Just follow these 2 rules and you'll be on the road to being super organized!

[messinmyhead]

Ok my friend is ridiculously organised. I'm not. But I really want to be. Every year or so I'll get my self all motivated, buy planners and lovely pens, download apps. I'll keep the momentum going for about a week or two before I go back to my slothenly ways till the next time.

Fed up and frustrated I asked my friend for only one tip, one thing I could do which would make a difference. She gave me 2 and an analogy which I thought I'd share and see if other organised people would agree.

According to my friend, I'm doing it all wrong as I'm trying to do what she's doing or what advice online I'm reading. It won't work for me because my life and my personality is unique to me.

It's like cooking. Two people make a roast from a recipe and the end result gives a roast but they look a bit different from each other, they both taste delicious but different. There's differences in both of them.

And this analogy she uses for being organised. I need to create my own style of organised for me. It'll take practice just like learning to make that roast but I'll find my own methods, preferences and tweaks to suit my life and personality.

The two tips were:

1. Wake up early
2. Never stop doing something, anything. Just do it. Stop thinking!

That's it!

@Trumpton. Is it a lucrative business selling your post? I might give it a go if there's some money in it. 😉 😄

I also cross posted the toothbrush method.

@madisonbridges

I had to read my post twice before I twigged!
If only my post was that racy!

[quote Trumpton]@madisonbridges

I had to read my post twice before I twigged!
If only my post was that racy![/quote]
Very disappointed. 😕

😂

Do what works for you. I tried paper diaries and calendars for years. Pointless. I don't write in them and when I do I don't read them.

Everything goes in my phone now (iCal) and I accept that I don't remember things without the phone pinging me a reminder so I set reminders.

I also keep my home very minimal (Calm space calm mind) and feel no guilt whatsoever about only socialising as and when I want to. I don't overdo it.

1. Declutter
2. Train everyone else in house to tidy, clean and declutter.

Play the ten things game as you enter a room

You walk in and you do ten things to improve its appearance

For example (in the bedroom)

Make bed
Put brush in holder
Make up back in bag
Dust bedside tables
Hang up dressing gown
Put clothes in wardrobe
Dust headboard
Wipe windowsill
Clothes in wash basket
Close up drawers / wardrobes

Takes minutes to do and you're left with a clearer room. Repeat for all rooms

I'm very organised unless I waste time on Mumsnet

@JamesWilbysAbs

I keep a low tech paper diary- week to view. And use my phone alarm for reminders. No apps, no additional planner or calendar. Just one place to write everything.

I did this at work. Everyone else was using an online one with a million and one settings.

Mine was just a word doc with dates where I crossed things off when they were done, moved to another day if needed, and wrote in shouty capitals if it was important.

I swear, they wasted so much time updating the damn online version...

I read a book called the Toothbrush Method. The theory is that you always know where your toothbrush is. It's in a container next to your bathroom basin. Even if you move house, you get your toothbrush out and you know exactly where it goes. And when you've used it, you put it back in its container. You don't go and leave it on the loo cistern or anything because it has a recognised place and it easy to put away.

I spent a good 10 minutes searching for my toothbrush last night. It had somehow wandered off and found itself in a different bathroom in the house...

I haven't a hope, have I?

Oh, Bessie. 😒 I never like to use the word failure but.... 🤭

I know...I'm a lost cause

The don’t leave a room empty handed tip doesn’t really work for me. My house is on 3 levels and we have 1 loo on the middle level. Which usually I need to visit on the way up or down! So then the fact I’d need to put the stuff down and then pick it up again puts me off. So I think oh I’ll take that down/up later, which doesn’t happen.

I have no tips, I struggle myself. So my post is totally unhelpful!

The last thing i would ignore, is people giving tips on how to be organised, and definitely those who give tips on the internet. Everyone is different, on how they wan't their homes to be.. Some people are a little bit organised, some are super organised, and some like how they live. without having to get tips for this and that.

I know a woman in my village, who reads books, about how to keep your home super organised, checks internet sites to get tips., she has not a thing out of place in her super home, but she has curtailed so many things for her Husband and two young children in the home, that they are almost too afraid to move about in the home, because of her rules for tidiness and messing anything, up.

I know a woman in my village, who reads books, about how to keep your home super organised, checks internet sites to get tips., she has not a thing out of place in her super home, but she has curtailed so many things for her Husband and two young children in the home, that they are almost too afraid to move about in the home, because of her rules for tidiness and messing anything up.

Ah, this is where I'm going wrong. I was doing the first part - I'm great at buying and reading - but I've been too lax with the family. I need to introduce fear and punishment. I KNEW it was all down to them and not me. 🤨

Ooh I knew someone like this. It was fascinating, nothing out of place. Drinks in the fridge lined up, cans lined up and labels facing the same way. Pattern on plates all facing same way. I took my shoes off to come in ( obviously!) and she lined them up side by side!
Wonder what happened to her, she was nice and kids were mates, but she moved and just..vanished.
I liked the early fly lady, when she was large and plain and greeted you on her porch and showed you her shiny sink. Remember being amazed that I was watching someone from a totally different culture show me her home, and how wonderful it was that she wasn’t perfect and in a show home.
Still didn’t make me tidy though!

Write a comprehensive list
Enjoy ticking off completed tasks
If you think of something to do that will take less than 5 minutes do it immediately.
Most important is "A place for everything and everything in its place."

I agreed with this. I've become a lot more productive recently and I'm no way super organised but asking yourself all the time 'what can I do now?' And what can I be doing? Also using all those 2,3 5 mins of time queuing, waiting in the car for kids, waiting for kettle to boil, to do respond to emails, reply to text messages, list stuff on eBay, write a birthday card means all those 2, 3 5 minutes add up to about 30 mins in a day.

Also turn off social media and retail notifications and turn ON reminders, diary reminders, priority emails so if you're going to get distracted, or need something to scroll about, it's productive.

I've got more organised over the last year or so. Things that work for me:
Echo dot in nearly every room. I have a shopping list and a to-do list and as soon as I think of anything that needs adding to either I tell alexa immediately, so things don't get forgotten.
The Organised Mum Method App for cleaning. Marie Kondo for decluttering and how to organise storage space - my drawers are a thing of beauty.
All reminders go on Google calendar. Any letters/login details etc that come home from school get either filled in immediately and returned or photographed (so I can find the information later) and binned.
Completely agree with a PP who said turn social media notifications off.

My top tip... Unclench... Some of these posts sound pretty joyless. Nobody cares if your beds are made or not. In fact the only tip that's realistic for lazy people is the pp who said if you only have time to clean the sink then clean the sink, don't keep putting it off till you have time to blitz the bathroom. I'm exhausted just reading about some of these!

And turning off social media notifications so instead of finding out what friends and family are up to you can get pinged by your calendar instead? There's more to life than admin!

Break tasks down into small chunks.

Make use of even short bits of time.

If something takes less than 2 minutes, do it now rather than put it on your to do list.

@SexyNeckbeard I still check social media probably once or twice a day so I keep in touch with my family and friends - but if I leave notifications on I get maybe 20 a day and spend 5-10 minutes scrolling through my newsfeed each time, that's a LOT of wasted minutes