Organisation tips for 2021

[Snipples]

I am determined to get more organised next year so thought it would be useful to have a thread to share handy tips and hacks that make life easier. I know this has been done before but no harm in another!

Top ones on my list so far are -

• have a box of useful bits in the car (ie spare outfit for both kid/ phone charger pack/ wipes etc)
• meal plan all kids lunches/ dinners / handy box of snacks ready to go for the week
• set clothes out the night before to save time in the morning

I will add more as I think of them. Please share yours, and happy new year when it comes!

A little purse in the car with change for the car park.

A tenner in the glove box for running out of petrol.

Pot if change and little envelopes for school requirements. I don't seem to have any actual cash since covid started as everything is contactless.

Meal planning is brilliant and I need to get back in the way of it, the holidays have thrown that all out the window . I might try to do a monthly plan so I don't get stuck in the spag bol Wednesday rut.

Shared calendar or app on phone shared with DP of you have one - we use family wall and you can share shopping lists and to do lists as well as colour code appointments for different family members. Other calendars will do the same. We also have a black board in the kitchen for writing down what we run out of. So haven't totally made the switch online yet. I have been known to phone home from Tesco and ask a small child what it on the board list. I think you can ask Alexa to add stuff to shopping lists too.

This year I want to make a house maintenance monthly list. So I know what month the boiler needs serviced, cars need mot etc. I've seen some on Pinterest with outside jobs too which is quite good. It hopefully means there's not a huge pile of stuff needing doing at once. And may prevent things getting worse, a stitch in time and all that. Might even stick in birthdays that I need reminding for.

If you're messy like me a bit of decluttering might be beneficial. It helps save time if things are where they should be. I find my mess is from things that don't have a home. So now after the influx of Christmas gifts I'm trying to find places for them. Again, there's printables online for small things to do each day or week.

I have begun a loose laundry timetable. Towels on a Tuesday, uniforms on Friday night and then everyone's undies another day.

This post makes me sound v organised but really my house looks like a tornado hit it sometimes and I run around with a general air of panic.

Following for tips...

The only things I can think of that I do at the moment are -
Bed sheets all kept together in the matching pillow case so it makes it easier when changing the bedding.

Bedding all gets washed on a Sunday.

I really need to get the house cleared out of toys / clothes / books etc that the kids have outgrown. I know it's off putting to take on a big clear out in one go as I never seem to have the time to do it right so I decided to bag up 10 items per week. I have started already with a bag of winter coats that I will take to the charity shop when it reopens. Our local area has a "Free Wee Library" service which are basically like little cupboards full of books that are placed all around town including in school playgrounds and in local parks. People are able to help themselves to any books they fancy or donate any they are finished with which I think is a good idea. I'll be filling them up as soon as the school's reopen.

This is generally my favourite thread of the year and helps get me motivated to be organised for the year.

I do a large household shop in January (bulk buy) which, if you have the space, saves masses of time since you always have everything you need. It includes, washing powder, washing up liquid, cleaning spray, dishwasher tablets, bin bags, light bulbs, batteries, matches, loo roll etc

Ah posted too soon there!
Meant to say that doing a little bit at a time still gets the job done!
Another tip would be to clear out the kitchen cupboards and freezer. This will set you up with an idea of what you need for meal planning for the next few days. I aim to cut down on food waste this year, I hate throwing out food that I didn't get around to using.

Mine:-

• Have a weekly/monthly/annual list of chores
• wash the car (and inside) more often at all
• meal plan better

I've just ordered a job lot of greetings cards which should see me through all birthdays in H1, pending house moves and babies on the way.

Scissors in every room (including the car)

Keep things in the place where you’d look for them first (even if that’s a bit illogical)

If you have piles that build up, particularly of daily use things, take a moment to look at the nearest storage space and consider if your pile should actually live there. Sometimes the most useful spaces get filled up with occasional use items that could be stored elsewhere. I’m not explaining this very well but basically if you can turn the dumping ground into the stuffs real home it works seamlessly. Even something as simple as putting a dish on the spot where you drop your keys.

The tip I loved from last year was about buying a years worth of cards in one go.

We have "dump" spots in all the main rooms - a small patterned box on the living room bookcase, a drawer in the kitchen, a box in the utility room cupboard. These are for all the tat that doesn't seem to have a home (lighter, window keys, spare car key, stamps, needle and thread etc). Stuff you need to hand butdoesnt warrant it's own larger home.

I use outlook's calendar to keep track of everything regular, from annual boiler safely checks through birthdays to weekly yoga classes.

My work is largely scheduled through there too, so i really only have to look in one place. It's shared with DH and my immediate team at work. It is possible to set some items private so others can see that I am booked but not what I am doing.

These days, I hardly do anything worth keeping quiet about.

My address book is in Moonpig and I have reminders set for birthdays and anniversaries. Don't think I have missed sending anyone a card since I did this.

Love anything that works without my having to remember.

I always love these threads popping up at this time of year and anything today to keep from constantly checking the news.

Something I realised I never did before was to determine what type of organiser I am because that affects how successful you’ll be.
I’m a visual organiser and that means I need to see things to remember to do them. I’m in the process of changing a lot of my current systems to be more visual and can attest that they definitely work better if you tailor them to your own needs

Love these threads.

I keep a 'present box', filled with various gifts that would suit different people. Came in handy over Christmas when I realised I'd forgotten a few people when shopping.

Also, silver wrapping paper works for literally any occasion.

Love silver and gold.wrapping paper. Also keep scissors and tape WITH the paper.

I too am visual and have a family calendar on the wall plus a diary in my handbag. Then I can copy my shift at work into my diary and update the family calendar as needed. It seem inefficient to have two but it means I always have one with me plus the family can see my changing shifts.

Something I realised I never did before was to determine what type of organiser I am because that affects how successful you’ll be.

Where's the best place to find this info out?

@covetingthepreciousthings try the clutterbug test

You are always likely to be better organised if you are less tired, so my tip would be regular sleep times. Iplayer is your friend for this.

Loving all the tips so far - especially the simple ones like keeping generic wrapping paper and scissors together.

I thought of another one I want to prep - little cold and flu kits with paracetamol/ lemsip/ tissues and strepsils ready to go. We've all just had bad head colds and this would've been handy.

Also kids kits for teething with bonjela / teething powder / calpol etc in (we're at this stage again with DD2)

I use a reminder app called Due which I find really useful. Easier & more intuitive than the iPhone reminders which I was using before.

I put everything in it which I need to remember, no matter how small. It then nags me until I do it! I also use it to help me be a better friend which I felt was an area I needed improving in - so things like when my friend’s mum died recently I set it to give me a reminder on the anniversary of her death next year so I can make sure I call my friend. And when someone was telling me about a big job interview they have coming up I popped the date in so I can ask them how it went.

I use a reminder app called Due which I find really useful. Easier & more intuitive than the iPhone reminders which I was using before.

This sounds really helpful, could do with something to give me a nudge about friend things like you say aswell.

best thing I did last Jan was to go on Moonpig and preorder all bday and Christmas cards for family that I would normally send to. You can set the date you want them delivered so basically once I had prdered them all and set the dates they were then automaitcally dispatched throughout the year. Given the shit storm this year has been, and how crazy busy my job has been (NHS clinician) I was so glad tht everyone got a card from me on time without me having to think about it ! Will be doing the same in the next few days for next year.

Keep them coming!

Thought of another one - we have one of those wardrobe organiser hanging shelf thing from Ikea but it's a bit of a dumping ground atm. I'm going to prep it so each day has a section for the things we need each day (ie - Friday swim stuff/ Sat ballet uniform etc) as we always always run around like eejits trying to find everything when we're already late for whatever it is! This will help massively.

Love the sound of this Due app. Must have a look at that.

De clutter
Laundry and food are the tasks that seem to take the most time and thinking. If I can plan And organise those, I seem to have a lot more free time.
Daily laundry
Weekly meal prep and shopping.

Thought of some more

Pre covid I found it immensely useful to have dedicated bags for each activity that the dc did. All the stuff for a particular activity lived in its bag even if it meant duplicates of some things. If I washed the swimming gear it just went straight back into its bag, without stopping off anywhere else in the house. And it’s very quick to top up snacks, and spare socks when you’re putting them away.

Another thing that made a big difference to me was chopping raw chicken when i buy it and putting in to the freezer in portions, flattened out as much as possible. I really don’t like chopping chicken, and would end up ignoring my meal plan to avoid doing it. Being able to just pull it out of the freezer, already chopped was a game changer for me. And because it’s squashed flat it defrosts in about 20 minutes so I can stick to my plan even when I’ve forgotten to get it out earlier.

I streamlined my Tupperware (actually sistema boxes but ykwim) and have one type that does duty as lunch boxes, leftover storage, freezer containers, and microwave steamers.

Loving these 😊

The one thing I've done this year that has made a massive difference was having multiples of things everywhere I use them. So tweezers in both bathrooms and where I do my makeup. Matches with fire stuff and with candles in kitchen press. Hair brush in every bathroom and in car with pins and bobbins.

Means less fannying around looking for things and they're always where you expect