Can you believe it is 2018? I know. I know. Where does the time go? This year instead of making resolutions that I won’t keep. I decided to make a Vision Board and Create an Action Plan. My Vision Board has goals for the year, starting with easily obtainable ones first. My Action Plan is ways I plan to reach the goals. One thing I need to do this year is become more organized. While it might sound difficult, I have discovered a 10-day plan to make organization easier. Want to join me in organizing your life? Here’s How To Organize Your Life in 10 Short Days.
Organize Your Life In 10 Days
I’m a big believer in baby steps. I find I get so much more done if I divide tasks into increments rather than rushing in and tackling a massive project. These ten steps will be a simple way to clear the clutter, cut the junk, and start fresh in 2018.
Day 1: Make a Family Notebook: Create a notebook for each member of the family. Place a divider for each school or organization that your children are involved in, one for your activities, and one for your partner’s activities. This is a great place to store those phone lists, schedules and rosters for all those activities! Use the back pocket of each family member’s divider to keep invitations or flyers for upcoming events. Use the front pocket for school directories, work events, or whatever you need. Keep the notebook in an a spot where you won’t forget it. Then let your family knows where this important “resource” is kept.
Day 2: Create a Calendar: Keep a calendar or planner with your family’s updated schedule. (Make sure your children know where it is too, so they can check it before making plans.) I keep a paper calendar in my office and use a free online version from WhichTime.Com. I can pull it up on my phone when needed to automatically when I need to schedule a date.
Day 3: Pare Down the Paper. Kids bring home lots of paper from school and of course, those pesky bills and other junk come in the mail. When mail or school papers arrive use the “Do It, Dump It, or Delegate It” rule to avoid piles. I place the bills in a cute metal bin so I can at least get a little satisfaction from looking at them, junk mail goes in the shredder, and school dates go onto the calendar.
Day 4: Get rid of E-Junk: How do I get so many annoying junk emails? Here’s a simple solution: Unsubscribe from annoying junk on your personal email. Then, get a free g-mail or yahoo mail account and use this one exclusively for giving out to stores, etc. You’ll only need to check this e-mail for purchase confirmations or an e-coupon they may send.
Day 5: No More Paper Mail Mess: And if you want to get rid of all the junk that comes to your home mailbox (no more shredding!), you can declutter and go green. Use the following services to
– Stop junk mail (free): http://www.DMAchoice.org
– Stop credit card offers (free): http://www.OptOutPrescreen.com
– Stop catalogs (free): http://www.CatalogChoice.org
Also, consider paying bills electronically. This choice can save money too as many companies charge a fee for mailing bills.
Day 6: Special Forms: Make a file for all your child’s (and your!) important papers. If your child has to have a physical, schedule it around their birthday instead of rushing to make an appointment right before forms are due for camp or school. Other good papers to include are Social Security Numbers, Birth Certificates, Vaccination Records, and a list of any important medical information. For adults, add copies of things like insurance, wills, and deeds.
Day 7: Plan ahead For Upcoming Events and Holidays: At the beginning of the month check the calendar for birthdays, anniversaries or other events when you might need to buy a gift. Also, another strategy I use if buying in advance. When I see something on sale I know someone would like, I purchase it and place it on the “gift shelf” in my closet.
Day 8: Great Ideas Files: This is a great resource for bloggers or crafters. Start idea files, and whenever you see a great idea…to the file it goes! Then when you’re ready to start a project you’ll have an instant resource. Here’s some of the files I use for blogging: Holidays, Recipes, DIY, and Crafts. I also keep a personal file for gardening projects.
Day 9: Create an Art Display: We all know how many crafts and art our kids generate. Here’s a good way to let the kids know you appreciate their work while controlling clutter. Look for inexpensive frames on sale at craft stores or thrift stores and use them to frame your child’s artwork. Create a “photo gallery” using your child’s artwork for the hall, foyer, or wherever. Rotate the artwork with new pieces.
Day 10: Clean It Out: Make a plan to tackle one room, closet or bookshelf each month or, if you have more time, each week. Make fours piles: toss, recycle, donate, and sell. Use the tip “if you haven’t used it or worn it in the past year, let it go. Get the entire family involved. If you are able, use the money for a family vacation. It’s a great incentive to get rid of clutter. If you are looking for places to sell, try Ebay, Craigslist, consignment shops, or your local used bookstore. If you are brave, consider a garage sale. Just want to get rid of it? Donate it to your favorite charity or to Freecycle.
Let’s make 2018 a great, clutter free year! Who’s with me on learning how to organize your life in 10 short days?
Such a great post. Getting better at organizing is on my everyday to-do. No more excuses for me!
We just started going through our junk drawers the other day…. YUCk so much stuff
10 days is very doable! I find that if I tackle things one at a time it isn’t as overwhelming. First stop…papers on the kitchen desk!
Babushka’s an empty nester, but some of those tips are excelente for Sweetie and BB. We definitely have a lifetime of junk to throw away!! BB2U
One of my goals this year is to getting more organized and purge, purge. Your tips offers so many useful ideas. I can’t wait to start
These are helpful tips. I am doing one room at a time, starting at my office this month. Maybe one room a month would be a great goal for me.
Great tips for getting organized. We are trying to go paperless, at least as far as it is possible and hope to reduce the clutter.
I need to get a planner. I used to love getting one but my issue is consistency. The eagerness dies down right around March. This year I promise myself I will do better. Efficiency is earned when everything is organized!
I am off work this weekend and I am cleaning my house out from top to bottom and I can’t wait o be rid of all the clutter!!
This sounds awesome! Such a great start in organizing your life this year!
I really like seeing things like this. Helping people get organized is an incredible opportunity.
I need to do this, I love the idea of cleaning things out. Sometimes getting organized can feel so impossible because of a mess or too much stuff. I agree that having a calendar is so important, I have one on my phone as well as a old school paper one. I use them both all the time and it is my key to sanity and getting everyone where they need to be.
This is exactly what I need to do right now. I will have to get the supplies I need to follow your tips for getting more organized.
I love this! Since I’m working from home, it is very important to schedule and organize my days or else I’d be lazing around not getting things done lol. Great tips!
I got myself a planner for Christmas, I have a goal on how to use it and I’m a bit excited. I’ve always worked from lists and a calendar that sync to my phone but I wanted to try something different.
It’s nice to have everything in order! I always make sure that I get the mail sorted out so we won’t have extra papers around the house. These tips are super helpful! I could use them!
I love keeping a notebook or a planner to make sure that I have everything important written down. It also allows me to schedule my week. I think these are brilliant tips!
I think you have some great tips here. I cannot live without my planner! It’s a lifesaver!
I love the idea of being able to organize my life in 10 short days. Your tips are super helpful and simple. I am going to give this a try!
I should do this now. I have so much junk email it makes it difficult to find the important ones! I don’t have small kids anymore so that’s a bonus with handling junk paper.
Great tips. But I fear that 10 days may not be near enough time to get my life organized. lol I have the planner and calendar done though.
I like the idea of getting organized. Especially for the new year. Removing e-junk is a great idea, thanks for the reminder. I’m going to do that now.
It’s the perfect time of the year to get organized. I’ve been cleaning up my email and unsubscribing to many companies, organizations, etc. It feels so good to be free.
I love this so much! I try to keep my life organized, but it is still mostly a total disaster. LOL
We have family meeting every Sunday to go over everyone schedule for the week. My daughter has a place where her kids art work is hung from school for a month only. Like all your ideas.
I need to organize my life better! I’m working on getting a planner. Right now I tend to write reminders on my palm. Thank you for these tips!