Settling the House for a New Year
A New Year, A Well-Ordered Home
There’s nothing like a new year to make you feel especially motivated and inspired to do better in every aspect of your life.
From the beginning, God has called us to steward what He has given us and work with our hands.
Work is good. Stewarding your home well is good. And having goals to do even better in your home in 2026 is good.
We all know that you can create goals and start them any day and time of the year, but the new year gives you a push of excitement, and of possibility. It’s the “I’ll start on Monday” feeling times a thousand.
It’s a great time to reset your home, do things that have been set on the back burner, and start anew.
I’ve curated this list of tasks that I think would help you give your house a refresh so that you can be more efficient, think clearer, and make your home an oasis for 2026.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, I believe you should treat your home like a business. Have open and close hours, make goals for this new year, and work hard with your hands.
Note that this is a long list that is not ordered in any way and I am not saying to do all of them. I’m just giving you ideas that can propel you forward in your home this season so that we can do everything unto the Lord with excellence. We were created for this!
that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,
1 Thessalonians 4:11
Ideas to Reset Your Home for a Great 2026
Access your current home routines and strategize how you can do better.
Deep clean every room. Clean things you haven’t thought about cleaning in a while. Wipe door knobs, clean baseboards, dust air vents and lights, etc.
Meet with your husband about your financial goals and the vision for the family in 2026. Access the last year and talk about things that you’re proud of and what you want to improve upon. Encourage one another and ask him how you can do better to love and respect him in 2026. Get excited together!
Declutter every aspect of your home:
Be creative and use any older food in your pantry that will go bad soon. You can make granola with random nuts and dried fruit, make muffins, bread, etc. Consolidate duplicate items.
Go through your closet and get rid of any clothes you don’t wear.
Get rid of any old skin care, hair products, etc. in your bathroom that you don’t use and that could be expired.
Give away any old shoes, jackets, hats, etc.
Declutter all of your closets.
Remove any old toys that your children don’t use.
Declutter your kitchen! Remove any extra plates and cups. The less you have, the easier it will be to clean.
Vacuum and clean your carpeted areas.
Store or give away any clothes your children don’t fit in anymore.
Go through all of your purses and give away the ones you don’t use anymore. All the ones you do use, clean them out and reshape them by adding tissue paper inside the bag. Organize them nicely.
Hang up any art that you’ve been procrastinating on hanging.
Make any doctors appointments you’ve been procrastinating on.
Create a new self care routine, and/or do some maintenance that you haven’t done in a while:
Workout
Get your hair cut and styled
Get your eyebrows done
Get your nails done
Get a massage
Go to a head spa
Get a facial
Get a wax
Do something you’ve been waiting to do for a while that really won’t take that long to do.
Pay that $50 medical bill that you’ve been putting off.
Get rid of any old mail. Go through all your mail and toss the irrelevant ones.
Clean behind appliances, couches, dressers, etc.
Re-organize everything. Go systematically through each section in each room.
Clean and organize your office and/or desk area.
Dust everything.
Get your tax information in order.
Mop everywhere.
Decorate!
Clean the scuffs off of your walls.
Deep clean your oven, refrigerator, sink, etc.
Wash all of your laundry, fold, and put all of the clothes away.
Reorganize and dust your bookshelves.
Pray over your home. If you’re about that life, anoint it too. Why not?
Reset your mindset about your home. Remember to be thankful for everything God has given you! You get to do dishes, clean laundry, change poopy diapers, etc.
Clean out your medicine cabinet.
Decluttering Encouragement
Through out the year, you naturally pick up more things and bring them into your home. Maybe you were gifted things, maybe you went shopping for new clothes. There are tons of new items in your home.
And what happens to the things you already have? Most of the time, they stay there as well.
There is nothing wrong with having things, but keeping a clean and organized home is much easier when you remove items you no longer use or need.
It feels so good to let go! You got this.
I hope this list gave you some ideas on how you can use the beginning of 2026 to reset your home. Leave in the comments some other ideas you may have!
This is such a motivating and practical reflection! I really appreciate how you tie everyday tasks back to a deeper sense of purpose—stewardship, diligence, and offering our work to God. The reminder to treat your home like a business, with intention, goals, and care, makes something that can feel mundane suddenly feel sacred and meaningful.
I love the encouragement around decluttering, too. It’s easy to get bogged down by things we’ve accumulated, but framing letting go as both practical and spiritually freeing is such a beautiful perspective. The little tips like using older pantry items creatively or reshaping purses make it tangible and doable, not just lofty advice.