left you feeling drained? By acknowledging both the highs and lows, you'll gain valuable insights for setting realistic and impactful goals for 2025. As the saying goes, the best way to predict your future is to create it by Abraham Lincoln.

Research from the Harvard Business Review shows that people who take time to reflect on their goals and intentions are 10 times more likely to succeed than those that don't. So the time you spend reflecting now, well, what is that gonna happen? What's gonna happen is it's gonna pay off really big time in 2025. So you wanna grab that journal or piece of paper and spend at least 10 to 15 minutes reflecting on the following. I'm gonna give you 3.

Okay? Are you ready? So if you're driving, you need to listen. If you're doing something else, you gotta come back to me. And let's let's start this.

You ready? Number 1. What did I achieve in 2024 that I am proud of? Number 2. Where did I struggle, and what can I learn from those challenges?

3. What do I want in 2025 to wanted to look like? And how can I set myself up for success? So did you hear all of that or do I need to repeat it? So let me repeat it one more time.

Number 1, what did I achieve in 2024 that I'm proud of? Number 2, where did I struggle and what can I learn from those challenges? And number 3, what do I want in 2025 to look like and how can I set myself up for success? One thing that you don't wanna do, you don't wanna overthink it. You just wanna write whatever comes to mind.

This is your chance to reflect freely and get clarity on what you want in the new year. Now now that we said spend some time on reflecting, you ready? Let's move on to the fun part. Let's start organizing and planning for 2025. The key is having a truly transformative year to get us organized, not just physically, but mentally as well.

Let's start with home projects. Is there a space in your home that's been causing you some stress? Well, maybe it's a cluttered garage that you've been meaning to clean out for months Or perhaps it's a kitchen pantry that's been totally overflowing with items that you don't even use and you didn't have time to declutter and organize prior to the holidays. Right? But here's my advice.

You wanna start small, but you do wanna start somewhere. So last year, one of my clients was feeling really overwhelmed by the clutter in her living room. She kept putting it off because it was a task. She felt it was too big. Together, we decided to tackle one area of the room each week.

And that's what we did. Starting with the bookshelf. By breaking it down into manageable pieces, she was able to declutter the entire room by the end of February. And guess what? She didn't feel stressed because what?

We took it step. If we want to see how the fresh start method works for your home projects, remember, we want to start by finding what you already have. We want to take inventory of the items in a specific room or space. Then we want to declutter by removing what you no longer need. Ask yourself, is this adding any value to my life?

Then we want to create the systems for the items we want to keep, whether that's using storage bins to making it look pretty, labeling those shelves, or just rearranging the furniture and fluffing up those pillows. Right? Once the step and the space is organized, you need to maintain it by what? Doing small tidying tasks regularly. So that's where it comes into your morning, nightly routine, weekly, and monthly.

And that will be how you will continue maintaining your tidy space. According to the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals, which is NAPO, 80% of what we keep is never used. So let's make 2025 the year that you clean out what no longer serves you. Doesn't that sound really good? I think that's a really good 2025.

When it comes to work, let's staying organized can help you accomplish more and reduce stress. Whether you're launching a new project at work, you're switching careers, or you're managing your current workload, this is the key to prioritization. So now my question to you is, what's your main work goal for the Q1 of 2025? And let's start there. So you wanna actually for this, for the work, you wanna use a project management tool like Trello or Asana.

I use Asana, which organizes and keeps me organized on my tasks, and they break them down much more manageable in these steps, which is amazing. Having everything in one place not only helps you stay focused, but also gives you a sense of progress as we check off those tasks. So I don't know about you, but when I have a list and I see that I can cross something off my list, it it feels amazing. Now for those of you who use digital planners like apps like Notion or Google Keep, these are also great for organizing your thoughts and ideas. They're very simple to use, and they are also very tracking for good long term projects as well, which is great.

Research shows this disorganization at work leads to a 25% reduction in productivity. That's a huge loss of time. I don't know about you, but it does. It's 25% really is. So getting organized, it's not just about having a clean workspace.

It's about also boosting your efficiency and achieving your goals faster. Now let's talk about flexibility, not the flexibility of doing yoga or Pilates, but one of this is actually one of the biggest mistakes we make when we're when we're planning for a new year. It's feeling like we need to have everything figured out right now. So here, spoiler alert, we don't. We definitely do not.

Life happens and plans can change. So my advice to you is you need to set your goals. Absolutely. But also leave room for adjustments along the way. The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings.

Just remember that. Think about your goals for 2025 as a roadmap. Now you may take some detours, which is okay. Maybe you set out to declutter your entire house by the month of March. That is very aggressive, and I I will praise you if you get that done.

But just know that along the way, you're gonna realize that focusing on your mental health well-being is much more important as well. Or maybe work was gonna get busier than you expected, or you need to push back some certain home projects. That's perfectly fine. What's important is that you stay organized and flexible and you're moving forward. So but if you're unsure of your big goals, again, start small.

Focus on one area, like simplifying your daily routines or tackling one home project and let things evolve from there. By breaking down your goals into manageable pieces, hear me out. You'll avoid being overwhelmed, but you will still make a significant progress. I think that is something to be said. Now people who write down their goals are 42% more likely to achieve them.

So whether you're setting personal, work, or home goals, write them down pen and paper or fingers to the keyboard for those digital. So that is where I'm sharing with you that for me, I like to write it down pen and paper. I'm still the old school way. I put it in my planner, and I think it is just wonderful to be able to refer back to it throughout the year. So now let's get into this week's challenge.

You ready? Let's start with a fresh start list for 2025. Write down your top three goals for the new year, whether they're personal, home related, or work related. Then break down one action step you can take towards each goal. It could be as simple as clear out one kitchen drawer or schedule a 30 minute time to block to organize just my emails, or 45 minutes to work out, or the point is to start somewhere.

And don't forget to share your list with me because I would love to hear to see what you're working on and how you're planning for the new year. Next week, we'll continue the series by diving deeper into how to create a personalized plan for a transformative 2025. I'll be sharing actionable tips for home projects, personal growth, and work success. This is your year to simplify, streamline, and succeed, so you don't wanna miss out. Let's get ready to gear up for an exciting 2025 together until next week.

Hey there, listeners. I've got some incredible news. You ready? Doors are officially open for the live 3 day decluttering and organizing your 2025. Get it done.

Let's GID at boot camp. Have you ever wondered how much lighter you would feel if your home was organized? What would it mean to start my mornings without stress and chaos? How would it feel to wake up on January 1st knowing my space is set up for success in the new year? This boot camp is your chance to find out.

Starting on December 26th through December 28th at 1 PM EST, I'll guide you through 3 transformative sessions that will help you reclaim your home and your peace of mind. On day 1, we'll simplify your kitchen, the heart of your home, to make daily routines easier. On day 2, we're going to transform your bedroom into a calm and restful retreat. And day 3, we're going to organize your closet so you can start your mornings stress free. What's even better is you're gonna get even bonus checklist to bring order to your home office and playroom, extending the transformation to every corner of your home.

So join live for a chance to win fun daily giveaways. You ready? I'm so excited. To include a Rocketbook flip or a 25 gift card because getting organized should also be fun. And if you schedule getting busy during the holidays, don't worry.

Replays are available only if you register. So for 60 minutes a day, you'll gain the tools and strategies to not only declutter, but to maintain your space and systems for the long term. Together, we'll answer the big question, how do I keep this up? Dates again are December 26th through 28th at 1 pm Eastern time. This isn't just about tidying up.

It's about creating a home that works for you, supports your goals, and helps you step into 2025 with clarity, calm, and confidence. Now ask yourself, how would it feel to finally get it done? What would change for you if your home became a place of peace and non stress? Let's make it happen together. You ready?

Click the link in the show notes to register now. Doors will close at midnight on December 20th, and join me for this transformative boot camp. I can't wait to see you there. Let's get it done. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe to Organizer With Ease podcast on your favorite podcast platform and leave us a review.

Your feedback helps us grow and reach more listeners like you who are passionate about living their best lives. And remember, a new episode comes out every Thursday at 8 AM. So mark your calendar and join us. Until next week, take care, and keep shining bright.