This article is written on the end of the year. As I look forward to the the December – January break. This is the main time I do seasonal and yearly organising. For many Australian’s this is our main break for the year. It is summer, muggy, we have weeks of leave and we eat too much. I also do my seasonal and yearly organising during this time of year.

In my other writing, I explain the value of habits and routines, normally I talk about these in the context of daily and weekly habits. You can however also plan your year and have yearly habits, the yearly habits is what I would like to dive into in this article.

An example of seasonal and yearly organising

Whenever the weather turns really muggy and Christmas is upon us, we as a family start to grave organisation. For my family there is a clear break between one year and the next in regards to study and sometime job roles.

What this break allows us to do is on a yearly basis:

Clean our rooms and desks
Organise our paperwork both electronically and in paper based format
Deep clean some areas of the house like the laundry and garage
Do several runs to the second hand shop for things we don’t longer need or want
Drop items off to the tip if we can’t give them away

On a less physical level:

The year ahead is planned ahead. The year just past is reflected on (lots of coffees, walks on the beach and discussions)
Sometimes we dive deep into our finances – one year we learned all the ins and outs about YNAB (You Need a Budget) budgeting which has saved us thousands of dollars since. As a couple we are on the same wave length we know what we are aiming to do.
I also like to take stock of the books I have read and make any outstanding notes about them.

How this seasonal and yearly organising works on a day to day level

My normal routine is waking up fairly early going for a cup of coffee and doing deep work. During the magical summer months sometimes the family outings come first. We go out surfing, do the garden, a walk or go to the pool.

My deep work routine moves to the afternoon and during this time I read, write (for this website) and make notes about wonderful books I read during the year.

It is a change of pace but we deliberately don’t stop completely.

This sounds very nerdy (and probably is) but we also make a holiday schedule. We print off the months December and January which allows us to plan the days we are away. When we have rest days, surf days, cleaning days and my son's favourite “a whole day on your iPad”.

I like to look back on the holidays and tell myself yes, we are rested. We did a few trips away, we also set up for a great year ahead, decluttered our house and our minds for what is to come.

Clearly you can do seasonal and yearly organising during other times of the year as well

Not everyone has a solid break in December / January and if we think about our Northern hemisphere friends this might all sound a bit foreign. It doesn’t have to be this time of year I do encourage you to look at your year and see if you can do some deliberate seasonal and yearly organising.

You do this to have a change of pace and to make the rest of the year easier for yourself.

Here are some suggestions:

Tax time season:

This is a great time to do some paperwork – filling, archiving or shredding

Setting up your budget for the next financial year.

Lodging your tax return (hopefully getting some money back).

Yearly summer tasks:

I find summer easier to a deep clean. There is less mess, things dry faster and things “feel cleaner”.

Gardening we do this twice a year in winter and summer to keep it tidy (I hate it but with the four of us it is manageable).

The garage, the first time you do the garage, it is a massive job. If you keep it up every year it becomes better. It will be less work each year that goes by as there less accumulation when you incorporate regular organisation in your life.

Laundry – because the weather is better we can move machines (get the dust bunnies). We wash big sheets and covers as it will dry quickly.

Seasonal and yearly winter organising tasks:

Winter on the other hand, is great for some indoor projects.

Doing more complex paperwork for several nights or weeks whilst it is cold and rainy outside can be quite fun. Spread your items on a table or spare bed and off you go.

Organising photos is a lovely activity during winter. You can sit around the table and fly through the images as you put them in the appropriate categories and this project slowly takes shape.

Computer files and photos – going outside in winter isn’t as appealing so working through your computer files culling things you no longer need and placing files in the correct folder (or naming them correctly) can be very beneficial.

Reading extensively rather than fight the bad weather acknowledging it for what it is and cosying up with lots of books. This can be a great way to create a reading sprint for an activity that might get done less in other seasons of the year.

Over to you

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The above are a few ideas in regards to seasonal and yearly organising. It is more than ten years into my organising journey. I am still amazed and how much benefit we can get from the efforts we put in a year sometimes several years later.

A lot of these projects can be done by yourself or with family and friends which is a perfect way to share the joy and the load that decluttering and organising brings. Over time, these things become little traditions and a “shared activity” that you and your family treasure as it helps you act on the idea of organised living in a creative way.