My organization-rehab began in 2011 when I decided that enough was enough and I was tired of living with clutter. I don't know about you, but I just feel better when the environment I'm in is clean and tidy. I function better when everything is in its place, knowing that I don't have to worry about any of it.
The most important piece of advice that I can give to you is that in order to organize your environment, you need to organize yourself first. If you are tired of having things out of place, or piling up on the floor (or drawer, closet, basket), then congratulations: you are a junk addict. Seriously. In order to make the changes that you need in order to get organized and stay organized, you must first break the cycle of behavior that is leading you to get unorganized in the first place. It's all about routine, people! By organizing myself and my routine first, I was able to manage my time better to actually finish the projects that I started. One thing that always led to my failure in finishing organization projects was that I always tried to do too many things at once - organizing the hall closet would lead to the discovery of many items that belonged upstairs...that would lead to organization of the upstairs closets...then I would have a bunch of crap everywhere but nowhere to put it.
...whew! Finally, here are a few tips to help you organize yourself and your routine so you can begin organizing your space:
1. Buy a planner, or use an electronic planner. I prefer writing in a paper planner since it doesn't take me as long to jot down an item on my to-do list, and because I like being able to see my entire day at once. Use the same planner for work, family, and personal activities.
This Lilly Pulitzer agenda is one thing that I don't mind buying full price;
it's a year-long investment! And guys...you can buy stickers to go with it.
2. Organize your planner by writing down your daily, weekly, and monthly activities. The first thing I do each month is write down my work schedule and any scheduled appointments and activities. I also write down the due-dates of any bills that are not automated by my bank. I'm big on color-coding since it tells me what I have going on that day at a glance. Check it out:
Green: work. Purple: horseback riding/competitions. Pink: activities. Blue: appointments.
Yellow: important reminder. Orange: why haven't you gotten this sh*t done yet?
Every day, I make a short to-do list of things I need to do. The magic number here is choosing 6 things to complete, but be realistic about what you can accomplish. Sometimes when I feel that I have a lot of tasks to accomplish, I sort them based on priority. Sometimes I'll even number them 1-3, with 1 being the most immediate tasks, 2 being something that can be completed any time during the week, and 3 being a long-term task. The most important or time-sensitive tasks are completed first, then if I have time leftover I will move on to a weekly or monthly task.
3. Make long-term goals, like completing a project or planning a night out. I have a separate page in my planner for projects I would like to finish, or for coupons and deals that will expire. This way, I can sort things by importance and use my extra time wisely.
I have my coupons and deals listed with their expiration date so nothing goes to waste! The Hubs
and I plan our monthly activities around them. Any "big" projects are listed here so I can make time to finish them.
4. Make a menu and cleaning schedule. The Hubs and I plan our weeks and months ahead of time as often as possible. The Hubs and I discuss our menu for the week, and divide up housework and chores that need to be done. It seems daunting, but I promise it's not a long conversation. It goes more like, "Hey The Hubs, can you vacuum tomorrow while I mop? And are tacos good for dinner?" and The Hubs grunts in agreement. Easy peasy.
After scouring the weekly deals at our grocery store, I make a menu based on what I would like to make. This ends up being very economical for us since it leads to less food waste and lets me plan meals based on our daily activities.
I list my chores, errands, and menu plan for the day at the bottom of
my to-do list so I can find them more easily.
Most importantly, we have a cleaning schedule and divide up chores. The Hubs has put himself in charge of weekly lawn maintenance and trash duty, and his daily duty is doing the dishes. He helps out with deep cleaning before we have company over. Check out an example of my cleaning schedule here. I try to limit my cleaning to 15-30 minutes per day and do a little bit at a time.
There are a few blogs and books that I have used in the past to help myself get started with this organization process, and as I remember which ones they are I will post them! The most helpful resource that I have used for this purpose is Organize Now! by Jennifer Ford Berry. Check it out on Amazon for just $9.48!
- Maggie White
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