January  1  New Years Day. Make 4 Goals that are measurably achievable. Add them to your January calendar. Each week give yourself an estimated percentage complete for each goal. Seeing concrete results often helps you achieve goals sooner.

January   2  Transfer all appointments and ongoing tasks to your 2013 calendar or planner. Don’t forget Birthday reminders, bill payments and anniversaries.

January   3  Schedule ‘Me time’ for yourself at least once every week. Stick to it

January   4  Make a repair and cleaning walkthrough list, from floor to ceiling. Are you making the best use of space? Do the carpets need deep cleaning or the chandeliers dusting?

January   5  Do you have small objects, trinkets or gifts lying around left behind by the festive season that you would like to keep. Repurpose them by turning them into decorative ornaments for next year. This way you have prevented them turning into clutter.

January   6  Scout around the house for any objects or clothes left behind by your festive season visitors and make arrangements to return items.

January   7  Recycle old holiday catalogues and pricing sheets. January is here and the white sales are approaching! Instead collect the linen sales advertisements.  Look at your bedding. Have they seen better days? Toss out natty sheets and purchase a new set that looks spiffy.

January   8  Do an End-of-Year accounting tally of how much you spent this festive season? Use it to save and prepare for next year's holiday season.

January   9  It’s time to pack away the last remnants of the holidays. Large serving platters, bowls and stem ware that you never use during the normal course of your daily routine. The more dishes we have readily available the more tempted we are to use them which only creates more clutter than we need.

January  10  Go through the digital photos you took this holiday season. Delete duplicates and place photo’s into easy to identify folders. Select a nice playlist of photo’s to rotate in the family digital photo frame. Select a dozen or so and load them onto a flash drive to print for your photo album.

January  11  International Thank You Day. Write a thank you letter to a friend whom you are grateful to have in your life.

January  12  Place a small pre-perforated notebook close to the fridge or pantry to list items as you run out of them. This will make grocery shopping far easier.

January  13  Do your carpets need a deep clean after all that holiday foot traffic and stubborn pine needles? Schedule a professional appointment or hire a machine and do the job yourself.

January  14  Was ‘get in shape’ one of your New Year’s resolutions? Shin splints are a common injury experienced by runners and those who are taking up exercise after an extended break. To prevent or relieve the pain stretch and strengthen muscles in this region of the front lower legs.

January  15  Today take some time to consider that your value does not come from stuff. Once we let go we can stop hoarding and start de-cluttering.

January  16  Sweet potatoes vibrant orange hue is a clue to their good nutritional value. Try a new recipe with sweet potato this week. It’s great even when simply baked and served with a dip.

January  17  Place a good hand lotion next to your bathroom and kitchen sink. The will serve as a reminder to moisturize every time you wash your hands.

January  18  Take a look at your bill paying station. Do you have enough stamps, envelopes and pre-labeled envelopes for the next few months? Add these to the shopping list so that you can stock up next time you are out.

January  19  Today de-clutter one room including all its closets, cupboards and baskets. Consider whether you have the right containers? When you need something in this room are you able to find it easily? Label the new homes of objects so that returning them to their designated home is easier thus making finding them easier.

January 20  Give the car a good wash today. Remove all traces of dirt, grime and salt.

January 21 Martin Luther King Day – Take this day to give back to those who help keep our community support system functioning.

January 22 

“If you can't find something, clean up.” Gretchen Rubin.

January 23  Disinfect your bathroom plunger today. When last did you replace your toilet brushes, sponges and wiping clothes that you use, if it’s been a while add them to your shopping list.

January 24  Wipe or vacuum (with the special crevice attachment) your skirting boards.  This is an area is usually not cleaned sufficiently when using an ordinary mop or during the routine vacuum.

January 25  Today make a One Year Clutter Box. Simply pack away all the items you feel you can’t bear to part with but haven’t used for at least 6 months. Label the box with today’s date. On January 25, 2012 if you haven’t opened or used an item from this box, consider donating it to charity.

January 26  Clean your outdoor lights. These are often full of small insects and dust. It’s a grimy task that we often leave till the bulb needs to be replaced. Of course this often happens at night or we postpone it due to disdain. Avoid that by giving them a swift cleaning out today.

January 27  Are you making the most of your under-bed space? Bags and special bedding roll-away containers are available to give you a little more room to keep next season’s winter sheeting.

January 28  Before throwing away those pesky advertisements that came in the mail today. Go through a handful and neatly cut out 5 that you think you might use and place them in your wallet. The next time you are    at the store you might be pleasantly surprised. I have great coupons for 50c off lactose-free milk. I only bake once a month but having that coupon in my wallet gives me the freedom to buy milk on my way home from work if I feel like baking on a whim.

January 29  National Puzzle Day. Start a family puzzle on the dining room table small enough to fit into the center of the table. It could make a great discussion point during dinner and is a wonderful family activity.

January 30  Place a box of bicarbonate of soda in your fridge to help eliminate odors. Last month my oven caught on fire, thank goodness for the box I had lying in the fridge, the fire was out in a jiffy while the smoke took a while longer to dissipate though. It’s a great kitchen aide.

January 31  Time to make plans for Valentines Day. There are only two weeks left.

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Written By Leanne Naidoo, LifeOrganizers.com Editor