GET ORGANIZED: 15 TIPS FOR A MORE ORGANIZED HOME & LIFE

 "Being organized will give you more free time, contribute to a cheerful nature, and add to the peace and security of your home." ~ Deniece Schofield

Not all of us are fortunate enough to have a full time maid service or can hire 'molly maid'. With hectic work schedule and day to day life sometimes the organization of our home and ourselves becomes last priority as we get too up in the hustle and bustle of every day life. 

Have you/do you:
-ever misplaced your keys while rushing to get the coffee ready in the morning?
-ever forgot to pay a bill because you didn't know where the paper was?
-have a stack of lose papers, magazines, letters piling up with no where to put them?
-Look at your closet and say, "I have nothing to wear" when it's packed with clothes?
-wasted minutes digging into your huge handbag only to realize what you're looking for isn't even there?

Did you answer yes to all or any of these? Then the list below will help you organize your home, family and life.

15 Ways To Organize Your Home

1. For your entry way mirror buy dry eraser pens. You can write messages to yourself or reminders for family members in the house with different schedules. 

2. Make your lunches, put your car keys in a specific space, lay out your clothes and put everything you need for the next day in a specific area the night before. This gives you time to sleep in for an extra half hour to an hour, and not feel rushed in the morning. 

*This tip helped me organize my mornings so much better. I use to feel completely unorganized and rushed while still in a sleep daze trying to figure out where everything was. 

3.To organize your handbag: buys colourful pencil cases or pouches to store your receipts or chargers and cords so they're readily available to you.

letter organizer

4. Fill the gas tank the day before so you won’t have to worry about getting gas if you are running late the next morning. 

5. Always plan out your trips! Google maps/GPS is your bestfriend. I cannot tell you how many times I get in the car tell myself I know exactly where I'm going only to end up making the wrong left turn and ending up half an hour behind schedule. 

6.  The best way to keep organized is to never procrastinate! Why do tomorrow what you can do today.  The longer you put anything off the more it takes up space in your life.

7. Stock up on plain pretty vases and decorative boxes and wicker baskets. This is a good option for de-cluttering your home and also works great as an accent piece.

*If everything looks stylish and tidy you'll want to keep it clean.

8. Instead of doing one huge clean up on the weekend do mini cleanups throughout the week. I remember when I was younger and I use to watch Big Comfy Couch, everyday they'd do the 10 second tidy and my brother and I would rush around the house putting our toys away for those 10 seconds. If you take 5 or 10 minutes out of your day and clean up a mini area of your home, watch how quickly the work is reduced on cleaning day.

9. Between old tax returns, electronic manuals, children's yearly report cards and all the other documents you don't throw away but continue to grow yearly a filing cabinet, or filing system becomes extremely important.

10. Go through your closets and draws remove worn, stained, torn and outgrown clothing to keep drawers uncluttered. Then sort through the ones in good condition that you don't wear. Ask yourself:
    - when was the last time I wore this?
    -does it still fit? 
    - is this still my style, and do I have anything to wear it with?
    -do I really need five of these?

* A fun idea is to get a bunch of your girlfriends together and have a swapping party. If your mothers with children do the same for your children's clothing. One mans trash, is another mans treasure!* 

11.The space underneath your bed is the most valuable storage area you could ask for. Not only is it FREE space, but if organized well you can hold a lot of stuff under there unknown to anyone else but you. 

12. Put wastebaskets in every room and place several unused trash bags at the bottom of each one. This will eliminate countless trips to retrieve new trash bags and give all family members a place to throw away their trash. 

13. The bigger the bathroom counter top doesn't mean the more things need to be stocked there. Try and keep your bathroom counter free of clutter and most things except everyday necessities out of sight. 

*Purchase a bed skirt so you don't expose the contents underneath your bed.

14. My pet peeve in the kitchen is not being able to find anything after the dishes are washed. When it starts to get out of control again I remove everything from the cabinet and re-organize. The perfect way to keep your kitchen clutter free is to give every item(plates, cups, cutlery, pots, pans, etc) there own shelve or draw. A place for everything and everything in it's place. 

15.Help your kids get organized too! Make it a fun routine for them. Instead of yelling why is your room so messy teach them how to keep organized. Every night after bath time but before reading them a book and tucking them into bed let them put away their toys and activities for today, so they can look forward to a new day. Having a bookcase like the one on the right is a colour way to help them put away and find what they need later. Also toy boxes, and large colour plastic bins are great for children's room. These lessons will help you children well into adulthood.

 


Good bye days of wishing you had Molly Maid! 
Hello Simpler Organized Life! 
 
I'D LOVE TO HEAR HOW YOU ORGANIZE YOUR HOME!!
 SHARE YOUR TIPS BELOW!