Listing Your Way To Efficiency

 

Checklists are the greatest way to get organized for any occasion. Most of us make a grocery list before going to the store, why not make a list for everything else in life? The benefits greatly outweigh the time that it may take to make one. The more checklists that you make, the quicker you will get at it. Following are some general ideas for checklists:

Checklist for everyday: Start your mornings by making a list of all the things that you need to accomplish each day. Carry it with you and mark each item off when completed. This will give a great feeling of accomplishment and closure.

Household maintenance: Develop a household maintenance list divided into months. Check the list a few months in advance to see if you need to schedule specific maintenance people to do a job for you. 

Weekly cleaning list: A weekly cleaning list should be developed and hung on the wall for everyone to see. Beside each job include the person's name that is accountable for the job that week. Make sure they mark off the job when completed. 

Car Maintenance checklist: Schedule times when you need to make appointments for an oil change and general car maintenance. 

Developing checklists for your life will go a long way in reducing stress. Having a list will also make it easier to assign tasks to other people in your household. The great thing about these checklists is they can all be stored on your computer and printed out as needed. Or if you prefer, create a special binder for all of your checklists. Once you start making checklists, you will wonder how you ever lived without them.

8 Steps To Managing Your Time

 

Are you an individual who can’t seem to properly manage your time? If you are having problems at home or at work, there is a good chance that your problems may be caused by your inability to properly manage your time. The good news, however, is that there are a number of steps that you can take to improve your time management. In fact, eight simple steps that you can take are highlighted below.

1 – Know That You Have a Problem

Knowing that you have a time management problem is the first step in changing your behavior. Although it is typical to be late for work or a social event on occasion, it is something that should not be happening on a daily or a weekly basis. If it is, it is time for you to realize that you may have a problem.

2 – Decide To Change

Knowing that you have a time management problem is important, but wanting to change is even more important. You need to set goals for yourself, as these goals can help to provide you with a source of motivation. Sample goals include showing up to work on time for a whole month, being on time for all dinner dates, and so forth.

3 – Stick To Your Goals

Creating a number of time management goals for you to meet is advised, but it is important that you don’t give up right away or when you are faced with complications. Setting goals simply just isn’t enough, you need to stick with them.

4 – Create Daily Task Lists

Creating a to do list for yourself is an easy way to properly manage your time. In fact, it is one of the easiest approaches that you can take. Outline what you need to do throughout the day. Be sure to list your tasks in order of importance.

5 – Rely On Time Management Tools

Properly managing your time is important, but it can be hard for many individuals to get use to, especially right away. If you are one of those individuals, you will want to consider using time management tools to your advantage. In fact, did you know that many cell phones and computers come with alarm clocks, alerts, and so much more?

6 – Learn How To Say No

In all honesty, there are times where you may not be able to refuse a project at work or a task at home, but try to not take on more than you can accomplish. If you must, look into using outside help. In the home, this outside help can come from a housecleaner. At the workplace, this outside help can come from a coworker.

7 – Get Organized

Organization is key to being able to properly manage your time. If you are unorganized, you are likely to waste a large amount of time. For example, in the workplace you can waste time by searching for lost or misplaced documents. The same can be said for the home; if you are unorganized, you can spend hours searching for your glasses or car keys.

8 – Consider Hiring Professional Help

As previously stated, if you are overwhelmed at home, you may want to call on a professional housecleaner. In addition to taking this approach, there are other professionals that you can target. There are individuals and companies who specialize in teaching others how to effectively manage their time and stay organized, such as professional organizers.

What Are The Benefits of Decluttering and Organizing Your House?

 

I have a question for everyone reading my blog today. What is clutter?

• Clutter is anything in your home or office that does not serve a purpose or function in your life anymore.
• Clutter may include items in your home that are broken or nonfunctional.
• Clutter may be material items in your home that you do not need or love.
• Clutter could also include unnecessary duplicate items in your home.
• You may be surprised to realize that having too many storage containers that aren't actually being used in your home may add to your existing clutter problem. That is the main reason it may be suggested that you declutter your home "first." Then, it should be easy to figure out exactly how many storage boxes to buy and specific sizes you may need.
• Clutter could also consist of accumulated items of trash to be thrown away or removed in an appropriate manner. 

Now that we know what clutter is, why do you think our homes accumulate clutter?

• Clutter may be caused be delayed decisions.
• You haven't taken the time to decide on appropriate areas to keep your specific items in your home.
• Procrastination: maybe you feel overwhelmed about organizing or decluttering your house.
• You may be experiencing that frustrating "all or nothing" feeling about home organization. For example: you may think to yourself, "I will never have enough time to get my organizing projects done. There is just too much to do. So, why should I even start?"
• Maybe, you have a very busy family schedule and you haven't been using a good weekly/monthly planner for routine chores/tasks in the home.
• Possibly, the family doesn't realize your home organization goals and you may get easily distracted with many interruptions throughout the day. It may be very helpful for you to communicate your short-term and long-term organizing goals with your family. You may decide to have family members participate in your plan. This may be especially important in helping to keep your home maintained after you have everything set up the way you like it.
• You may have felt the lack of energy or motivation to complete organizing projects in the past.
• Often times, a major lifestyle change may cause a change in the normal flow of organization in your home. Here are a few examples: a birth or a death in the family, new marriage or a divorce, job relocation, or health problems.

How can clutter affect your life in a negative way?

• Clutter can take up lots of extra space in a home. Think of how much more additional space you may have available after you get rid of any unnecessary clutter.
• You may be using a lot of your valuable time to take care of all the material things in your house.
• You could be spending extra money for duplicate items that you have been purchasing because you haven't been able to find the things that you were looking for in your house.
• Many people say they lack energy because they are tired of maintaining all the material things they have accumulated over the years.
• They don't have enough time to take good care of themselves or to enjoy their favorite hobbies and outlets.

What are the positive benefits of home organization and decluttering your house?

• You will be able to focus on things that you enjoy, such as: exercise, hobbies, good nutrition, etc.
• You may find that you have more time to spend with family and friends.
• Hopefully, you won't have the need to purchase unnecessary items because you will have easy access to your items and be able to find everything when you need it. You will learn how to find "the right place for everything in your home."
• You may really enjoy the big bonus of having more space in your home once you get rid of your clutter.
• An organized house, free of clutter, may help you save time when you need to do your routine daily/weekly household chores.
• I find that I focus and concentrate better and feel more productive and less stress with work when my house and office are organized.
• You may increase your confidence to invite your friends over to your home again.

Baby Steps and Goals for Getting Your Home Organized

I find that most people can increase their productivity by simply organizing their belongings around their house and office. I will mention some tools that may help you when working on your specific goals to organize your life. 

 

It is so helpful to initially formulate a plan. Many of us set goals that are too broad and unrealistic when first embarking on any area of our lives.

 

In order for this plan to go smoothly, you need to have realistic, specific goals that are well-defined and written out. It is essential to set long and short term goals. For example, your long term goal could be getting your home organized in a year's time. Your short term goal could be getting one room in order each month. 

 

After you have your goals in mind, write them down on paper and put that paper in a place where you can view it often. Knowing target goals in your mind is not enough; they need to be in a place where you can view them often, so you are constantly motivated to achieve your specific goals.

 

Finally, you need to determine why you want something.  It's not enough to simply want to get organized in your life. You need to know why you have this motivating desire. Without wanting something whole-heartedly, it will be difficult to achieve it.

 

While the above tips may seem simple, it is surprising how many people set out to achieve a significant life change without knowing what they want to get done. The simplest and yet most motivating force to achieving your goals is knowing where you are going and why you are going in that direction. Follow these tips, and hopefully you may organize your life faster than you ever thought possible.

Getting your home environment more organized may certainly help you to find a happy balance in your everyday life. Things may seem more controllable, less stressed and pleasurable. However, many of us may currently feel so fragmented and overwhelmed because we aren't achieving that sense of balance when our home surroundings are cluttered and disorganized.

We may never seem to have sufficient hours in the day to get everything completed. Taking the time to make creative changes in your life can really mean the difference between simply struggling each day or enjoying your life to the fullest extent.

Learn to take control of your physical environment. The less time you spend running around searching for things, the more time you will have for what is significant to you. 

Prioritize what is in fact needed and important to you. Be decisive about what you keep. You have a finite amount of space. Use the "real estate" for those things you need and treasure.

Eliminate what you don't need. Not everything has to go the way of the dumpster. You may decide to donate to a charity or sell the items and allow yourself the freedom from feeling guilty or wasteful. If you aren't using it, chances are someone else can enjoy the items. 

Remember to contain or store things properly. Consider where you would look for items routinely and what type of like or similar items can be contained or stored together. Make a good habit of scheduling time to maintain your new organized surroundings! 

Organizing Your Household Mail and Papers

Most people need to deal with paper on a daily basis. Some common examples are the following: bank statements, bills, pay stubs, newspapers, magazines, calendars, take-out menus, shopping receipts, and school permission slips. With an organized plan of action and some discipline, the paperwork can be conquered. 

Begin by taking a look at the type of paperwork that’s overwhelming you the most. Are you the most stressed by those bills that go unpaid when you can’t locate them? Or is it the amount of artwork your children have created and decorated your refrigerator with? Perhaps it’s the constantly changing after school schedules or meetings. 

Once you determine the most invasive paper culprits, next it’s time to line them up and sort them out. A successful filling system has three main components. A file for those things that need to be acted on immediately, one for those that are part of a household’s ongoing management, and one for those that are more infrequent but nevertheless crucial, such as tax records, insurance policies, and home maintenance documents. 

It is important to remember that when conquering the paperwork, make a good routine of dealing with each item the first time you handle it. Get out of the habit of looking through your mail and tossing it aside. Set aside time each day to open mail, go through paperwork in your inbox and sort and file appropriately. 

Decide if each item is something to be paid, something to be done, or something to be filed. At the end of each week, take out each file and respond appropriately by paying the bill, responding to the request, or moving items that need to be filed into their permanent locations. 

Of course, if you know something is urgent and can’t wait until week’s end, clip it to the front of your file box or place it in front in a folder labeled Urgent and act accordingly. 

Save telephone time by keeping calendars, schedules, take-out menus and phone lists into clear page protectors in a 3-ring binder. Flip through the household notebook to quickly check meeting dates or find phone numbers. 

Organize magazines and newspapers into baskets kept near couches and living room chairs for people to look at during their free time. Be sure to keep in the habit of sorting through this on a regular basis and filing those magazines you decide to keep and tossing old newspapers and magazines you wish you toss. 

Designing Your Own Organizing System

By reading my blog you are taking a step closer to getting your home and your life more organized. Have you been feeling the clutter in your life is getting out of control and more chaotic? Do you waste a lot of valuable time searching for items around your house? I know for myself, even with being home so much more throughout last year during the Pandemic, I feel like I don’t have enough time in the day to get things done like I used to in the past. I think a lot of the reason is because I am cooking even more now throughout the whole day, which means more meal preparation and clean up time afterwards. 

It seems like before the Pandemic, I had more of a consistent routine daily/weekly schedule. Do you ever think how much better your daily life would be if your house was really organized? I have read so many wonderful books and articles about organization throughout the past several years. 

Sometimes it is easy for life to seem to get somewhat out of control, such as with all of the changes in 2020. You may feel overwhelmed with so many daily responsibilities to accomplish, without enough time for you to relax a bit. You may even begin to feel anxious and depressed about the situation. 

Maybe you actually started to spend money on shelving units, bins and containers, hoping to bring order to counteract the chaos. Don’t lose hope or motivation. You can turn your situation around. Start with a small, manageable project that won’t take too much time. Be consistent and keep going with this reasonable project until it is completed. It could be cleaning out and organizing one kitchen cabinet or drawer. Successfully finishing smaller tasks will help to build your confidence to tackle larger projects. 

It is very important to understand that organizing is not all about throwing things out, but about identifying what is important to you, prioritizing and maintaining access to what you routinely need. Clutter control and finding the ideal storage area for your individual items are important keys to good organization. Home organization requires patience and consistent efforts. However, the end results are so rewarding.

By learning helpful organizing skills and techniques, you can begin to restore order and balance in your life. Organizing your home and cleaning may provide comforting, peaceful order to your life. 

When families collect too much stuff, the unnecessary clutter can interfere with the tranquility and calmness of the home environment. Too much clutter can actually cause feelings of despair and frustration. Clutter takes up a lot of precious space in your home that could be used much more efficiently.

One of the first things I learned when I was studying to become a professional organizer was the major importance of assigning everything in your house a specific place or “home” so that you will know exactly where to find that item in the future when you are searching for it. This is a good habit to teach all of your individual family members.

You could start in your foyer/entryway area of your house and place a small basket or dish to hold your keys. A larger basket set on an entryway table could temporarily hold library or school books, so they don’t get lost and remain quick and easy to find. A coat rack could nicely hold your seasonal coat and purse. 

I know you can think of several areas throughout your house for organized storage of various items. In the bedroom you can use drawer dividers for socks and tiny items. I have found useful, multi-purpose ottomans to store many things, such as seasonal throw blankets in my bedroom. They are also handy to store excess books. 

In my own closet, if I find clothing that I haven’t worn for a year or is no longer my size, I decide if I want to sell or donate those items or store them. I use slim color coded hangers to display only the clothing that is currently my size and that I plan to actually wear often.

One thing I routinely do with my kitchen items is to try to donate a small appliance at the time that I purchase an upgraded model. I have a small kitchen with limited counter space. I do a lot of cooking every day, so I try to prioritize things carefully in my kitchen. It takes a decent amount of time, but I need to really maintain order inside my small kitchen cabinets for adequate storage purposes.

I find that my dining room table can easily get cluttered with excess grocery supplies or with mail/bills, etc. It definitely is a fabulous habit to keep your kitchen and dining room table clean and free of all clutter. Hopefully, you may have a spare desk or even a dedicated cart of some kind to keep your mail and bills, along with your writing supplies, calendars, notebook and menu planners. 

I keep at least three boxes in the house labeled the following:

1.) Donate

2.) Sell

3.) Put Away

Then when I straighten out rooms throughout the week, it makes it easier to keep things tidy and organized.

There a few things to consider when you are deciding to donate items, such as:

1.) Have you used the item in the past year?

2.) Do you have duplicate items?

3.) Have you upgraded to a newer model?

4.) Are you holding onto the item just for sentimental value?

Part of organizing is deciding what is important to you and finding an appropriate place for your items, so your home can be maintained in an easy manner. You will reap the benefits of a calm, happy, “clutter-free” home environment. Hopefully, you will have more available quality time to spend enjoying your favorite things and more relaxation. Organizing is not about throwing out a lot of household items or buying lots of storage containers.

Don’t feel guilty for accumulating a lot of stuff over the years. Developing a unique smart organizing system that will work for you and your whole family will certainly help you maintain your household.

To create a lasting, successful organizing solution, make your system fit your personality so you feel comfortable with your home surroundings. Create neat order, clear surfaces, simplify your life by designing your own organizing system unique for you and your family!

Step-By-Step Goals For Organizing Your House

The truth is you can really increase your productivity a great deal by simply organizing your belongings around your home and office. Here are some tools to help you when first starting on your goal to organize your life. It is so important to develop a plan. There is nothing that is more potent to achieving your goals than having a specific plan to start off. 

A lot of people set far too broad goals when first embarking on any area of their life. In order for your plan to succeed, you need to have realistic, precise goals that are well-defined and written out. It is a good habit to set long-term and short-term goals. For instance, your long-term goal could be getting your whole home completely organized in a year's time. Your short-term goal could be getting one room in order within a month. 

After you have your goals in mind, write them down on paper and put that paper in a place you can view it often. Maybe you may want to use a planner notebook or a digital app. Knowing a target in your head is not enough; it needs to be in a place where you can view it often and constantly motivate you to achieve your goals. 

Finally, you need to determine the reason why you want something. It may not be enough to simply want to get organized. You need to know why you have this desire. Without wanting something whole-heartedly, it will be harder to achieve it. 

While the above tips may seem simple, it is incredible how many people set out to achieve a target without knowing what they want to get done. The simplest and yet strongest force to achieving your goals is knowing where you are going and why you are going in that direction. Follow these tips to help you get organized and enjoy the process!