Effortless Organization for the On-the-Go Mom
Staying organized as a busy mom can help reduce stress, improve efficiency, and create a more harmonious household. Here are some practical organization tips to help you manage your time, tasks, and family life effectively:
1). Declutter
Clutter can be a natural energy drainer. Excess clutter makes finding important items hard to find, which can lead to frustration and unneeded stress. To avoid excess clutter, aim to declutter spaces regularly (toys, clothes, the kitchen), regularly to keep only what you need and love.
2). Use Baskets
Another helpful tip is to use baskets for clothes or toys. Baskets are a great way to help your space visually appear more organized. Whether you use the baskets in the laundry room to separate dirty clothes from clean clothes or even dark clothes from white clothes, baskets can help with organization. In the bathrooms, baskets help keep your space organized by helping to prevent piles of clothes from ending up on your floor. They are also typically easy to carry into your laundry room in preparation for washing clothes. Finally, we all know how frustrating it is to accidentally step on a hard toy in the middle of the night with our bare feet. Placing toys in decorative containers or baskets help minimize this risk, and helps make a space appear more organized.
3). Plan healthy snacks and meals
They say planning ahead is one of the best ways to stay organized. When it comes to food, it may help promote a healthier lifestyle, while also saving you money if this is your goal. Research and purchase snacks at your family’s appropriate grocery shopping intervals. Place snacks in a designated area of your home for kids and family members to enjoy. For meals, learn what your family loves to eat. Loosely plan (do not overly stress about this) to purchase food items needed to create meals that your family is known to cook. Purchase groceries at your typical grocery shopping interval. Use your selected ingredients to make meals throughout the week.
School paper system
If you have kids, you know that kids come home with several papers, whether it’s art that they created at home or papers needing to be signed, reviewed, etc. Take a moment to develop a system to keep these papers organized. Whether, you create a designated space for signed papers, papers that are important but do not need to be signed, and a space for all other papers. When papers come from school, place papers that need to be signed (ie. school field trips, permission slips, etc. in the signature pile), place others in their designated piles). Make a mental note, to always keep the signature pile empty by quickly signing papers and returning them to their respective child. Always make a plan to go through the various piles periodically getting rid of some papers, and saving special pieces such as artwork. *Helpful hint: mark a day on the calendar to do this quarterly. *Helpful hint: Use paper holders to make the papers appear more organized.
Use tricks to get the family involved
Finally create a plan to get your family involved. Teach kids how to put groceries in the appropriate locations. Have kids place their toys in the appropriate baskets or bins. Have kids use their baskets or hampers for dirty clothes. These are only a few ways to get your family involved.
What did you think about the tips above? Which tips will you consider using?
