At the beginning of the new year, most people set resolutions. I used to ponder and make lists of the resolutions I wanted to accomplish every year until I kept letting myself down. Maybe it was the word, or maybe I the things I wanted to do each new year seemed more like goals and not life-changing resolutions. A lot of my goals revolve around organizing and saving money. So I created some new year money saving organizing tips to reach those goals.

 

Create A To Do List

I create a to-do list pretty much every week, and sometimes I get all of the items done, and sometimes I don’t. But for the new year, I decided to separate home from work “to do’s”. I created my list of organizing my home ideas. And I created a list of organizing my business ideas. Below are some of the tools I used to not only organize everything in my life but also some ways to save money while doing it. There are also a few ideas on how to make money while organizing my home and business.

Saving Money While Grocery Shopping

Going to the grocery store is one of my least favorite things to do. Thanks to the pandemic, I started using the online shopping app Instacart, which really saves me time, but it also eats at my wallet, a lot. I partner my shopping app with an online cash-back app like Rakuten, so that does help a little, but I was still spending so much. Rakuten is a great way to get some extra cash at the end of the month just for shopping. I also use an app called Fetch to get points off my online and in-person receipts. The points add up and you can get gift cards, every bit helps. Don’t get me wrong, I love my shopping app, but now that I am not working a full-time JOB, and my kiddo moved back in, I have to cut back somewhere, and not using that grocery shopping app seemed like an obvious first step.

Getting Healthy On A Budget

I started preparing my own food and bought the Beyond Body Book. It helps with exercise, food prep, and all-around healthy living. It’s affordable and easy to follow. Be sure to use my discount code ADEINA for 10% off.

Meal Planning For The Non Chef

Not sure if you like to cook or not, I am not a fan. But there is something about meal planning that not only keeps you healthy, but it helps save money. If you are going to do a meal plan, I highly recommend getting the right tools to make it easy, like this Meal Planning Kit from Erin Condren. Whether you plan out a grocery list and cook all the food, or use a food service like Tovala or Home Chef.

Related – Menu Board Ideas

Organizing Without Breaking The Bank

I have never been the most organized person, currently my home kind of looks like a storage unit. But I do love the idea of an organized home. There are a few ways to organize simple things in your home with items from the dollar store. Below are a few of my best ways to create some organizing tools without spending too much money.

Pantry Organizing

Ok, for years my pantry has become a catch-all, and then all my dry goods and nonperishable food items just end up on the kitchen counter. This is because I don’t want to open the pantry, much less clean it out. But part of the organization process is tackling those hard-to-clean spaces in my home. I mean, all American households have a junk drawer, I just have a junk pantry, and a junk drawer, or 2, or 3.

My Go To Organizing Tools

I organize a lot of items in my home with a clear shoe organizer. They work great for electric cords, but be sure to wrap those cords with rubber bands first. I also have one in my bathroom for all my beauty products, hair products, and styling tools.

Click on The Picture Below.

Shoe Organizer 

 

Utilizing Space In your Laundry Room

Plastic bins are a perfect solution to store items in the laundry room, and the pantry. I have also started organizing my financial documents, important papers, gift cards, and greeting cards in a filing system and putting it in the laundry room. This saves a lot of time trying to find bills and birthday cards each month. Be sure to store some postage stamps in there too for the things you aren’t able to pay for using online banking.

Organizing The Craft Room

Many years ago I created a shelf organizer with cardboard boxes. To this day it is still one of my favorite storage solutions that I have ever created. But one thing I haven’t done in a while is clean out the drawers and shelf system that I created. When my son moved back in last month, my craft room became a perfect place to throw everything, and I do mean everything. I will be writing a whole separate article on this room, so stay tuned.

To Create Box Organizer

Items Needed

• 1 Large Oblong Box
• 2 Smaller Boxes That Fit In The Big Box
• Hot Glue
• Acrylic Paint
• Ribbon
• Xacto Knife Or Strong Scissors

Directions

1. Cut the tops off of the smaller boxes.
2. Cut the side off of the larger box.
3. Paint the boxes in whatever color you would like.
4. Let the boxes dry completely.
5. Glue ribbon to the front of the smaller boxes so you can pull them like drawers out of the large box.

You Don’t Have To Reuse Everything

I really believe in the Reuse, Renew, and Recycle systems, but I am starting to learn that you don’t have to save everything. What do I mean by that? Those darn plastic bags from the grocery store. We do reuse a lot of them. They work great as trash bags for the little trash cans. And they are great for cleaning up little messes around the house. But they can really stack up. I created a good way to store a few of them, and now I throw the rest of them in the recycle bin at the store.

Items Needed For Plastic Bag Organizer

• Paper Towel Roll – Just The Cardboard Part
• Scrapbook Paper, Or Tissue Paper
• Decou Page
• Glue Dots
• Over The Door Hook, Or Wall Hook

Directions

1. If you use tissue paper, then you will want to decoupage it on the paper towel roll.
2. If you use scrapbook paper, then use the glue dots to adhere it to the paper towel roll.
3. Cut a hole in the top of the paper towel roll.
4. Fill the paper towel roll, carefully with the plastic bags, making sure one bag is slightly sticking out of the bottom of the roll.
5. Hang the roll on the door hook or wall hook.

 

The Kitchen Drawer Isn’t A Catch-All

What do you mean the kitchen drawer isn’t a catch-all? Seriously, I am sharing all my horrible tricks right now with this one. When I’m cleaning, and I just don’t know what to do with the small items, paper bills, or even receipts, they usually end up either on the table or in a kitchen drawer. Well, no more, the kitchen drawers are not for bank statements or small random household items. I don’t have a large kitchen, so fixing this organizing problem was definitely high on my list of things to do.

Junk Drawer Organizer

Ok, you didn’t think I was going to take away the junk drawer, did you? I think everyone needs a storage space for little items that belong in the kitchen, like scissors, tape, and paper clips. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be organized. At the end of the day, your home organization still needs to fit the way you live. And I live with a junk drawer in my kitchen. To create the perfect junk drawer, you just need some plastic trays in various sizes, this keeps everything separated and easy to find.

Organizing The Cleaning Supplies

I don’t know about you, but I seem to have cleaning supplies all over my house. A great way to organize them is to use a floor mat under the sink and some shelving under the sink. And don’t be afraid to throw out old cleaning supplies.

Sell It Or Donate It

A great way to organize and make some extra money is to sell things that you don’t need or use. Getting rid of clothes is one of the easiest things to do. Though if you want to sell them, it will take more time and patience than it would if you just donate them. There are online services to help you sell them, like Facebook Marketplace, or Mercari. And Poshmark is a great online app to sell clothes, shoes, and jewelry. But you do have to take pictures and fill out the questions on the app, and when the item sells, you need to make the arrangements with the buyer or ship it. There are also consignment stores you can sell the items at, again, this will take some time, and they usually only take designer items, but it is a great way to get some money back out of your items. Of course, the easiest way to get rid of items is to just donate the stuff, but be sure you are donating to a worthy cause, and remember, some of the places will actually come to pick the items up from your home.

Debit Card VS Credit Card

Is this a debate, I mean I have both of them, and they both have rewards, so what is the difference? I know, I was just testing you. Those dang finance charges and higher interest rates on credit cards are becoming out of control. Have you checked your credit card statements lately? It’s just not ok, but we are all going through this craziness. I have really had to change my spending habits, and deciding how to spend my money starts with a monthly budget, and paying off those darn credit cards. If you are like me, you don’t have a lot of money at the end of the month, but it is very important to have an emergency fund. Sometimes that emergency fund is my credit card, and I’m ok with that. Because I won’t use it unless it’s an emergency. Though I will use it every couple of months and then pay it off so it doesn’t get canceled by the financial institution, believe me, it happens.

Budgeting Tools

Having a great budgeting tool like this one from Erin Condren is a great way to keep track of spending habits, but if you don’t get that, at least create a database to follow your spending habits. Check out the sale they are having right now.

25% OFF EVERYTHING New Year Sale