Staying organized while caring for a family can be a daunting task. Balancing your family’s schedule as well as your own requires organization.
The following are some tips of things you can do on a monthly basis in order to stay organized:
Keep a monthly calendar.
A monthly calendar will be a lifesaver for a busy family. Get a large dry erase calendar you can post on the fridge or a common area for all to see. Make a point of updating it every month and staying current with what activities are going on with everyone in the family.
You may also want to keep your own personal calendar to help you better organize your own time and functions.
Sort through drawers and cabinets.
Once a month, make it a point to go through drawers and cabinets in your house and discard any clutter, old receipts and coupons, and other items. You don’t have to spend one day a month doing all this; instead, try and tackle one area at a time. For example, spend one day a week going through all the drawers in the kitchen. Next week, organize the desk drawers in the office, and so forth.
Take an honest inventory of things as you are cleaning them out. If you haven’t used it within a month, or if it has reached an expiration date, throw it out.
If you are finding yourself coming across a lot of knickknacks that tend to accumulate in drawers, like pencils or other random items, consider having a drawer of just clutter.
Organize seasonal things each month.
Once a month, set aside a time to do seasonal chores. For example, take down Halloween decorations on the first of November. Or, spend a day in the fall to make an appointment to have your heating and chimney inspected for the coming winter months. Make lists of things that need to be done each month around the house, and then set aside time to do them.
Clean out the pantry and fridge.
Once a month, you should go through your pantry and throw out anything that is expired, stale, or otherwise won’t be used. This will help to free up space and eliminate clutter. Because things tend to get out of place in the pantry, it would also be a good time to organize your pantry as well. Put like items together – for example, canned goods in one spot, baking goods in another, spices in another, for easy access.
In addition, you should also thoroughly clean out your fridge once a month, paying particular attention to the things that get shoved to the back. This will help you keep things from rotting in the fridge. It can also help you know what things you need to buy less of.
Donate to charity.
In order to help eliminate clutter, once a month go through clothes and toys that aren’t often used. If you can do without them or if you know they won’t be used again, donate them to a charity organization in your area or the local salvation army, hospitals, or women’s shelters. This is also a great way to teach your kids about helping others.
Staying organized doesn’t have to be difficult. These few tips that can be done each month are simple enough to do and everyone in the family can help. In addition, they make a big difference when it comes to staying organized.
Parenting viewpoints from parents in the trenches, because parenting doesn’t come with a manual. In addition to