As this year comes to an end, I love reflecting on the past before planning for the future. In this part of my year-end review, I chose my favorite organizing concepts, one from each month of 2025, to share with you.

I hope you discover or rediscover a seed idea that inspires and brings balance to your New Year.

Where do you want more organization and balance? Which people and projects will receive your time, energy, and attention?

If you’re ready for a fresh start, to embrace change, take your next step, let go, declutter, enlist help, and more, this is for you.

12 Favorite Organizing Ideas of 2025

1. Fresh Start – How to Simply Reset Now for a Fantastic Fresh Start

“My reset buttons are just little things.”

— Glennon Doyle

2. Embrace Change – How to Encourage Change More From a Joy, Not Dread Perspective

“Encourage change through a lens of positive expectation.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Next Step – Three Surprising Lessons to Find Next in a Quiet and Curious

“…quietly do the next most necessary thing.”

— Carl Jung

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4. Let Go – Five Favorite Quotes About the Value of Letting Go

“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.”

— Hans Hoffman

5. Clutter – One Effective Strategy to Easily Calm Your Mind Clutter

“Commitment is the powerhouse of the mind decluttering strategy.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

6. Time Management – 3 Inspiring Time Questions That Will Help You Make Thoughtful Choices

“What will my future-self thank me for doing now?”

— Stephanie Sarkis, PhD

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7. Motivation – Feeling Stuck? Start Here: Small Organizing Steps That Empower Motivation

“The smallest effort can spark the motivation you’ve been missing.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

8. Enlist Help – How a Professional Organizer Gets Organized: Creative Life Tips That Really Help

“It’s a journey to discover what helps you feel, be, and stay organized.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

9. Virtual Organizing – 3 Helpful Things I Learned That Will Benefit My Virtual Organizing Clients

“Bring curiosity to a dilemma.”

— Cameron Gott, PCC

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10. Possibilities – What Becomes Immediately Achievable When You Get Out of Your Own Way?

“The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the ‘buts’ you use today.”

— Les Brown

11. Wonderfully Human – 5 Life Lessons I Learned About Patience and Promising Progress

“I can transform temporary chaos into an opportunity to reimagine.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

12. Life Balance – 5 Simple Practices to Joyfully Reduce Stress and Restore Balance Now

“When the mind is tense, so is the body. When the body is tense, so is the mind.”

— Meg Josephson, LCSW

Grateful for You

Thank you for being an essential part of this vibrant community. I am deeply grateful to you. We’ve had an incredible year of conversations and sharing. You bring learning, growth, support, and inspiration to every exchange. Thank you for participating and sharing the best of who you are.

What inspired you this year? Which organizing concept resonates most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you want help decluttering, organizing, planning, or creating more balance? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s connect! I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the Contact Form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Getting organized, finding balance, and experiencing more calm are possible, especially with support.

The decisions you make relate to different points in time: the past, present, and future. Although you may not always view your choices this way, considering these time parameters can help reduce decision fatigue and create clarity surrounding decision-making.

Making thoughtful decisions can be challenging. Some common decision-making obstacles include:

• Having too many choices

• Lacking clarity

• Feeling rushed

• Asking unhelpful questions

• Deciding when you’re exhausted

• Being afraid to make the wrong choice

Any of these challenges can cause overwhelm, procrastination, or paralysis. However, when you ask questions based on time, it can cut through the noise, clarify your options, and motivate action.

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1. Question to Let Go of the Past

“What’s weighing down your backpack that needs to be released?”

— James Clear

In a recent edition of James Clear’s 3-2-1 newsletter, he explained how “unfinished tasks” carried in your “invisible backpack” weigh you down. Many of these tasks are ones you will think you “should do,” but will probably never get around to.

Clear suggests two strategies. To “lighten the load: finish the task or let it go.” Applying a past timeframe to your decision about completing or releasing a task can help.

Consider these questions:

• How long have you been worrying about and carrying these tasks with you?

• Are past goals or commitments holding you back?

• Which ones are no longer relevant, important, or necessary?
  
  
  
  

2. Question to Improve the Present

“What small change could you make to your surroundings that would steer you toward good habits and away from distractions?”

— James Clear

In another 3-2-1 newsletter, Clear encourages making tiny tweaks to your environment to support building better habits and reducing distractions. Only you know which habits you want to strengthen and which distractions are getting in your way.

Using the present timeframe idea to make proactive choices can be effective here. To do this, think about a current habit you want to build or improve. For example, let’s say you often run late to appointments. This is a source of stress for you and the people in your life. You want to be more punctual, yet find it challenging to get out of the house on time. Let’s say chronic lateness is caused by disorganization at home or your tendency to hyperfocus, which interrupts your sense of time.

Making a slight change in your environment to mitigate distractions and support a better habit could include things like:

• Gather everything you need the night before

• Wake up earlier to prepare

• Use labeled timers to help with transitions and activation

3. Question to Imagine the Future

“What will my future-self thank me for doing now?”

— Stephanie Sarkis, PhD

In Ari Tuckman’s book The ADHD Productivity Manual, he shares one of his favorite questions posed by Stephanie Sarkis, PhD. She asks, “What will my future-self thank me for doing now?”

Let’s apply the future timeframe lens to this inquiry. While the question asks you to do something in the present, it’s in service of your future self.

Think about a goal you want to achieve. Maybe it’s organizing your legal and end-of-life papers, downsizing, or eating healthier. None of these will be realized in the future without taking action now.

Embrace the future construct. Visualize what ‘done’ will look and feel like. This will motivate you now to take action and accomplish the future results you desire.

How to Make More Thoughtful Choices?

Making wise decisions begins with asking good questions. Including a time perspective can clarify your choices. Do you consider the past, present, and future when making decisions? How does using a time construct affect you?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

Do you need support with organizing, letting go, or managing your time? I’d love to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. You can:

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Organizing your time and space is possible, especially with support.