Derval O'Rourke: Organising tips and a recipe for a lean beef stroganoff 

January is the time to get organised and clearing out is one of my favourite activities this month. 

Ah, thank goodness for January! Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas, but there’s just something about starting a whole new year. A new fresh calendar, a chance to start again. My favourite 'New Year' activity though is organising and clearing out anything that is going to prevent me from achieving my goals for the year ahead.

Here's the catch. When there is so much to do and the days are quickly zipping by, it can feel like one hill too many to climb. You might think I would start with a list of all the cleaning and organising that needs to be done, but I don’t, because that list would bring me nicely into the next year!

So here’s what I do: I just start. Read that again if you want, I’ll wait.

When starting your declutter, all you need are three piles: Keep, Bin and Charity (and or Sell if you want to recoup some of the Christmas spending).

Something that will help pass the time is putting on some high tempo CDs or the radio. Having some noise in the background makes the job feel less stressful and I definitely get more done bopping to a classic 80s hit.

I will go into a room and I don’t leave until that room has been decluttered and reorganised. I’ll often take before-and-after pictures too. This is just because, when everything is put away, it can feel like very little was actually achieved, but the before-and-after pictures are proof that the junk drawer is now definitely functional and there are no more dried up pens on my desk!

Another approach I have is to start in the smallest or least messy room in the house. If I can manage to fly through three or four rooms quickly, this tricks me into thinking the playroom is totally manageable!

Having two kids at home is a tricky one when I want to tackle the toys and I’m sure there are more of us like that out there. This is why after Christmas can be a great time to get in there. They are usually so distracted with the new stuff, that it’s less likely the battered colouring books or broken crayons will be missed!

I will usually try to do one room a day until every room has felt my wrath and then it’s off to the charity shops with the new year's haul. For me, the more organised and decluttered I am starting out in the New Year, the more productive I am. I find that I even sleep better when I know that everything is tucked away neatly.

If you’re feeling like you really need to declutter and get organised but don’t know where to start, here's a great way to take those first steps:

Set an alarm for 15 minutes. In those 15 minutes, you are going to get as much done as you can without stopping.

Once the alarm goes off, no matter what, you stop. Do this once in the morning and once in the evening. When you’re in the habit and feeling less overwhelmed, you can extend it to 20 minutes and so on. This can also count as some exercise, especially if you break a sweat!

Okay, I’m going to tackle my wardrobe next. For some reason, a lot of my husband Peter’s old clothes magically disappear at this time of year…..so strange!

Wellness Tip: Try something completely different and new. That class you’ve always wondered about now is the time to lean into something new to re-energise and reinvigorate yourself.

Movement of the week: Set that timer for 15 minutes and get as much housework done as you can, make sure you break a sweat. Do this twice a day for the week. Feel good and get some housework done!

Lean beef stroganoff

recipe by:Derval O'Rourke

This recipe was given to me by Patricia O'Flaherty from A Touch Of Magic in Carrigaline

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, sliced and diced

• 2 crushed cloves of garlic (use a grater for speed!)

• 400g lean beef or beef medallions, thinly sliced

• 50g sliced button mushrooms

• 400ml of beef broth (or 1 stock cube dissolved into 400ml boiling water)

• 2 tbsp of tomato puree

• 1 tsp of Dijon mustard

• 1 tbsp of freshly chopped thyme or use ½ tsp dried thyme

• Salt & pepper to season

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

• ½ tsp balsamic vinegar

• 90g of 0% fat-free natural yoghurt (brought to room temperature before using)

• Spray oil

Method

1. Get all your ingredients ready so you’ll whizz through this recipe.

2. Add thyme to the beef stock and let infuse for a few minutes before you start the beef searing — give the thyme… time!

3. Spray a non-stick frying pan with some oil and once it's hot, sear your beef until it starts to go golden, remove and set aside to rest.

4. Add your onion, mushrooms and garlic and sauté for just under a minute on medium heat, you don’t want the garlic burning as it will leave a bitter aftertaste. Once softened, add a few tablespoons of your beef broth and turn up the heat, as the stock starts to reduce keep adding more and more, continuing until you have about ¼ of the stock remaining. As you reduce the stock you are intensifying the flavour.

5. Next add tomato purée, paprika, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar.

6. Return the beef to the pan and nestle with all the yummy sauce, simmer for a minute to get the beef mingling with the rest of the ingredients, turn off the heat and then stir in your yogurt.

7. This is yummy served up with either rice, cauliflower rice, potatoes or mixed through pasta.