As you settle into the New Year, we know it’s easy to get overwhelmed with all of the resolutions and projects you’ve declared will get done this year. It’s not uncommon to hear people stating that this is the year they will go to the gym 5 times a week, or this year, they’re finally going to organize that kitchen pantry. But after just a few short weeks, those resolutions, once so strongly stated, start to fall further and further behind.

This year, the storage consultants at the Hollywood Storage Center of Thousand Oaks thought they’d try something a little different. After coming across a website that allows you to create your own free custom calendars, a challenge was born! Why not create a calendar that incorporates 12 projects for 12 months? This is a great way to visualize your goals daily and put a plan in motion. After all, a 30 day time frame for one project makes the task at hand seem much less daunting, right?

It’s often said that projects have a higher success rate of being accomplished if you have a “buddy” or partner to provide support. One of our storage consultants recently purchased a home and is going to take on this 12 projects in 12 months challenge, and we invite you to follow the journey and share your own successes as well. Each month, we’ll be featuring our consultant’s monthly storage projects with before and after pictures, as well as her tips on how she met her goals, or didn’t, and she could certainly use some “buddies” to keep her motivated!

The first step in kicking off this challenge on the right foot is to assess what projects you plan to tackle this year. If you’re in need of some inspiration for refreshing your house, Better Homes and Gardens has a great piece on monthly storage projects. According to the article, the key to success is not just the overall pictures, but the mini projects and steps that accomplish each individual goal. Avoid getting overwhelmed by the goal at hand by breaking it down into four smaller projects that will give you the end result desired. This will allow flexibility in your schedule and keep you from procrastinating until day 30 to get the whole job done.

Once you’ve compiled your list, it’s time to create that calendar. The calendar lab website allows you to print at home or save your creation as a PDF. We would suggest doing both. It’s great to have access on your computer, but one of the reasons we fell in love with this calendar idea is its ability to visually display our goals in a way we can’t hide from them. Accountability is key in accomplishing your goals. It’s the perfect first step for finally re-organizing that hallway closet or putting up those shelving units in the garage. Start from high priority projects and work your way through the year to the lower priority or less time-sensitive projects.

As you tackle each individual room or project, strategically place aside the items you’d like to keep but simply don’t work in your newly refreshed space. For example, those miscellaneous holiday decorations and seasonal items you’ve shoved in a few different closets and rooms throughout your house are perfect candidates to be stored in one of our lowest price-guaranteed storage units.

For her January project, our storage consultant, Jessica, has chosen to tackle her kitchen’s pantry. Stay tuned for next week’s blog which will document how she transforms and organizes the space while researching budget friendly storage options to get the job done.

What projects are you looking forward to accomplishing this year? Will you be taking the challenge with us? Share with us on Facebook, thanks!