To ask for the best thing you’ve ever bought for an organised life

[Friedbanana]

Has anything you’ve bought instantly made it easier to organise your home/life?

I just got my ADHD diagnosis and I’m really wanting to improve my organisation this year!

Things that have helped improve things last year were:

-A large A3 wall calendar
-getting a cleaner
-custom wardrobes with just hanging space as I’m terrible with drawers

I’m currently searching for a make up organiser that I can transport when needed if anyone has any tips

All kitchen cupboards/general drawers are still an absolute mess, I’ve bought drawer organisers before but they don’t really work for me 😬😬

I purchased loads of the low plastic tray organisers for my kitchen cupboards, and designate 'types' of things for each one (cans of beans / packs of pasta / crisps) ~ it makes the cupboards look so aesthetically pleasing, and also keeps me in check. If I buy something that doesn't fit, I remove something else and put it in the food bank pile.

I don't think it's about buying stuff. I think it's about a change of approach. Forcing yourself to put it away and to spend 10 minutes tidying even if you don't want to.

In terms of makeup, I have my organiser on my desk. I've invested in duplicates of anything I travel with, and have them ready to go in a Elizabeth Scarlett pouch which I then leave in my carry on after unpacking so it's ready to go next time.

I have loads and loads of different sized baskets/tubs/pots etc in every room, with labels on. So, hair stuff, nail stuff, medical, stationery, etc. It means that I don’t have shit lying everywhere and know where to put things or find them!

I have a Nelko label maker that I got from Amazon and I label everything! Drawers, cupboards, boxes etc.

Decluttering so not buying stuff.

For me it’s my slow cooker and freezing meals - this is my main life changer - coming into a home cooked casserole or gammon

but in terms of make up - I have mine semi perm and then wear light tan

Marie Kondo, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Whiteboard on the fridge and meal plan for the month. I just do it roughly at first and write spuds/pasta/rice/noodles/bread on each day and then the night I do my Tesco online I take a firm decision about what each meal will be. It's easier when you've already made half the decision iyswim.

I book the exact same shopping slot every week. I do it a month in advance and change the basket contents the night before it's delivered.

Alexa reminders to book the shopping slot, order tablets, shopping list, bin days etc. Also have reminders for which days are packed lunches for the night I do the shopping so I don't forget to get stuff in.

I live by the adage that if a job's worth doing it's worth doing half arsed. Maybe I don't have time to clean the whole bathroom but I can do the loo or wipe the sink. I can just sweep the kitchen floor quickly - I don't need to fully steam clean. If you do loads of wee bits you keep on top of things to an extent. Doesn't mean you never steam clean the floors but it does mean it's not this massive mountain.

There is a rail in the hall cupboard and I bought 'S' hooks. On each hook is a drawstring bag for the dc hobbies. So their Cubs / Scouts / Stagecoach uniform / swim kit all goes straight back in the bags once it is washed.

Magnetic whiteboard on the fridge with the contents of the fridge/freezer on it.

In my old flat a washer dryer so that laundry could be washed dried and put away within 1 day.

In my current flat, a perfectly designed ikea wardrobe (the landlords actually) which means I can actually put away all my clothes nicely but it’s not so big that I fill it with unnecessary crap.

When I got my ADHD diagnosis, I finally realised why I had so much trouble with organising and keeping things tidy. I came across the Clutterbug system soon afterwards, and it revolutionised my life.

I am a butterfly in that system and now have everything I own out in plain sight in pretty, well labelled boxes, no doors on the wardrobe, etc. It's been an absolute game changer.

In the back of my diary there is a page for every month of the year and I use those pages daily for the month I'm currently on. I write down anything that needs done that month and then tick it off when done. There are some things that happen every month like paying the childcare bill, and others just get added eg buying a birthday present or doing a tax return.

I look at the list every day and add to it as soon as anything comes into my head. I've found it helps me so much as otherwise I just forget to do things and then I get even more overwhelmed and stressed!

Thanks for this thread as you've just reminded me to order my new diary!!

A small thing but post it notes. When I need to do something I write it down. Then tick off. I can leave in car or on door.

I'd say firstly get rid of stuff. Have a good think about why you need to hang onto eg clothes that are too small. Is it the wasted money? Is it because you hope to wear them one day? Is it because you procrastinate over how best to get rid of them? Then is this really making your life better or worse? It's nearly always worse.

Then figure out your preferred organisation style. Do you prefer being able to see everything or do you like it out of sight? Do you prefer lots of very strict organisation or larger general classifications? How easy does it need to be for you to put away?

Im an out of sight, large classification, easy to store person so for me cupboards with open baskets on them are ideal. I just open a door, chuck it into the relevant basket along with lots of similar stuff and close the door. Some people prefer lots of small boxes with very tight categories and are wiling to spend the time to put them away.

Anyway to answer the question I bought a sideboard for the hall and some baskets that fit perfectly, one large each for shoes/bags and one small for hats /gloves etc.

My wardrobes are similar, some ganging space but most stuff folded into baskets of similar on shelves.

I have a little plastic organising caddy with a handle (cheap off Amazon) and in it lives all of the things that I need to get ready in the morning except my toothbrush and hairdryer which are plugged in to wall and shower products in shower:

• face foam cleanser
• deodorant
• hairbrush
• claw hair clip
• moisturiser
• foam hair mousse
• hair gel

small make up purse

• foot tape
• tweezers
• mini scissors for cutting off labels or threads

It's worked so well and stopped me having to look for things, that I am thinking of doing another one for going to bed at night.

When it comes to stuff, if you are anything like me, you'll spend some lovely time looking at storage boxes and colour coding things and making labels and then within a week or two the system will have collapsed and everything is just shoved any old place.

Multiple washing baskets / bins. Will make sorting / doing washing so much easier.

we’re a family of four and I’ll start by saying my husband does his own washing and so we’ve always had separate washing baskets.

bit since we’ve had children we now have 4. 1 each per adult and 1 each per child BUT the children’s baskets are actually lights / darks not child 1 / child 2.
so all of their dark / colourful stuff gown in 1 and all of their white school polo tops / white or very light stuff goes in another.
we (parents) also put our whites in that 1 instead of our own baskets.

makes it super easy to know when to put a wash on (baskets are full) and no sorting out dirty clothes into piles on the kitchen floor.
plus anyone can grab or be asked to grab the basket and simple load it into the machine as the ‘children’s’ baskets are correspondingly dark and light coloured.

and no having 4 baskets doesn’t take up much space. We have these, they fit neatly behind the bathroom door and fit more than enough in.

https://www.matalan.co.uk/grey-collapsible-laundry-basket/14449190.html

Another vote for getting rid of clutter, it's more than half the battle.

I've adopted a do two things rule. Each room I go in a do two things to make it better. This has changed more than anything I have ever bought. I've adhd and this has been a game changer for me. It's actually manageable.

Meal planner/wipe board on fridge, organiser tubs for inside bathroom cupboards, small slim pencil case for handbag make up essentials, wrapping paper box, packing cubes, reusable freezer soup bags that stand up properly when you fill them.

A small thing but a hanging wrapping organiser really helped this Christmas. Stocked it with wrap/tags/sellotape/ribbon and it just helped me to wrap a few pressies as and when as I could just grab it.

I agree with pp, I know people are bored of it here but the Marie Kondo book really did change my life. Also a skip and a charity shop van collection. Well worth the money for the skip as we then had the garage as a utility room for laundry instead of a dumping ground. The more you get rid of the less you have to be organised about. If you only have one bag you can't leave stuff in your other bag. I have cosmetics and makeup in a little travel bag so I can always grab it for weekends away, but also I can't have more than will fit in my travel bag. If you focus on one hobby rather than ten you don't have time for you only need to store and find the stuff for one. I'm ND and really disorganised and having much less stuff is the best way to manage it. I found removing big furniture made the biggest impact and then if you don't have the furniture to put it in you can't buy the stuff to put in it either.