Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in  Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.

Almost everyone has some area of their life that needs some organization – health, finance, home projects, meal planning, work goals, and more. The beginning of a new year provides the perfect “fresh start date” to help you begin to get a handle on the systems in your life and home. I pulled together 16 of my favorite resources to help you get organized in 2016.

Financial Organization

You know I’m going to hit this category first because it’s my favorite! Here are a few of my picks for websites, books, and more to help you get organized in this area of life.

1. Slaying the Debt Dragon. I know, I know. It’s my book. But I do feel like (and most feedback I’ve received confirms) that this is an incredibly practical tool to help you manage your money and household resources well. Plus you get my goofy humor on the side. From learning how to budget or relearning how to budget to making your own cleaners and laundry detergent, from teaching kids valuable lessons about money to communicating with your spouse more effectively, I tried to pack each page with tips and tricks to keep you coming back for more. You can buy a copy or check it out from the library. Right now on Queen of Free, I also have two series 31 Debt Free Missions and 31 Ways to Kick Debt in the Teeth with daily updates on how you can save money and take charge of your finances. There are also tons of FREE Printables on my site – budget forms, meal planners, and more.
2. Bargain Briana’s Tax & IRS Organization Guide: My friend Bargain Briana knows how to save you some money. You should follow her. But she also has the best guide for how to organize your tax and IRS documents. You need to go check it out now.
3. EveryDollar. Put together by the good people at Ramsey Solutions, EveryDollar is free budgeting software that interfaces with your computer, iPhone, and bank. Manage your money and set goals with one click. There’s a Plus Version with a free trial but the most basic version is free.
4. Your Money Life: My friend Pete the Planner has your money organizational plan by the decade of your life. If you want to get your junk in order, choose the appropriate age bracket and get after it – 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. By the way, these would also make great gifts for those you love, especially when they hit a milestone birthday.

Household Organization

You know you need to put away the Christmas decorations, you may as well get organized throughout your entire house this month, too. This resources will rock your world.

1. Household Management 101’s 52 Week Organized Home Challenge is just what you need. My friend Taylor sends you weekly assignments to break the mammoth task into bite sized pieces. The entire schedule can be found (and printed) here, but I highly recommend signing up for the e-mail notifications with tips and tricks for each specific area you’re organizing.
2. Living Well Spending Less: Author and blogger Ruth Soukup wrote the book on decluttering (and I endorsed it). Pre-order Unstuffed: Decluttering Your Home, Mind and Soul NOW. It is SO good. And then check out Living Well Spending Less’ best tips for decluttering.
3. Bob Vila: I’ve been watching Bob for years, but just discovered his website. He has a fantastic round up of what you should do in January to get organized and save money when it comes to your home.
4. Daily Action Planner: I have been using this simple little free printable sheet for YEARS. It simply helps you break down daily tasks into attainable micro goals. Print yours here.

Meal Planning and Cooking

My guess is you probably dined out more than you planned on it during the month of December. Get back on track with these great meal planning and cooking resources.

1. Recipes That Crock: Your slow cooker is sad up in the corner of that cabinet. Get it down and use some of these fantastic recipes to keep your family full and out of the drive through. Side dishes, main dishes, soups, and even desserts and breakfasts – you can find more recipes than you can shake a crockpot at on this fantastic site.
2. The Grocery Budget Makeover: Want to revamp the entire way you grocery shop? You need to check out the Grocery Budget Makeover from the $5 Dinner Mom, Erin Chase. The 10 week course only opens a handful of times a year and January 3rd is the official registration day. It will cost you $49 ($5/week) but includes videos, printables, cooking demos, and a host of special bonuses. If you don’t have the dollars to budget toward the investment, check out a few of Erin’s fantastic meal plans that come in around $2.49-$5 and show you how to make 20 meals for $150.
3. Emeals: Emeals provides plans for almost every grocery store and every specialized eating requirement. Get great ideas, including the shopping list, recipes, and more. Plus you can use a free 14 day trial to see if you like it before you commit to buying a subscription. After that it’s 3 months for $39, 6 for $59, or 12 for $69.
4. Queen of Free ALDI Meal Plans. They’re free and all of you. I currently have 4 FREE ALDI meal plans that help you prepare a week’s worth of dinners for $50. Spoiler alert: there’s a new one coming this month for Freezer meals!

Personal Life Goals

Committed to a healthier marriage? Want to work out? Feel the call to read the Bible? These are great resources to help you do just that.

1. Jackie Bledsoe has one of the best websites when it comes to enriching your marriage. His book the 7 Rings of Marriage is set to release in February (Happy Valentine’s Day to you AND if you pre-order it right now you can get a second copy for free!). Keep your eyes peeled for his upcoming marriage summit which features several couples (including yours truly) sharing what they’ve learned about marriage through difficult circumstances.
2. The YouVersion Bible App has more “Read the Bible in 1 Year” plans than you can shake a stick at! Notifications come straight to your phone and remind you what you need to read. Check out all of the great plans rounded up here.
3. Fitness Blender is hands down my favorite website for workouts, guaranteed to get your sweat on. FREE fitness videos for all levels of ability and all kinds of different options to choose from. Plus Daniel and Kelly (we’re totes BFFs) are positive and encouraging without annoying you. You can customize your workout plan, set reminders, track your progress and get great support from others. Check it out now.
4. Choose a Word for 2016. I’m always inspired when I read my friend Margaret Feinberg’s books or blog. This year, she’s giving you a FREE printable where you can record a focus word for 2016. I love it! Mine is actually two words “New Thing.”

What organizational resources would you add? This is going to be your most organized year yet!

My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free on Kindle.  

This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!

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