HOW TO STAY ORGANIZE IN 2017

I pride myself on my organizational skills. I’ve always been organized. It’s helped me through all chapters in my life and now that I’m a wife of one and a mother of two, it’s a necessary skill to have. So here are some tips that work for me:

1. Keep A Community Calendar

        We keep our calendar on our fridge. It’s just a regular calendar that you can pick up from anywhere (calendars.com has a great selection and are always having sales). This year I found a cute calendar from the Dollar Tree. Make sure it’s big enough to write in those little squares and keep a pen near by so you never have to go searching for something to write with.

We put everything we need to remember as a family or married couple on this calendar. My suggestion is that you write down all of your monthly bills, meetings, paydays, etc… at the end of each month for the beginning of the next. That way it gives you both plenty of time to check out what’s going on and what’s due when before things start to pile on top of each other. 

Here’s a tip: Never make an appointment on the spot. I very rarely ever make a follow up appointment while I’m actually at a doctor’s office. I go home, check my calendar, check our bank account (if we need to spend extra money i.e. going to the dentist is the most expensive of doctor visits). Then I simply call back and make the appointment. If you do have to make one on the spot, make sure they give you an appointment card, put it in your wallet or some place you will be sure to look and remember to write it down later.

I also write down when company is coming or if my husband and I are going to be out. It’s also helpful to write down when one of our parent’s are going to be unavailable since they help with the kids sometimes.

2) Keep A Menu Calendar

I found the most simple planner in the entire world at the Dollar Tree last year. It’s just a month-at-a-view calendar and use it to write down my meal plan. We have to eat dinner every night, right? Might as well take some time to organize what you’re going to make. There’s nothing I hate more than going to make dinner and not having this or that. With two kids and a working husband, it’s not so simple to just run to the store, especially in the winter months. So, plan it out, budget and shop accordingly before hand. It really helps to figure out which days you can just throw stuff in the crock pot.

3) Keep Everything Together

This is easy but for some reason it’s so hard to keep up with but, it will make all the difference. Try to keep all like items together. I’m referring to things like medicine. Keep children’s medicine and adult medicine in the same area (you should probably separate them to avoid dosage confusion). Toys! We have a make-shift playroom where we keep all of the toys my oldest son currently plays with. We also have a small spot in the living room for the baby’s toys. If toys find their way into every room, not only is it dangerous to small children, it’s also a huge production to clean up and God forbid your toddler cannot find his or her “favorite” toy at the exact moment they want it.

I find that batteries and lightbulbs, pens, bills, nail files and laundry (dirty or clean) are the objects that seem to find their way into all areas of the house. Pick a spot for everything and keep up with putting it all away. Even if it’s at the end of the day. I use baskets to carry things back to where they belong throughout the day.

4) Binders/Folders

Just like in school these are life savers. I have a book case that I keep our important paper work in. I have a huge binder that I keep all of our appliance warrantees and receipts. I have a binder for each member of our family. I keep private bills in there, medical print outs, etc… I have a tax folder, utilities folder, credit card folder. When things are paid, that’s where they go. If not, you’d be surprised where they end up. One time I found a gas bill in a cabinet in our bathroom. How? 

I recently became my mother and have a shoe box of receipts from the holidays. But, it worked really well for returns. And finally, I have a house binder. I keep all of our holiday plans in there. Lists of what we bought the kids each year for Christmas and what we got our parents. I have holiday recipes, Christmas card recipient’s addresses and passwords for all of our utilities and websites.

This all may seem like a lot of work but it really isn’t. Once you’ve established what you need to keep and where you need to keep them, it’s easy to just plan out how you want to organize it. Then it’s just a matter of keeping up with it. If that means once a month or once a week. For me, I am a stay-at-home mom and am responsible for four people so I tend to do something every day. 

You won’t just wake up and do all of this all at once and be perfectly organized for your year. It does take work but it’s worth it. It’s worth it just to make sure you pay your bills on time. It’s worth it to not have to worry about running out of dinners or diapers or whatever else. It’s also worth it to remember a doctor appointment so you don’t get charged the $35 for not showing up. :)

These are just a few of the ways I stay organized. There’s plenty more ways that it happens, but it’s so organic that I don’t even use a conscious effort to do it. Like shopping lists. So happy organizing for 2017!