The new year is so close, y’all.  As in, there are only ELEVEN days left in 2015.  At the end of every year, there are a few things I like to do to be proactive about organization in the new year.  Maybe, like me, you are hoping to make 2016 your best year yet.  Today I’m sharing three ways I prepare for a new year.

Set up my new planner/calendar.  (The past several years, I have used an Erin Condren planner.  I branched out and bought a Plum Paper Designs planner this year, and I am already regretting it.  I am definitely an Erin Condren girl and will be going back to them next year.)

Last week, I sat down with my planner and wrote down all our important events (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) and pre-scheduled appointments.  Kyndall’s basketball season stretches into February so I wrote down her remaining play dates.  I also scheduled in a few blog posts I already have planned.

(I could do an entire post on my planner and how I use it.  If that is something you are interested in, let me know in the comments.)

Plan out our finances.  Justin and I will take an evening to sit down and look over our finances.  We use this cute finance checklist I created (free printable!) to keep up with our bills.  We also try to set a loose budget and savings plan.

In all honesty, our budgets have failed miserably in the past.  One of my main goals for the new year is to set a reasonable plan and stick to it.

You can download our family finance checklist here: Finance Checklist

And, in an effort to make our budget better, I created this printable to complete each pay period: Finance Checklist 2.

There are TONS of free printables out there, but I wanted something simple and streamlined.  Hopefully, these printables can help you too!

Clean out as much as possible.  I love having my house clutter free and organized, and there is no better time to do that than the beginning of the year.  Since I am out for two weeks leading up to the new year, I try to take one day and do as much cleaning out/decluttering as possible.  (This is a process that could take WEEKS, but I give myself one day.  If it’s not done then, it can be done later in the year.)

This is especially important to do around Christmas.  In with the new, out with the old!

What do you do to help prepare for the new year?  Share your ideas in the comments so I can add them to my list!