My 7 Favourite Tips for an Organized Life…
Welcome to another South African Blogger a totally incredible action mom!!! She has the cutest little set of twins you have ever seen… just a tad older than our Hood #8, so I love watching what they are up to. Here’s a mom of twins with a full-time job, a part-time job and an organizing blog… this is one together mom!!! I love her all out “go at it” attitude to life, work, parenting… She writes the sort of posts that I have to comment on and often my comments on her blog are as long as my own posts!!!
Getting and staying organized is not a mystery although it can seem like that sometimes.
All it takes is a few basic rules and then, of course, you need to do those things consistently.
Put these steps into place and you’ll have a home that gets and stays organized in no time at all:
- A place for everything and everything in its place:
- Keep your systems simple:
- Store items where they are used:
- One in, one out:
- Write everything down:
- Labels are king!:
- Use every minute:
- Do regular maintenance:
Have a designated place for every single thing, especially before you buy it. When you’re still in the store, ask yourself, “where will this go?” and if you don’t know, don’t buy it.
Nobody is going to follow a 10-step plan for sorting laundry when they can just toss it into a basket. If you keep your systems simple, you have a higher likelihood of success.
Store coffee mugs near the kettle and plates near the stove. In other words, keep things where you use them. If you use scissors in the kitchen, bathroom and study, then have a pair in each room.
Or better still, one in, two out J Seriously though, if you buy 3 new T-shirts, get rid of at least 3 of your oldest, ugliest T-shirts.
A blunt pencil is better than a sharp mind. The key to an organized mind is getting it all down. You don’t have to get fancy; a plain and simple lined notebook will do just fine.
Once you’ve organized an area of your home, how will you know what’s there? Label everything – your shelves, storage boxes, drawers, etc. For children who can’t read, use pictures on the front of the drawers or storage boxes.
We often wait until we have an hour to tackle a project. Don’t wait. Use 5, 10 or 15 minutes whenever you can find some time. A few minutes a day in each of your major areas equals an organized life.
and the Se7en + 1th tip…
Make time to go through your clothes and other possessions and then get rid of anything you don’t love or use on a regular basis. Make a date to also declutter your documents, photos and emails on a regular basis.
Thank you Marcia for your great list. I so enjoy your blog. And thank-you for this fabulous organizing list!!! I am all about storing things where we use them… I think that is the best tip ever!!! Hope you have a fabulous week!!!
Aaawww, thanks so much for your kind words. I will have to make sure I live up to them!
And now I’ve written a little post about you 🙂
I think about the only thing I manage to keep clutter free is my inbox. 😉
Great advice, Marcia! I especially like the idea of throwing something out when you buy something new. And “everything in its place” is the type of thinking I need to do a little more often! : )
Oh Louisa, pleased to meet you!!! Have to chuckle at the inbox… I have 3000 emails in my inbox and not a single one of them is streamed into a special category or anything… just dumped there… read as they come and and hope like crazy I remember the one’s I need to get back to!!! Since we are confessing and all!!! Thanks for stopping by!!!
Hi Deanna, Thanks for stopping by!!! I am all about the tossing out… toss, toss, toss… and still stuff prevails!!! Hope you have a great week!!!
Oh Marcia, You didn’t write a little post!!! You did!!! Thanks for playing along it has been great fun!!! Hope your week just gets better and better!!!
I love both your blogs, you are both such inspirational women. Happy blogaversary!!
Thanks Natasha!!! Lovely to hear from you and have a great day!!!
I love all the tips. I need reminding of these. I may have to print it out and stick it to my fridge. There, I’ve found a place for it already! I’m learning already!
Oh Cheryl… I think I need them tattoo’d onto my forehead… seriously!!!! When do you folk have summer holidays? The weather sure feels like summer holidays here – except no beastly wind and not too hot to live. Just wonderful for lazing around – ahem… I mean gardening!!!