Can you believe 2017 is just a few short weeks away?

Before we break out the confetti, noisemakers, and good cheer to ring in the New Year, it’s worth taking a few moments to review what happened over the past twelve months.

In this post, I’m going to take you down a walk down memory lane…

That’s right, we’re going to take a look at all the different things that happened in 2016 on The Order Expert!

I always look forward to these year-end post reviews.

It’s incredible to see all the things that happened on the blog, from media appearances, landmark posts, to new products, and experiences.

I’ve been blogging for five years and I can honestly say that every year is different from the last.

You never know what will happen on any given day, week, or month be it on the blog, social media, or in real-life.

All the more reason to be fully present in the present moment so you don’t miss anything!

Before we begin with the roundup, I do have few quick announcements to make…

First, I’ll be taking a holiday break over the next couple of weeks. As such, this will be the last post on the blog for 2016. New posts will resume on Wednesday, January 4th, 2017.

Second, I wanted to extend thanks to my readers for reading my blog, following me on social media, leaving comments, and sharing your stories with me. It really means so much to me, and I’m thrilled be able to help you live a more organized and balanced life. Thank you so much for your continued support!

And lastly, I want to extend a big thank you to my family and friends. Thank you for all of your support, encouragement, inspiration and love over the past year. I am so lucky to have you in my life, and I couldn’t do it without you. Thank you for everything that you do!

Okay! Are you ready?

Let’s get on to the year in review…

January

I made a splash in January with the release of my organization eBook, 31 Easy Ways to Get Organized in the New Year.

I also had two appearances on Cafe Mom’s blog, The Stir.

The first was in the article, Email Stress is Real: How to Manage Your Inbox for Less Freakout and the second was in 5 Ways to Magically Create More Time in Your Day.

February

February saw two media appearances in Bustle, including 7 Tips To Help You Get Ready Faster After Working Out and 7 Everyday Habits of Productive People That You Should Adopt.

I also appeared in The Network Journal’s article, Tick, Tock: Time Saving Tips, and in Daily Worth’s How to Get Out the Door Faster in the Morning.

This month also marked The Order Expert’s first appearance in Wisebread’s Best Money Tips Weekly Roundup with the inclusion of my post, 7 Ways to Make Your Meetings More Efficient.

March

March was a relatively quiet month.

I offered some timely advice on Insureon’s blog post, How to Spring Clean Your Business Into Higher Profits, and had my post, 5 Creative Ways to Get Organized for Spring, appear in Wisebread’s Best Money Tips: 11 Ways to Save at Restaurants.

April

As low-key as March was, the month of April sure made up the difference!

I hosted my very first webinar on Google+, Tired of Running Late? How to Arrive on Time to Those Nearby Appointments. It was fun organize and present a webinar for the first time. You can view the webinar here.

I had four appearances on Wise Bread’s Best Money Tips weekly roundups, including, How to Create a Productive Work Environment in Money Saving-Tips for April, 31 Things to Throw Away Right Now in 20+ Small Ways to Pay it Forward, 5 Smart Steps to Organizing a Project in Surprising Things that Sell Big on eBay, and 7 Clever Ways to Stay on Schedule in How to Avoid 4 Common Forms of Accidental Death.

The month ended off with a bang when I celebrated my 900th post on the blog with the aptly named, 9 Things Learned from Writing 900 Blog Posts. Oh, and if you think 900 posts is a lot, just wait until you get to the end of this post…

The end of April also saw a landmark event, The Order Expert’s Five Year Anniversary! That’s right, the blog has been around for a whopping five years. I almost still can’t believe it myself!

May

I had two of my posts mentioned in Wise Bead’s Best Money Tips, Why Now is the Right Time to Get Started on Your Goals in Ways to Save Big at Hotels, and 5 Creative Ways to Save Time in Things You Can Do Yourself Instead of Paying a Pro.

I appeared in Bustle’s 11 Ways To Transition Back To Work After A Vacation and in ConvertKit’s 50+ Professional Bloggers Weigh In With Their Top Advice For New Bloggers. If you’ve just started blogging, or have been thinking about starting a blog, I encourage you to read ConvertKit’s post for some solid and practical advice about blogging.

June

I was thrilled to have my first appearance in The Atlantic, in the piece, Can You Cure Chronic Lateness?. The article was also picked up by Yahoo, SBS, Big Think, Business Insider, and BullFax.

I also appeared in Good Housekeeping’s 10 Pet Peeves That Drive Pro Organizers Crazy. That article was subsequently picked up by House Beautiful, Country Living, Elle Decor, My Domaine, and Prima. I wonder…can you guess The Order Expert’s pet peeve when it comes to organization? 😉

My post, 7 Tips to Help You Stay Organized While Traveling, was picked up by Wise Bread’s Best Money Tips: How to Stay Safe in Public Pools.

July

July saw another appearance in House Beautiful, this time in the article, 10 Things Pro Organizers Always Do Before They Go to Bed. The article also appeared on Good Housekeeping and Elle Decor.

Wise Bread featured a couple of my posts in their weekly roundups, 19 Questions to Ask When Scheduling an Appointment in How to Build a Money-Making Blog in a Week, 7 Quick Tips to Keep Things Tidy in 100 Quick Ways to Make $100, and 17 Productive Things to Do at Home When You’re Bored in Ways to Never Pay Full Price for Anything. 

August

I had my very first podcast appearance on The Productivityist Podcast with founder, Mike Vardy. We had a wonderful conversation about all things order, organization, and productivity. The podcast is roughly 30 minutes in length, so you can pull it up on Mike’s site or on iTunes, and listen to it in your car, at home, or during your commute.

I appeared in How to Get Out the Door Faster in the Morning on Levo League. House Beautiful’s 10 Things Pro Organizers Always Do Before They Go to Bed was picked up by Cosmopolitan and Mi Casa.

Once again, Wise Bread included my posts in a series of roundups, How to Study Productively in College in Homes are So Cheap Here, You Barely Need to Work, and 9 Truths About Productivity That You Need to Know in Tailgating for Newbies.

September

September saw an appearance in Cosmopolitan Japan of Nightly Habits of Pro Organizers.

Wise Bread featured my post Organizing Mistakes That You Should Avoid in Avoid These Organizing Mistakes, and included 40 Thoughtful Ways to Organize Items in Spend 30 Minutes Now to Save $1,000 Later 

October

I had my second podcast appearance, this time with Laura McClellan of The Productive Woman podcast.

Laura and I discussed ways to take control of our schedules and our space, and how to make time and room for the things that matter most.

You can listen to the 50 minute podcast on Laura’s site here, or download it on iTunes or Android. Listen to the podcast on the go, or in the comfort of your own home.

November

I had a media appearance on Dream Fearlessly in the article 5 Tips to Run More Effective Meetings.

Wise Bread included two of my posts in their roundups, 3 Thoughtful Ways to Be More Organized in Ways to Find Money You Didn’t Know You Had and in 7 Time Management Tools Your Can Find in Your Home in Stop Making These Impulse Buys Now

December

We finally arrive at the last month of the year!

Wise Bread included my post 10 Ways to Keep Your New Year’s Resolution in Easy Steps for a Greener Holiday Season.

Here on the blog, I released my 2016 Holiday Gift Guide, as well the Top 30 Blog Posts of 2016.

And let us not forget my new product, The Order Expert’s Calendar Printables, a collection of interchangeable daily, weekly, and monthly blank printable calendars for the home and office.

Oh, and one more landmark item to add to the annals of history, this very post marks the 1,000th post on the blog! Amazing, huh? I think that’s a wonderful way to celebrate the end of a very successful year.

Phew! That was quite a year, wasn’t it? I’m really looking forward to 2017, and all the new projects, opportunities, and experiences that it will bring.

I hope you enjoyed my posts, media appearances, and new products this year. As always, I’ve got big plans for the new year, so be sure to stay tuned.

Here’s to a healthy, wealthy, happy, organized and productive 2017! ????

Yours in order,

Rashelle

Psst..don’t forget, this will be the last post on the blog for 2016. I’ll be back with new posts starting on Wednesday, January 4th, 2017.

Can’t wait until then? Here’s some ideas to hold you over until the New Year…

• Take a look at the top posts from 2016
• Check out the most popular posts on the blog
• Check out all my past media appearances 
• Learn more about my new calendar printables
• Get a jump-start on getting organized in 2017 with 31 Easy Ways to Get Organized in the New Year
• Learn how to manage your time with The Order Expert’s Guide to Time Management 
• Start planning an event in the New Year with How to Plan a Great Event in 60 Days 

How about you? What was the most memorable moment (or moments) of the year for you here on The Order Expert? What organization, productivity, or time management projects did you complete this year? What are you looking forward to most in 2017? Join in the conversation and leave a comment below!