Happy October my friends! It’s the start of one of my very favorite months—I’m so excited! And with the start of a new month comes a new Get Organized Checklist.

October checklistSee below for a printable pdf version of this checklist.

Your October Get Organized ChecklistChecklist

Set your goals for the month. Any time is a great time to set new goals. What are your goals for the upcoming month? Do you have a new habit you’d like to create like decluttering for fifteen minutes a day? Give yourself permission to set just one goal for the month ahead…and see how much progress you can make in the next 31 days!

Check your monthly tickler folder. If you use a tickler file, today is the day to distribute the contents from your monthly folder into your daily folder.

Clean up the yard for winter.

Clean and store flower pots and other seasonal items. If this is on your to-do list, too, check out this post for ideas on organizing your garden tool shed.

Tool shed

Declutter and organize the coat closet / mud room. Make a list of items needed for the upcoming season. Take an inventory of hats, gloves, coats, scarves and boots. Let go of items that no longer fit, and make a list of things you need to purchase for the season ahead.

Get organized for Halloween. Plan costumes, celebrations and get candy for trick-or-treaters. Plan a trip to the pumpkin patch and plan a night to carve pumpkins.

Change bed linens for the new season.

If you plan to make handmade gifts this holiday season, create a list of gifts to make. Then, purchase supplies and start working on projects with a long lead time.

Wash windows (inside + out). I love doing this right before changing back the clocks…lets as much of the sunlight in as possible on those short daylight days.

Declutter and organize the family room. This is a terrific thing to do this month if you live in an area where it’s going to be inside weather soon. Take some time this month to transform your family room into a clutter free haven fit for relaxing. Pull out the warm throw blankets. Declutter old magazines, newspapers, or games. Carve out a designated spot for the remotes and / or other items used frequently in your family room.

Organized remotes

Shampoo the carpets. This is one of those tasks that isn’t fun to do..but so nice to have done. 🙂

Begin stocking the freezer with meals you can pop into the oven on ultra-busy nights during the holiday season. Yes…the holidays are coming! If you have a favorite freezer meal…please share a link in the comments!

Clean the light fixtures. 

Let go of something that’s weighing you down. Yes, we’ve seen this one before…it’s one of my favorites because it’s so empowering! Take inventory…what’s weighing you down? It could be an object or an obligation. Either one is fair game. Simply identify it…and decide to let it go in October. When you do…let me know in the comments so I can send you a virtual high five! 🙂

Whatever you decide to put on your to-do list this month, make it a great one! Here is the PDF for this month’s checklist: Download October-checklist (You will need Adobe Reader to open the file which you can get here:  http://get.adobe.com/reader/)

What’s on your to-do list for October? 

Aby