Using Lists to Increase Household Efficiency

Checklists are useful resources when getting organized in the house. Most of us make a grocery list before we go to the store, why not make a list for important things we want to organize in life? The more checklists that you make, the more proficient you will get at it. Listed below are some general ideas for checklists.

"To Do" checklist for everyday. Start your day by making a list of all the things that you need to accomplish each day. Carry your list along with you and check each item off when completed. This will create great feelings of positive reinforcement, motivation and accomplishment.

Develop a routine household maintenance list for tasks that need to get done monthly. For example, change the central filter for your air unit in the home, etc. You can get into the habit of checking the list a few months in advance to see if you need to schedule maintenance professionals to do certain jobs for you.

Make a weekly cleaning list and hang it on the wall or central command center for everyone to see. Beside each job write the person's name that is responsible for the job that week. Make sure they check off the job on the list when completed.

Create a car maintenance checklist. Schedule specific times when you need to make appointments for routine or special car maintenance.

Writing checklists for your life may help reduce stress in the long run. It will be easier to assign jobs to other people in your household. You can create and store your checklists on your computer and print them out as needed. Also, you can make a special binder for all of your checklists. Once you start making checklists, you will wonder how you ever got along without them!