So – you’re sorted!. You’ve decluttered and organised things so that your home is supporting how you live, and your life is as easy as it can be.
The question that I get asked a lot from readers at this stage is – “How can you keep it that way – How can you stay organised for life?”
After all – it’s taken a long time to get to this point.
Organising is not a quick fix by any means, and the last thing you want is to let it all slide back to the old way you had it and have to start again from scratch.
So – what’s the trick?
I wanted to look today at the 9 things that you need to incorporate in your life in order to stay as organised as possible each and every day – for the long term.
Some of these are really quick fixes and habits that won’t take long to incorporate, and others are more lengthy tasks – but together they will ensure that you stay as organised as possible – whatever life throws your way.
So – let’s get going, shall we?
#1 – Put Things Away – In The Right Place!
The very first part of organising your home is to create a place for everything.
Creating a home plan will ensure that you use every inch of the space you have (whether small or large) to it’s maximum – and there should be nothing in your home after decluttering and moving things into their rightful places that doesn’t have a home.
At this stage, the upkeep you need to make sure you stay organised and on top of things is quite simple – to always put things away where they belong once you have finished using them.
It may take a little effort to make this a habit, but once you have, it will be second nature and save so much time in the long run!
Getting into this habit (and making sure the rest of your family does the same) should ensure that your home stays tidy for the majority of the time – which leads me nicely onto the next tip…
#2 – Create A 10 Minute Tidy Up
I am a HUGE advocate of this simple trick as a way to ensure things stay as tidy as possible in your home and things don’t start to mount up (who wants piles of stuff everywhere again….?).
All you need to do pick some point in your evening and set a timer (oven timer works well!) for 10 minutes. Then, get everyone in the house to race around tidying as much as they can until the timer goes off.
This will have the effect of re-setting your home so that you can walk downstairs the next morning safe in the knowledge that you have a sort of clean slate and you can tackle the day without trying to catch up from yesterday.
#3 – Clean As You Go
Another major time saver, and a way to stay on top of things is to clean as you go.
By this, I mean to always be looking for ways to make your actual cleaning jobs a part of your daily routines.
Some things I love to do are as follows: –
- Use a squeegee in the shower so that water marks are a thing of the past
- Wipe down the bathroom surfaces after you use each morning and evening
- Wipe down the kitchen surfaces each day
- Make your bed
- Tackle a quick cleaning job in any pockets of time you have (waiting for the kettle to boil, you can clean the sink, for example)
Whatever you can do during your usual day will reap rewards for you week in, week out. Your home will always be pretty clean, and you will barely notice that you are doing half of these jobs because they will become ingrained habits – so you will feel like cleaning is a much easier task!
{ Worth A Read – Simple Habits Of People Who Always Have A Clean Home }
#4 – Plan Your Day
Vital to staying organised, planning your day the night before will ensure that you can get as much done as you need to, and give you time to ensure you are ready to get going as soon as you wake up.
If you know what you are doing the next day with time to spare, then you have time to ensure the day will be as productive as possible, and that there won’t be any nasty surprises along the way.
For example: –
- Checking your diary will ensure you know where you need to be and when, so you can plan the day effectively (and see if you have double booked while there’s still time to sort it out)
- You will know what you need in terms of clothes and other items – so you can get these out and ensure they are ready for when you need them which will stop any mad rushing and stresses in the morning.
- You can add in some of your TO DOs from your TO DO list into any time you have spare – so you will be able to progress with projects you have to do, and get more out of the day.
- You can identify where you need to be spending more or less time – maybe you are neglecting one area – as this will become more apparent because you are being proactive rather than reactive to your time.
- You know where you will be at any given time, so you can schedule in errands that need to be done in those areas which will save you time and extra unnecessary journeys later.
#5 – Plan Your Week
Going one step further than just planning your day the night before, you can do an overview of the week ahead at the start of each week. This will ensure that: –
- Any cards / presents are posted in plenty of time for events and Birthdays
- Meals are planned ahead of time, and shopping can also be planned accordingly
- You have an overview of the week ahead, and can see whether things have been planned OK, and whether you need to do anything for any of the upcoming events.
{ Worth A Read – 6 THINGS TO DO EVERY SUNDAY TO BE PREPARED FOR THE WEEK AHEAD }
#6 – Plan Ahead
Going one step further – having an overview of the next few months, even the year ahead, will keep you on track.
You can: –
- Schedule in holidays and time off work so you have a balanced year as much as possible – with things to look forward to (having a year plan in your diary can help you see at a glance the bigger picture)
- Keep on track with birthdays and Christmas present shopping, or events that you need to get items for
- Tackle bigger projects around the house and plan them more easily
- Stay on track with your own goals for the year ahead and what you want to achieve. It’s all too easy to let this slide with the day to day stuff, and so this really will help you feel more organised in your own life.
#7 – Stay Balanced
There is something to be said for not only being organised, but creating a life that you feel is balanced and one that helps you maintain all the different areas that need to have some time spent on them.
As such, ensuring that you have as balanced a life as possible will help you feel satisfied with how you are living, and you will be able to achieve more as a result.
I wrote a post a while ago on S.M.I.L.E – my acronym for a balanced life, and this stands for: –
- SOCIAL – phone calls, meeting people, date night etc…
- MANAGING THE HOME – housework, finances, home maintenance, paperwork etc…
- INCOME – work, saving money with budgeting, extra ways to earn income etc…
- LEISURE – me time, hobbies, learning etc…
- ENERGY – fitness, eating well, health etc…
These areas of life, if covered by you each week (preferably each day!) will help you feel more organised over the longer term, and more fulfilled – which can only be a good thing!
#8 – Get Everyone Involved
It’s all very well and good getting yourself and your home organised, but what about everyone else in your family?
If it’s only you that’s trying to stay organised, then other members of the family may well disrupt your efforts – so you need to ensure they are as on board with things as possible.
Hopefully when you have been organising things they will have been involved, or they will have seen the results of your efforts and become involved during the process – but the key is to ensure that they at least know where things go and hopefully help you in the 10 minute tidy up each day. These two things alone will help you to stay organised for the long term.
#9 – Always Review Things
It is CRUCIAL to review how things are going at regular intervals each year so you can stay organised – and specifically when life changes happen.
Life isn’t constant, and things do happen as we go through our lives to change what we need from our homes and our schedules etc…
Whether you are having a baby, starting a new business, working from home, retiring, moving house – there are loads of ways that life can get in the way of our once organised status quo.
If you get into the habit of regularly working out what’s working and what isn’t, then you will stay on top of things much more easily as a result.
Ideally, get the family/your partner etc… to join in with these reviews – you can make them a quick discussion over tea one night as that’s easy to fit in. Make sure that everyone is happy with how things are going, that everyone is aware of any changes etc…
Get into the habit of reviewing, and you can alter your organising systems to suit so that they don’t stop being as effective as possible.
So – there you have it!
9 ways that you can incorporate into your life that will help you stay on track for the long term – some easier than others, but all very effective and much needed.
What Can You Do Right Now To Help Stay Organised?
What I would suggest you do is to schedule each of them into your diary right now – so you make them a part of your life as quickly as possible – then, as you get used to doing them they will become habits and most will be done without really thinking after a while.
P.S – another way to stay organised is to create lots of good habits in your day – so why not check out my most popular post – 52 Habits to Change Your Life – I hope it helps!
