Organizational Tips
This post is going to be a little different from what you typically see here on Girl on the Move. Usually posts are related to travel, fitness, blogging or inspiration, but I’ve gotten quite a few emails and messages in the last few weeks related to organization so I thought I would put together a post with some of my top organizational tips. Tomorrow we’ll be back with more of what you’re used to seeing here on the blog!
I’ve taught seminars on organization, done personal organization coaching and since I was about 4 my family has joked that my middle name is organization. For my 6th birthday my mom bought me a planner so I could organize all of the school lessons I was teaching my 4-year-old sister.
Here are my top five organization tips…
- Create a daily task sheet
I would be absolutely lost without my daily task sheet and while I would love to give you a printable of a daily task sheet you can use I am a very firm believer that everyone should use a customized daily task sheet…it needs to fit your day-to-day needs…not mine! My daily task sheet has space for the routines I complete every day, my personal to do list, my blogging to do list, my work to do list, scheduling notes and a space for notes…because this works for me! I would suggest putting together a daily task sheet in word and as you use it each day see what sections you need to add or delete.
- Keep a detailed planner
If your life is anything like mine you have a lot to keep track of and while we’d like to think we can do it all in our heads the truth is we can’t. Whether you prefer an electronic or paper (I’m a pencil and paper girl!) planner the bottom line is get one and keep one! I like to have mine color coded and anything that needs to get done, any place I need to be, or anything I need to buy gets written down in the planner. Then each night when I’m putting together my daily task sheet for the following day I go to my planner and find what needs to be done.
- Organize your space
It can be overwhelming to organize your whole physical space overnight but I would encourage you to start organizing one area at a time. If your mornings seem the most disorganized begin by organizing the space you use in the morning…that might mean putting all of your breakfast items in one area of the pantry or creating a place for backpacks, purses, gym bags, etc so that in the morning you’re not running around looking for things but instead everything is in one place.
- Put systems in place
Create routines and systems…I can’t stress this one enough. Without routines and systems you’ll waste a lot of time figuring out what needs to be done instead of just getting things done. I have a closet in my house where I keep cleaning supplies and hanging up in the closet are my cleaning to do lists. When it’s time to clean I don’t spend time figuring out what needs to be cleaned, I just go to the list and jump right in. So if I had 30 minutes to clean I could spend 30 minutes cleaning instead of 15 minutes figuring out what needs to be cleaned and 15 minutes cleaning. Just like with your physical space, don’t try and create a system for everything right away…pick one disorganized area/time and create a system…then move on to the next!
- Spend 15 minutes at the end of the day picking up.
Even just 15 minutes a day will make a BIG difference! If you work out of the home spend 15 minutes at the end of the work day picking up in your office…tomorrow morning will be more productive because of it! At your house spend 15 minutes picking up around the house at the end of the day…life will always feel more organized when you’re able to find things!
What is your best organization tip? What organization questions do you have? Do you have a specific area of the house or your routine you want some organization tips for…comment with them below and I’ll share my ideas!
16 Comments
Kirsten
I love all your tips, especially the 15 minute clean up at the end of the day. I definitely need to implement that one startin today! Pinning this!
Denea Duran
Great tips! I cannot live without my planner. It’s not the same with having your list of todo in your phone. Call me old fashion!
Jeanine
Since my blog have kind of taken off I’ve been a slacker when it comes to organization. These tips are super helpful!
Debra
I love the idea of a daily task sheet! So clever!
Natalie Patalie
I love all of these! I really need to get more organized @_@
Cathy @ Our Mini Family
You are so right with spending time at the end of the day cleaning up–I started doing that when my husband and I first moved in together. I remember at first we’d go to bed with a sink filled with dishes, and then I would wake up and immediately have anxiety; cleaning some dishes before bed together has totally helped a lot! Great tips 🙂
Stacey
So many great ideas! You definitely have come by your organization naturally. I have had to learn and re-learn so many routines to help me keep on top of it all. I have found that the end of the day routines are so important for setting up a successful tomorrow. thanks!
Stacey
Organization definitely seems to come by you naturally. It has been along hard learned process for me. You are right about the end of day clean up – this is needed in order to be prepared for a successful tomorrow. Thanks for all of the tips!
Tiarra Chambliss
These are awesome tips! Especially love the idea of picking up of the end of everyday because I tend to be on the messier side, and it drives me nuts!
Bonnie @ Living a Fit and Full Life
I’m always trying to get organized. It seems like it will never happen with 4 kids but I still try. This will help! Thanks!
Shelley Mc.
Thank you for sharing these great tips. I’m working on becoming more organized and although I have a planner and daily tasks sheet, I stumble on the follow through.
I especially love your tip for the 15 min clean up, at the end of the day.
Theresa @DearCreatives
I need to get reorganized I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to keep up. I’m going to take a day and clean up then use the end of day pick up idea. Thanks for the tips!
jmdenouden@gmail.com
Happy to share! I love spending a little bit of time at the end of the day picking up to help keep the rest of the day organized!
Karissa
These are all great tips! I love learning about organization tips!
Edith Rodriguez
Great tips! I need to practice being organized again like during my college day. I like the idea of a colored planner. I always just keep lists around, but I need to extend the organization. Thanks for sharing!
Jerusha (TheDisneyChef.com)
I love these ideas and they may seem so common sense, but do you know how long I operated with no editorial calendar?! How insane is that?! Thank you for sharing your post on Fast Pass Friday and I hope you will add more links this week as well! – Jerusha, TheDisneyChef.com