Reflecting back on 2012 | From Overwhelmed to Organized: Reflecting back on 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Reflecting back on 2012



What a year this has been!  At the start of 2012 if anyone had told me I would be an organizing blogger, I would not have believed you!  In fact, I didn't even know organizing blogs existed until March.  {And I've been hooked ever since :) }

Now, I've gotten to know so many amazing people that I met through blogging.  And I have learned SO much about organizing and about blogging.  I had no idea I would love it so much.


I know I'm inconsistent in posting (I kind of have streaks of posts and then quiet times) but I love being able to share organizing ideas and tips with all of you.  I will try to be more consistent in 2013 but this isn't an income source for me (yet?!) and right now blogging always takes a back seat to taking care of and spending time with my hubby and kids {and continuing to organize my house to keep me from getting overwhelmed}.

December was one of those quiet months on the blog.  I was sick for most of the month (if you follow me on Facebook you may have seen some of my updates). Once I finally started having a bit more energy I had a lot of catching up to do around here before Christmas.  And this week has been filled with family gatherings, Lego, Easy Bake Oven creations, puzzles, games, and lots of yummy food.  Oh, and a little bit of cleaning and organizing to deal with the chaos that filled our living room, dining room, and hallway for a few too many days :)

So, instead of a December review post I've decided to share the most viewed posts on the blog this year.  If you only started following From Overwhelmed To Organized recently, you may have missed some of these :)

Here we go!

Top 5 Most Viewed Posts:

5.  My Daughter's Closet is Finally HER Closet  I had fun purging and relocating so many things from my daughter's closet and then finding ways to organize the things that belonged in it.  These baskets have been great for storing clothes that are too small and clothes that are too big and when they get full I know it's time to deal with them.  



4.  Garage Clean Out Part 2 This was the big reveal after we totally cleaned out and organized our garage (for the first time since we moved in here 13 years ago!).  I am so happy that it still looks pretty much like it did when I wrote this post, even though it's been through several seasons!


3.  Purging and Storing Leftover Paint  This was one of my biggest space savers this year and one of the first times I tried to take pretty pictures of a project.  I love how it all turned out, and based on how often this post is re-pinned, it seems that lots of people want to find ways to deal with their leftover paint.  


2.  31 Days of Organizing Tips (Introduction)  I loved writing this series and this post was the launching point for the month.  If you missed any posts or want to review some of the tips as you get organized in the new year {is organizing on your new year's resolution list?}, then you can get links to each of the 31 posts in this post or you can click the 31 Days of Organizing Tips tab at the top of the page at any time.



And, last but not least... drum roll please... the number 1 most viewed post of 2012 is... {I feel a little like David Letterman!}

1.  Gifts in a Jar  This post is searched more than any other and brings a lot of traffic to my blog.  I love how simple these jars are and what a great gift they make!  I had planned to update this post with pictures of our Christmas jars that we made, but as I mentioned, I was sick for most of December.  Oh well, there's always next year!  And the post was still viewed a lot in December even without Christmasy pictures :)


Looking back, I see that most of these posts were from May and June, just after I started blogging.  I'm not sure if it's because they've had longer to build up pageviews or if readers just liked these topics more.  I know I also spent more time linking posts to link parties earlier in the year and I need to get back into doing that to continue to bring new readers to the blog.

One of my biggest highlights this year has been interacting with you on Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.  If you aren't following me in all of those places, you are missing out on things that don't get posted on the blog!  I share different organizing tips in each place so be sure to follow all of them.  You can click the links above or in the right side bar.

Right now, I tend to post the most on Facebook but I know only a small percentage of you can see those posts because of the way Facebook operates, so I encourage you to add the From Overwhelmed To Organized Facebook page to an interest list so you can see everything I share {if you're not sure how to do that just let me know and I'll help you out!}.

Looking ahead to 2013, I'm excited about sharing more of my organizing projects and continuing to bring you organizing tips.  Once I post about more areas in my home, I'll set up tabs with links to various spaces so you can easily find ideas and tips when you need them.

And, I plan to join Twitter in 2013 so you can look out for me there in the coming months!  I'll be changing up my LinkedIn profile too (right now it's still all education-based from my previous life).

Also, this year, I am excited to be starting a business as a professional organizer!  So you'll probably see on the blog some of the pictures of organizing projects from some of my clients.  There may be some other changes to the blog when I get my website going for the business but I have to research that more before I can tell you anything else about that.  If any of you have business advice or technical know-how, I'd love any tips you can give!

I want to take this time to thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and following my organizing journey this year!  I never dreamed little old me would have 60,000+ pageviews in 7 months (or ever!).  Your support means so much.

I look forward to continuing to go from overwhelmed to organized in 2013 and I consider it a privilege to help you on that journey too!

What are your organizing goals for 2013?  How can I help you go from overwhelmed to organized?  What organizing ideas, tips, or spaces would you like me to feature?  Please leave me a comment to help me plan out my posts for the new year.


Happy organizing! And Happy New Year to each of you!





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