5 Things to Do at Home to Prepare for the New Year

It’s December 28, 2012 and I think I am all set to face the new year! How do I know that I am ready? What do you actually do to know that you’re ready?

I, personally, do these steps to prepare for the year ahead. You may want to think about copying some of these steps:

1. Empty your home of all clutter

Every December, my mom always invites me to join her in holding a garage sale in the ‘garage’ of our house. What I do to prepare for that is I go through all of my stuff and sort out which of my things can I sell. I know for some, this is a hard thing to do. I’m not really that sentimental, so sorting and putting away stuff is really not a problem for me. What you have to keep in mind while sorting are these questions: 1) Have I worn this at least once in the past two months? If not, put it away. 2) Can I do without this? If you can do without it, put it away. 3) Is it in good condition and does it still serve its purpose? If not, throw it away.

After sorting through all your stuff, price those that you are going to sell reasonably. In a garage sale, people always ask for a 50% discount so price it to the point where you are actually willing to go 50% off (this is a tip! ;)). Try to issue a dummy receipt where you can itemize the items that you sell. Before having people leave the premises, have someone check the receipt versus the items bought. In this way, you prevent ‘shop lifters’ from frequenting your ‘sale’.

2. General Cleaning
Now that your place is free from clutter, it’s time to clean. The hardest to clean for me, based on experience, is the kitchen. There are so many things to sort and organize, since obviously, there are so many ingredients and cooking materials. If you need help arranging your house, I love visiting quickanddirtytips.com. They have so much useful information that you can follow.

3. Fix Files
Have you ever experienced scrambling to look for manuals and warranties of things that you have bought? Or have you ever wondered where you placed that billing statement? Well, another thing to fix before the new year are your files. What my husband and I have done is to segregate folders into two boxes (boxes that you can buy in National Bookstore or in Office1 or Office Warehouse). These two categories are assets and liabilities. In the assets box, this is where documents on investments, insurance and bank accounts are. We have also included a folder on warranties and manuals. In the liabilities box, this is where documents of loans, billing statements, etc. go. Inside each box, we have labeled a folder for each type of document. This is how you can sort your documents. It is so easy to find documents that you will need to find in the coming year, if you do this.

4. Beautify your home!
It isn’t enough that it’s clean. A home for me has to be inspiring in the morning and relaxing in the evening. What you can do is assess and see what needs ‘upgrading’ or ‘beautifying’. If you need to buy a vase for that empty table, take the time to do so. What I am thankful for is one of these gifts I received this Christmas. It’s the Daphne Home Scents from Bench. This Green Forest Pine scent is pretty kick-ass!

Daphne Home Scents

It gives this refreshing scent. I love that it smells like Christmas… or Baguio! (haha!) It takes the ambiance of our home a notch higher.

And last, but not the least…

5. Read up on inspiring and motivational books!
Or if you’re not much of a reader, just check out inspiring videos and visit inspiring websites. Before the new year, it’s good to prepare yourself and feel all of that good energy and good vibes! I made a conscious effort to not let anything affect me since Dec. 15. I intentionally control my temper and I have been really patient with everyone lately. The other day, my help got to break our Pyrex, which (mind you) was inside the oven, but I did not get mad. I just told her to consciously check the temperature of the oven to avoid these things from happening.

Really imbibe that positivism! With that, this will be a great year for you and for everyone around you.

Hope my 5 things to do at home before the new year helped you! For questions and comments, feel free to drop one below! :)

Love lots,