How To Stay Organized (Around the House)

Life with kids can be crazy! School/afternoon activities, work events, mail, cleaning, laundry, cooking- and more. Pretty soon your day can be spinning out of control and you are sunk. As a Mom of 2 kids, I’ve learned a few tricks along the way that keep me semi-organized. I’m not perfect, not even close, but I have found that if I do these tricks, I stay more organized and my day/evening goes so much better!

1. Make your bed: This might sound crazy. And it’s really not a way to keep you organized but I have found that making my bed makes the room look so much nicer. Yes I can still have clothes all over the floor or shoes out, but making the bed HELPS! We make our bed and I help my daughter make hers as well. Little man is still in a crib but once he’s in a bed we’ll make his too!

2. Plan, Plan, PLAN: This involves meal planning, writing out a weekly calendar, and going over events with the family. I’ve found that on Sundays if we talk out loud some of the things we have going on it makes for smoother transitions. Yes some minor things come up but we should know about the bigger events; soccer practice, games, working late, are just a few to name. Meal planning isn’t my favorite thing but I need to have some sort of sketch or meals that we have in the fridge written down. That way I’ll know what’s easy to make and what I need to prep for to cook.

3. Prep the night Before: This takes some time but if done, it helps everyone. We lay out clothes for everyone. I even plan what I’ll wear. Lay out breakfast dishes. The can simply be get the cereal box out. It sounds crazy but anything I don’t have to do the morning of saves time. Most nights I do lunch prep for the next day. It’s easy to fill up a lunch box of prepackaged snack or fruit. Saves time in the long run!

4. A 10 minute sweep: If I take 10 minutes here and there to clean up/straighten up then over time that helps in the long run and I don’t get overwhelmed. Get your kids and husband involved. Set a time for 10-15 minutes and have everyone go put away as many things as they can. A good idea to add to this is to reward good behavior. If the kids do a good job take them to a park or fun treat. This will keep them more motivated and want to do better!

5. The one Touch Rule: This is something I just started doing thanks to Money Saving Mom’s tip. Read all about her 1 touch rule here. Basically whenever papers or bills, shoes (anything) comes in the house she only touches it one time. No more moving this pile over here or moving that pile to another table. Only touch it once! Pay bills, or file papers, throw away junk mail. Only do it once and it’s done!!

Now if you have guests or friends randomly coming over you will be all set. If you really want to impress them and have your house smelling like you’ve been cleaning all day, try this DIY Febreze!

Do you have tips/ideas on how to stay organized?

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