3 Tips To Get Organised

I have been carrying out renovations on my house the last 12 months and having just come out of hospital after 6 weeks and having come close to my own mortality I am looking for a stress free and uncomlicated life.  I can not believe how this has all mental and physically has affected me and I’m longing for the simple life.  After being so ill, I don’t want to be surrounded by things that take time to keep on top of,  I’m looking for simplicity and feel now is the time to get organised and downsize the household responsibilities.  I feel the need to get organised NOW and get some good practices in place as it is going to ae me a good 2 to 3 months to recuperate.

Typically, it’s the start of a new year, or the start of school in September, and then there’s the start of summer. I don’t know why summer brings about my need to organise, but it does. Maybe it’s all the outside time we get – then I come inside and always feel like things are in disarray. Regardless of why, I am in one of those situations now, so I thought I would share a few simple tips with you that you can use to get organised TODAY.

Declutter

I am going to assume this is a problem for most people…and if you are one of the lucky few who don’t struggle with clutter, feel free to move on. I will also not call you my friends.  I have always like to surround myself with pretty things but as I feel now pretty things often mean hard work to keep on top and I’m not looking for work, I’m looking for relaxation to converlese as my GP called it this week. For the rest of us, getting a hold on clutter is very important. I know my family struggles with this more than anything else. Our home can be CLEAN, but there are piles of things in every room. Paperwork gets piled on the counters, clothes pile up in bedrooms, wires piles up in corners, dishes in the sink…you understand. If you do nothing else, pick ten minutes a day to clear off a pile of clutter. Pick the room where you spend the most time in, and start there. If you do this daily, I promise it will make a huge difference.  It also means that as I’m not well with limited strength and plenty of time on my hands I call do 10/15 minutes then take a break.  I’ve found paperwork has got far worse since I became self employed from home as I don’t have a specific office. I need a good filing system and get very strict with what I keep and what goes.

Make a List, Then another!

You will hear me say over and over that I am a big list maker. I can spend hours writing lists.  But then I need to take the next step and put these plans in to actions.  As a busy business owner, if I don’t write things down, I will forget and become stressed. That doesn’t help me or my family. I am always likely to get more done if I have a list. I also have to counter in health appointments and my day to day energies which sometimes means I can not always do what was planned.  These past few weeks have shown me this and while I was sat in hospital I did get busy list making.  I have tried electronic lists but I much prefer being an old fashioned girl and a paper list and find it very satisfactory crossing things of my to do list.  The only problem I have is I am ambitious and have always planned far too much and under estimate what I can achieve.  I keep multiple lists in easy reach, so I can check things off as I accomplish them. Sometimes I have been know to write “meds”  or eat on my list…

Some people like to start with the easiest or quickest tasks on their list and work that way. Through years of trial and error, I have learned it is best for me to start with my biggest task – the one that will make or break my day. The thing that will make the most difference in your day. This will usually be the thing I want to do LEAST, but I know that is tends to be the most important. If this is done early in the day, I feel I can breathe easier, knowing I don’t have to dread it throughout the day.

Calendar Check

These days, we all have numerous calendars…iphones, tablets, computers, planners, desk calendars and the list goes on. When was the last time you took a few minutes to make sure all your calendars lined up with each other? I know I have a calendar on my phone, a physical planner, a business planner and a home calendar. Things can get quite chaotic when I forget to sync them all.  So now, I try to take time a few minutes each week to make sure ALL the calendars for our household are synchronised for the upcoming week. I feel so much more organized when I know I can look in my planner and not feel I am missing something important.

What would your 3 tips for getting organised be?