Organization Tips

This post is #22 in my September Writing Project. Details are here.

Prompt: Share how you stay organized.

Although my husband might disagree, I think I’m pretty organized. He would tell you that I lose my cell phone at least once a day and he’s not wrong about that. I don’t think that’s an organization issue though. And since I got an Apple Watch and I can “ding” my phone to find out where it is, I see no reason to waste brain power remembering where I set it down.

I don’t know that any of my organization tricks are revolutionary; in fact, I’m sure they’re not. But this is what works to help us survive one week to the next.

Have a Plan for Paper

It doesn’t have to be permanent, but figure out a system that works for you where paper is concerned. The main sources of paper in our house are schoolwork and mail.

We do the best we can with the mail. When someone brings it in each day, we automatically sort it into piles by recipient and then that person is responsible for dealing with it. I try to pull out mail that can be recycled as quickly as possible, just to clear it out of the way. Things that require action in the near future are moved to a small organizer in the corner of the kitchen. Reference papers that we need to keep go down to the filing cabinet in the basement.

My solution for schoolwork is file folders. The kiddos each have their own file folder for each school year—even the Dude, who isn’t yet in school! He does plenty of art projects though and those count. Whenever something comes home from school or the library’s art time, I mark down the date on the back of the page and file it away. We have a standup file organizer in a back corner of a hidden counter and the folders live there.

I have to go through it a few times a year to clear out the stuff that we don’t need to save, but it’s so helpful to have one spot for it all to land. When the school year is over, I move the folders to the cabinet in the basement and replace them with new folders for the upcoming school year.

We also have items that need to be shredded. I toss these in a basket in the hall closet. Every few months, I pull the shredder out of that same closet, plug it in, and let the kids go to town (under adult supervision of course).

Streamline the Morning Routine

We try to eliminate as many decisions as possible in the morning when everyone is trying to get out the door. Before bed at night, we gather up Bean’s clothes for school the next day. She goes to a private school and having a uniform makes this pretty simple, but she still needs to choose her unders, shorts (to wear under her jumper) and socks. She picks those and puts them on a shelf in her room. In the morning, it’s easy for her to get ready on her own.

We moved her favorite breakfast foods to a shelf she could reach in the pantry so she can get herself something to eat if I’m still upstairs getting dressed, and we pour her a cup of milk the night before as well, leaving it on the lowest shelf in the fridge. Aside from needing help brushing her hair in the morning (because it’s all the way down her back and also, 5-year-olds just don’t really care about being thorough), she manages herself. She brushes her teeth, washes her face, and knows to put her snack and water bottle in her backpack.

I need to be better about streamlining my own morning responsibilities. On a good night, I’ll get my food ready for the next day, pack up my work bag, and choose an outfit. Sometimes I’ll even curl my hair at night and spray the heck out of it so in the morning it just needs a little fluff.

Sunday Night Finance Committee Meetings

I’ve written about these before but the SNFC keeps T and I on the same page. We cover much more than finances, but that’s usually where we begin. It’s a huge help starting the week like this though.

Eliminate Some Stuff

I mentioned this here, but if something isn’t useful or you don’t love it, ask yourself if it’s something you really need to have. Everything we own requires an investment of time in some way or another. Is it worth your time?

Skip the Junk Drawer

This might be a controversial opinion, but I don’t like the junk drawer. Like attracts like and junk attracts junk. If you need a drawer for random stuff that doesn’t belong anywhere else that’s fine, but give it a different name. If you change name to the “screwdriver, scissors and bottle cap drawer” you’re less likely to put an iPad charger in there and forget it for six months.

Do you have any tips?

I’m always looking for ways to streamline our processes and make things run more smoothly.