I’m often asked how I get organized while having an active family and running a successful growing business.In reality, my home is never “perfect”. For sure, my home is organized much more than the avenge bear, but with ongoing kids’ activities and the demands a business and family put on a home, we have to realize that perfection is NOT always a feasible outcome.
What I do want to share with you is that with systems in place and set up within the home, reclaiming order is much easier to achieve.
Below I will share my Top 5 tricks to getting organized on a daily basis. These are simple things that when maintained make long term impact on your home, habits and stress level.
1. Process Mail immediately:
Dealing with the mail on a daily basis immediately, prevents the overwhelming clutter and mess of Piles everywhere. Piles waiting for “later” in various places throughout the house and piled high on counters can easily become a daunting task that is stressful to say the least. Try staying on top of the mail daily. Even if you try for just 1 week straight to see the difference it will make in your home and visual clutter. Simply sort all mail over the recycling container, then open and process each piece. Bills go into a separate “bill” area that are easily found and kept together until your bill paying day. Put dates and necessary information on your calendar and sort the remaining mail.
2. Combine the cleaning and cooking efforts:
I know this sounds almost counterproductive, but one of the easiest ways to minimize kitchen cleanup is by doing so while cooking. One of my tried tricks to not only saving time but saving in kitchen cleanup is by prepping multiple meals and school lunches simultaneously. For ex: While cooking dinner, prep the school lunches for the next day. This simple tip saves time on multiple cleanup efforts throughout the day. Chopping for a recipe. Chop double while you’re at it and use for another recipe that week or even freeze in small “portion” size containers.
3. Create an exit zone of the house:
An exit zone is such a great system for people trying to be more organized. In my house I actually call it the “dumping zone”. It’s where we “dump” all things that will be exiting the house. So for example. My purse lives there. The stack of library books lives there. As the kids use them, they are responsible for keeping them in their “home”. This way as you are “running out of the house”, if you know the library is on the way, you can quickly scoop up and head out without digging and searching multiple rooms throughput the house. Store returns, school donations, house keys, and outgoing mail are among other things that can live in this area. Choose what and where works best for you. I have seen people leave keys on a table in their front hall in a pretty little basket… But if you leave through the garage every day, you’re delaying your exit!
4. Systems for paper:
One of the biggest problems I see when working with clients is the overwhelming paper clutter. Having your paper organized has a huge impact on the order of your home. No one system works for everyone, so be sure to find systems that work for your family. You can easily eliminate unsightly clutter by having a working system for bills, receipts, school papers, projects, delayed decisions and paperwork that needs to be kept such as legal and tax forms.
Often times, people struggle with this area of organizing repeatedly. In that case I highly encourage working with a professional to help you achieve and maintain your organizing goals. Here at Task Complete, we have dozens of clients who we assist with paper management. Having a working system and ongoing support eliminates overwhelm and undue stress for many of our personal clients.
5. The 10 Minute Tidy:
Yep, this is one that has been around forever! The reason it’s been around for generations is because it actually works! At the end of the evening do a quick 10 minute tidy of all things that are out of place. Even if you don’t get to everything, 10 minutes has an impact on what is waiting for you in the morning and long term. In our home what works well is having the kids all do their part while we are cleaning up from dinner. This way everyone is working together for a mutual benefit… a clean organized home! Use incentives! No small children have ever been harmed while pitching in and then being rewarded with family time.
Of course, none of these things are rocket science, but the ongoing formulation of these tips into habits make a long term effect on the way your home and biz function!
What are some of your biggest struggles maintaining things around the home? I would love to hear about your problem areas and what you have done to improve the overall function of you home…
