Start the year right with my top 5 affordable essential items you need for your most organised year yet! Simple yet highly effective everyday planning items for all aspects of home and life.
Set this year up as your most organised year yet with these essential items.
It’s that time of year again when I prepare all the supplies I need to keep myself, my family, and my home organised throughout the year. I have a few select items that have become the foundations of my organising system. I’ve been using these same items annually for several years to stay organised. They are affordable, easy to find, and do the job well, without being overly complicated.
Implementing a few simple organising ideas will keep you organised throughout the year. Creating habits around using items like planners and calendars will make life easier, improving time management and productivity. Below is my list of the top 5 essential items you need for your most organised year yet. They cover the essentials from weekly planning and meal planning to budget tracking.
The top 5 essential items you need for your most organised year yet!
Family Calendar…
Firstly, I would be lost without my family calendar. It’s a fantastic way to get a quick glimpse of upcoming events for the day. I’ve been using the same calendar for several years, which is widely available at Kmart. It’s simple but does everything I need it to do. Digital calendars are popular, but there’s something I still love about having a paper one that I can write on.
With 6 columns, there is space to create a column for each family member. If, like me, you don’t need space for 6, you can use the extra columns to note things like pet care, birthdays, special occasions or school holidays. Hang it somewhere you will see it each morning and track everyone’s daily schedule. The place where I make coffee each morning is where I choose to hang mine. That way, I can easily check what’s coming up for the day.
Follow the link to check it out for yourself. Family Calendar 2026
Magnetic Meal Planning Board in the Kitchen…
The second essential item I find helps me stay organised in the kitchen is a Magnetic Meal Planning Board. I picked one up from Target a few years ago. You’ll find they are available in most department stores or online. They use a whiteboard marker for writing, allowing it to be used over and over again.
Mine is stuck to the front of the fridge. This is the perfect placement. I can quickly write items into the shopping list section, and it’s easy for family members to see what is for dinner every night of the week. Each of us will add a note if we won’t be home for dinner on a particular night. This makes it incredibly helpful when I am meal planning, knowing who and how many I am cooking for.
A weekly magnetic planner is what I use on the fridge to plan out all the meals for the week, as well as grocery list items. Here is a similar version of the simple Magnetic Planner that I use in my home.
Affordable essential items to keep you organised this year…
Chalk Board…
Many years ago, I purchased a large chalkboard from Ikea. I hung it on the kitchen wall beside the coffee-making station I set up and placed the family calendar below it. The top section is divided into two large areas. A notes section and a To Do section, with the days of the week listed across the bottom. Using chalk to write also means it can be reused with ease. I can check tasks that need to be done, such as home maintenance or bill payments, as well as upcoming appointments. In addition, I can write notes for each day of the week ahead.
This is the Chalkboard Organiser I use in my home. Another option would be to use a wall-mounted acrylic board and whiteboard markers.
Weekly Planner…
A weekly planner boosts productivity, manages your time effectively and provides an overview of tasks for the weeks ahead. Avoid overwhelm and minimise mental clutter by organising and prioritising weekly tasks, upcoming appointments and everything in between. Creating structure in your week reduces decision fatigue, helps build routine and ultimately enables you to align daily actions with weekly and long-term objectives.
You can see the exact planner I use here: 2026 Weekly Planner and the A4 Diary I love to use for work. A full-page layout allows space to write everything down.
Budget Sheets…
At the end of every year, I create budget sheets for the upcoming year. After trying different ways to manage my budget, I hadn’t found anything that really worked for me. Eventually, I decided to create my own. Each year, I print out a monthly and an annual budget sheet. I use these sheets to track all our upcoming bills and expenses. I can see at a glance what bills are due and when, ensuring nothing is ever late or missed.
Essential items to make this year your most organised…
They are simple, everyday items that anyone can find locally and easily use. Sometimes the best products are those that are uncomplicated and straightforward. When you make your planning and organising processes easy to use and follow, you are more likely to stick with them and have success.
I prefer to incorporate these paper planning products alongside any digital planning I might do. You don’t always need fancy Apps and digital products for planning and organising your home and life. Paper planning offers distraction-free planning. Improved focus away from screens, and I remember more if I write it rather than type.
Affordable essential items to start the year right. Read more about establishing routines and organising home and family life.
