Life can be so hectic these days, so hectic that everything feels
messy and it’s like everything’s happening all at once. But that’s just not the
case.
It’s
time we all admit that we need help in organizing our lives. It’s going to be a
chore to do all this, but staying organized makes life easier in the long run.
Just think about how easy it’ll be to find stuff you need and avoid last minute
hassles. Here are few tips that’ll show you how to organize your life at home,
work and everything in between.
1. Write Everything
Down And Don’t Rely On Your Memory
We can all agree most of us have a tough
time remembering things. If you want to remember things, put it in writing, or
in a digital notebook like Evernote or Google keep
Keeping your
to-do, lists and other information written somewhere allows you to look back at
it anytime, even when you’ve hit your head and forgotten your own name.
2. Make Back-Ups of
Everything
Back up your computer files and have
duplicates made for your car and home keys. Scan your IDs, passports and bank
details, too then put it all in a secured folder in your computer. Keep the
original and photocopies of your financial records, birth certificates, land
titles and insurance in one folder, preferably tucked away in a safe.
3. Practice Mise En Place (Putting In Place)
Chefs are extremely organized people, in
and out of the kitchen. Their secret? They have a place for everything. They
sort out their clothes, wrapping paper, crafts, cleaning materials, basically
everything, and keep them in labeled containers or closets at home. In the
kitchen, they’re trained to organize their work space well so that their every
moved is conserved and they know exactly where all the ingredients are.
Doing this will take time, but after a
while you’ll see how easy it is to find what you need when everything in your
place has a home.
4. Scan and Back-up Your Photos
Worried about losing the last copy of your
childhood photos? Tired of all the bulky picture books in your coffee table?
Have the pictures scanned to save space and make sure you don’t lose these
precious memories. You can even have them scanned at a local printing shop.
5. Clean Up Regularly
The best way to remain organized is to
allot certain hours of day the decluttering and cleaning up. It doesn’t have to
be a large chunk of time either, as 15 to 30 minutes a day is enough.
6. Keep The Hotspots Clean
Every house and office has a hotspot for
clutter. Usual suspects are the sink, dining table, cubicle, night stand, and
bedroom drawers. Take note of these places and tidy them up daily.
7. Get a Money Management App
One downside of being unorganized is
overspending your money and relying on credit cards until pay day.
You can easily avoid this by getting a
money management app like Quicken or Mint.
Use these apps to record your monthly bills
and document your spending. This way, you can get reminders sent to you
before your bill is due so you can deposit money to your account. You can also
see how much money you’ve already spent so you’ll know exactly where your money
goes and how you can cut back.
8. Recycle And Donate to charity
Is your closet full of unopened bags and
clothes that still have their tags on? Is your book shelf full of unread books?
Chances are if you haven’t read, worn, or
used whatever it is, then you’re probably not going to use it at all. Donate
them to a charity or sell them on ebay.
9. Donate or Throw One Thing Before
Buying Something
Try this experiment: before buying one
thing, throw out something old or something you don’t use. Or, if you’re a
really terrible pack rat, just throw out 1 old thing a day until you can’t find
any more items to throw. Do that for a month and I guarantee you’ll have less
clutter in your life.
10. Check The Expiration Dates Of
Canned Goods And Medicine You’ve Stocked
Expired food, spices, and medicines won’t
just taste bad, it’s also bad for your health. Dispose of it immediately to
minimize the clutter in your cabinets, and make room for new supplies.
11. Create A Centralized Family or
Work Information Center
To keep up with schedules and tasks, you
need to coordinate with your family and co-workers.
Use a synchronized calendar app, where
every member of your team or family can enter new updates, schedules and tasks
that every member can see. Doing this avoids conflicting schedules and keeps
everyone informed of each other’s activities and whereabouts. You can also do
this using big whiteboards.
12. Create A List Of Your Passwords
In A Safe App Or Offline File
Passwords are very important in keeping
your privacy and security. Unfortunately, using the same password for
everything is bad, while having a lot of different passwords is secure but
difficult to remember.
Centralize your passwords and sensitive
data using an app that allows you to create one password to secure all your
other passwords, like LastPass.
13. Unsubscribe From Unread Email
Newsletters, Magazines And Other Subscriptions
If you subscribe to a number of
newsletters, blogs and other online publications, but haven’t read a single
email from them in 3 months, just unsubscribe. You probably won’t read any of
their content, anyway. While you’re at it, unsubscribe from unread magazines,
catalogues and junk mail. It’s just a waste of money and space, especially if
you don’t read them.
14. Create An Inventory And Don’t
Over Stock Supplies
Make an inventory of home cleaning and
toiletry supplies, so you don’t run out and don’t overstock either. You might
think overstocking is good, but if you don’t have enough storage then all those
extra supplies are just wasting your precious space.
The same tip is applicable for office
supplies, canned goods and toiletries.
15. Create Daily, Weekly And Monthly
Schedules for Cleaning
Organize your cleaning schedule. It’s
extremely exhausting to have a “cleaning day” where you clean everything all at
once. Distribute tasks evenly, so for example, dish washing could be done daily;
while vacuuming could be scheduled weekly and cleaning the windows done
monthly.
16. Create a Weekend Bucket List
Keep a list of activities that you want to
do, so you can consult this list on boring weekends instead of wasting your
time figuring out what to do—or just giving up and watching reruns at home.
Whichever of these tasks you decide to do,
remember that you can’t completely organize your life in one go. It’s a long,
never-ending process so be patient. Just decide to get organized now then take
baby steps until you see some semblance of order in your life. Soon enough, you
will be making a habit out of it all.
