Summer is winding down and hopefully, with our help, you were able to spend your summer getting organized with our summer organization series. After your takeover, you’re probably feeling productive and proud of yourself, as you should be! It’s important not to throw all of your progress by the wayside and keep it up!
To help you, here are five tips you can follow to help you keep up with the organization in your home.
1. Set aside some time. One thing that helps me keep my home organized is setting aside time each week to regroup and reorganize. I wait until the end of the weekend and go through each room, making sure that everything is picked up, organized, and ready to go for the week ahead. It’s important to be realistic about your calendar. Plan your weekdays and weekends accordingly to make sure you can fit in cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry and organization. Consider whether it is more sensible to take on one task per day or “get in the zone” and tackle it all in one day.
2. Make a list. Many people waste time running errands because they didn’t plan ahead. To save time keep a list in a handy place, such as the refrigerator on on your iPhone to keep track of what errands you need to run and items you need to pick up throughout the week. Also, keep a note pad next to your bed. It is always just as we are getting ready for bed, or in bed that we remember something we have to do tomorrow. Don’t want to loose sleep over it, just write it down and add it to you list in the morning.
3. Assign tasks and make a chore calendar: An efficient and organized household is a collaborative effort, and everyone should understand the importance of teamwork. Get everyone in the household on the organizing bandwagon by explaining the importance and time-saving benefits of organization. Begin each week by assigning cleaning and organization tasks to each person in the house. Remember to keep the chores manageable for children who have other obligations such as school work and extra curricular activities. To keep children motivated and on task, keep a chore chart or calendar in your home. Check out My Chore Chart, which helps organize tasks and reward systems, or this great calendar template from The Project Girl (theprojectgirl.com) which allows you to have a full view of the week so that you know what’s coming up. If you have helpers, such as a spouse or children, add rows for each person.
4. Use an organization app. Apps allow us to have everything we need at our fingertips, no matter where we are. So, take your home organization up a notch by using one of the many available apps to stay organized. Some of our favorite apps for the whole family include Chore Hero, which makes it easy to divvy up the work load, and Home Routines, which lets you break your chores into time of day and view your accomplishments at a glance.
5. Remember to put things away. It’s so important to get in the habit of putting things back where they belong. You’ve carefully selected a home for every item, so put it back! Have a nightly routine in place that includes cleaning up after dinner, picking up the living room before bed and setting out your clothes for the next day.
Follow the steps above to keep your organization going, and don’t forget to reward yourself along the way for keeping it up!
Do you have any tips that have been helpful in keeping your home organized?