February is all about getting organised, and we are here for it!
In January we focus on getting back into the groove of life, following the long summer holidays – and trying to stick to their aspirational resolutions for the year ahead. Which is why we take things easy on ourselves in January, and when February rolls around we move into organisational mode.
I do realise I’m in the minority here, and while Marie Kondo has helped most of the population get onboard with my aspirational organisational goals, I’m not sure everyone finds it as relaxing or as therapeutic as I do.
Which is fine. I get it. Life is wild enough as it is. Why bother then with that junk drawer, an overstuffed wardrobe, or a plethora of unread messages when there are appointments to make, schedules to keep, and dinners to make.
With a small, but busy and growing business, trying to be active and present in the lives of my two little ones, as well as socialising with friends and family and throwing a few sporting and exercise commitments – well, things can get a little busy at times.
A frequent question that pops up is “Where do you find the time”?…
…and quite simply – I don’t.
There are simply not enough hours in the days. Goodness knows I have tried. While I just want to be clear that I’m not someone who has their life perfectly together twenty four seven, I do, however, pride myself on being organised and being able to turn a pile of clothes or a stack of loose papers into an orderly work of art.
This month on the blog we’re turning our focus to all things organisation. Whether that includes the best ways to design clever storage solutions for your home, or how we organise our pantry, we’re going to deep dive into all our favourite ways on getting organised.
For now, I’ll leave you with my favourite pieces of advice for getting (and staying) organised.
Keep It Tidy (Visual Organisation)
Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact that my house looks tidy pretty much all the time. It’s not that sofas cushions don’t get turned into mermaid islands. It’s more that the mermaid islands get turned back into sofas once the game is over.
Those times the cushions are on the sofas.
It starts with the simplicity of making the bed as soon as I get up in the morning, to putting aside a small amount of time each evening to tackle a small piece of home organisation.
This short 30 – 45 minute window (typically multi tasked during the post dinner bedtime routine) is to make sure I work through small tasks to stay on top of the bigger picture, and I definitely tidy up and pack away my desk at the end of each day. Do I also give it a wipe down, yes I do, but each to their own.
As a person I know that if my house isn’t tidy (if I can see the chaos) I personally feel chaotic and out of control. I struggle to focus or concentrate on anything else, other than bringing order to the chaos. Remember that study procrastination of suddenly having to tidy your room before starting? It still applies to life (and work). The more organised and tidy my surroundings are, the more productive I am at work.
Give Everything A Place
On the back of this, and possibly the most important step for anyone looking to organise their life, is that everything in my house needs to have a place (everything!). I’ve spent some serious time planning (for myself and others) how and where to store everything in the house, and then working through each room going and considering the best options for storing everything. Particularly challenging in kids rooms and playrooms!
All the pottery that comes home.
If you come to my house and ask for a phone charger. No problem, they’re all over there. Sunscreen. Yep, in this drawer. Wipes for the kids. Right here. Kids PJs in those drawers, socks in this one, sports clothes over here. You name it, I’ve worked through it. To be clear, this doesn’t need to include glamorous storage containers (of course it can, if you want to and are happy to spend the money on it), but at times like this Mambos is your best friend!
If you’re not the kind of person that enjoys organising, then the key is to break your big goals down into much smaller ones, and only to focus one thing at a time. The junk drawer today, the Tupperware drawer tomorrow. Forget about everything else on the list and focus on the one task you’ve chosen. You’ll get to the rest another time. It not only makes you feel like “I got this”, but it supremely satisfying to be able to tick something off my list!
Creating Your Schedule
You can be the most organised person in the world and still forget things during your day. To overcome this it helps to create a daily schedule that allows for similar tasks to happen at similar times during the week. Sounds simple right? It is! But it is also amazing how many people don’t do this (and don’t stick to it!). It doesn’t mean that every day has to be the same, but its as simple as knowing which day of the week your rubbish is collected.
A family calendar is also a no brainer, and I don’t know how anyone functions without this transparency. In a busy household, the schedule needs to include everyone. Adding playdate arrangements and school pickup times to everyone’s calendar is an essential part of your organisation. Our family calendar is digital, but a calendar taped to the fridge (or somewhere very visible) can function just as well – especially if your kids are able to read it too.
I am a devotee to an actual diary when sitting on my desk for my personal organisation, but these days it can take a lot more to stay on top of all parties involved.
In addition to that, using reminders throughout the day to prompt activities is another great way to stay on track with your time. This is also great for time keeping. Adding in travel time to meetings and appointments, school pick ups, plus 10- minutes “get ready reminders” to help get you out the door, are all ways to keep your organisation on track.
Notes and so.many.lists keep me on track with multiple projects (and life in general).
Plan and Plan Some More
It used to be that when I needed to clear my head or work through life frustrations, I would go on a cleaning frenzy. And while I LOVE the results of a beautiful clean house, my new method of forward planning is far more beneficial (and far less pointless than cleaning an already clean house).
We do this for all our work projects, and to be honest I treat the organisation of my home like one big project too. I take the time to plan out what grocery and household supplies are needed, and also snag list any maintenance issues, as well as plan kids schedule and events, like upcoming parties and gifts that need to be bought. And of course action as much of it as I can, or plan the doing. Don’t forget to leave some time for the doing!
My meal planning skills are, however, at an all time low, and this is something I am really working on bringing back.
With a schedule in place, my next focus is prioritising tasks – business and personal – and attending to them only during designated times. If there is one things I’ve learnt, is that responding to emails is taking care of someone else’s to do list! The same applies to responding to WhatsApp messages. When I sit down to work, I switch off all distractions and focus only on the work at hand. This has been one of the biggest game changers in my productivity. It keeps me focussed on a specific project or task, so that I don’t accidentally get sidetracked on taking care of something else and then forget all about what I was just doing.
And remember, as soon as you arrange something, add it to the calendar immediately!
When it comes to planning kitchens, we even like to measure glasses and heights, to make sure we can maximise layout and shelf organisation.
Delegate Like A Boss
Definitely not where I am thriving in life, but I am working hard on this. Isn’t often much easier (quicker) to just do something yourself? But this is where you can easily overload your own time. At home delegating certain household tasks to your partner and /or kids is a must, regardless of your home setup. It not only eases the burden on you, but gives everyone in the house an awareness of how much goes in to keeping things running smoothly.
It took some time for my control freak tendencies to hand over the reigns, but my housekeeper has become an absolute godsend in keeping on top of my tidy ways. I know all too well how lucky I am to have someone like her in my life focussing on those specific tasks for me.
My work delegation skills are still a work in progress!!
A small section of our kitchen island has open shelving, for easy access to often used items – but also ones that I can keep tidy.
Saying No
Learning to value your own time is a very important step in staying on top of life. I’m slowly learning to reduce the scheduling in my calendar, and especially to say No. .
This applies to projects that don’t align with our business values, social engagements that are going to drain me instead of filling me up and basic life admin that I should be delegating (or have, but still can’t help myself). I’m definitely guilty of trying to pack too much into one week, so just saying no is an important organisational tool.
Self-Care
In addition to being organised at home, there are a few life lessons that I’ve also learned are essential to me functioning at my best and keeping on top of being organised. Self care, is top of that list, and for me that includes getting at least 7.5 – 8 hours of solid sleep a night. Any less than that and I feel like I am running on empty.
Exercise is another important self-care routing for me. Again, I am one of those weird people that just loves exercising. I have to start my day off with a workout. Getting a sweat on and the heart rate up is not only extremely cathartic to me, but it also doubles as “me time’ and meditation time. Time in my head to sort through any problems or to set goals, and clearing it for the day.
While morning exercise is not for everyone, figuring out your perfect morning routine is such a great way to set yourself up for the day ahead. I know it’s really difficult to set that alarm clock extra early to squeeze it in, but it is so worth it.
Shoo, that was a lot!, and pretty much everything I could think of. I’m sure we do a lot of similar things, but reinforcement is good for keeping us on track.
What about you guys? Any other tips on how you manage your busy lives?
