Is your home organized? Do you know where everything is? Is it easy to find things when they are needed?
If not, don’t worry!
These 10 tips will help you get organized and declutter your life. Whether you’re a business owner who needs to organize their office or someone who just wants to make the most of their space at home, these tips will be helpful.
1) Declutter Your Stuff
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to get organized is not taking a step back and cleaning out their belongings first.
Don’t be tempted to immediately go shopping for extra storage containers to organize your stuff.
The best way to start any organization process should be by sorting through your belongings and decluttering any unnecessary items.
Get rid of what you don’t use, don’t need, and what is broken or damaged. Be ruthless!
Your closet is the easiest example. Instead of buying more shoe racks or another closet shelving system, clean out your closet. Get rid of the clothing that doesn’t fit, is damaged, or that you never wear.
2) Everything Must Have A Place
When you’re done with de-cluttering, the next step is to invest in storage solutions.
Choosing a logical place for everything will make life easier and more organized!
Many people have the habit of putting their belongings in a closet or cupboard. As long as it is out of sight, they feel organized.
A better solution is to create logical storage systems. For example, you might keep all your cleaning supplies in one carryall that you can tote from room to room. Or you might keep cleaning supplies for each room in that room.
3) Systemise Your Repeatable Tasks
Systems should be the backbone of your everyday routine.
Whether it’s sorting mail, cleaning, cooking dinner, or taking care of a pet – having systems in place will make things so much easier and more efficient.
For example, you might create the following system for sorting your mail:
- You receive mail
- Immediately open the mail
- File the important mail to tend to during your next admin time
- Shred the mail that needs to be disposed of.
By having this system in place it stops unopened mail piling up, or important letters from getting lost.
Take some time this week to brainstorm different tasks that occur on repeat every day for yourself and your family members. Now create step-by-step routines for these tasks to aid in keeping your home more orderly.
4) Use Backup Software & Storage
You might not realize this but your computer is a treasure trove.
Everything from finances, recipes, and photos that you have painstakingly collected over time- could be lost or inaccessible in an instant if you don’t back up regularly.
A backup system can help easily prevent many problems by keeping copies of files both on offline hard drives or online storage systems like cloud technology providers such as Google Drive.
Make sure that you get into the habit of creating a backup at least once every two weeks because it’ll save both time and frustration down the line if something happens to your computer.
5) Sort Your Finances
Money is a difficult subject to talk about for many people.
Whether it’s because you’re worried that your savings account isn’t growing fast enough, or the bills are piling up and there just doesn’t seem like any end in sight – money can be an overwhelming topic.
The solution is simple, set up a household budget and start keeping track of your finances today. You can find a step-by-step guide and free budget planner HERE.
If you prefer a digital approach you can find multiple types of accounting software online. Check out Investopedia’s best budgeting apps HERE.
With so much advanced technology available today, find something that works for you- whether it’s on your computer or mobile device.
Look for a system that allows you to budget, pay off debt, save money, plan for taxes, and know at a glance how much you have in your bank account.
6 Use a Calendar or Planning System
How many times have you found yourself needing to know an important date but not able to quite remember it? Ever double-booked yourself?
We’ve all been there, it used to be a common occurrence for me and it’s SO FRUSTRATING!
Luckily, there are incredible tools available can that not only help you keep your lives organized but also make sure you never miss an appointment again!
It can be something simple, and free, like Google Calendar, or if you want something with more bells and whistles try Evernote which provides advanced scheduling capabilities.
It’s often easier to use an app that you can use on your computer and carry with you on your phone.
7) Formulate Your SMART Goals
With so many distractions in the world, it’s hard to stay focused on what you really want. But by writing down your goals and adding them to your planner or calendar, you can make sure that they are a priority for yourself.
Start with SMART goal-setting for maximum success. This acronym stands for:
S – SPECIFIC
Be as clear and specific as possible with what you want to achieve. The narrower your goal, the easier it will be to see the steps necessary to achieve it.
Example: “I want to earn a position managing a marketing team for a tech company.”
M – MEASUREABLE
What evidence will prove you’re making progress toward your goal? For example, if your goal is to earn a position managing a marketing team for a tech company, you might assess progress by the number of management positions you’ve applied for and the number of interviews you’ve completed. Setting milestones along the way will give you the opportunity to re-evaluate and course-correct as needed. When you achieve your milestones, remember to reward yourself in small but meaningful ways.
Example: “I will apply to three open positions for the manager of a marketing team at a tech company.”
A – ATTAINABLE
Have you set an achievable goal? Setting goals you can reasonably accomplish within a certain timeframe will help keep you motivated and focused. Using the above example of earning a job managing a marketing team, you should know the credentials, experience, and skills necessary to earn a leadership position. Before you begin working toward a goal, decide whether it’s something you can achieve now or whether there are additional preliminary steps you should take to become better prepared.
Example: “I will update my resume with relevant qualifications, so I can apply to three open positions for the manager of a marketing team at a tech company.”
R – RELEVANT
When setting goals for yourself, consider whether or not they are relevant. Each of your goals should align with your values and larger, long-term goals. If a goal doesn’t contribute toward your broader objectives, you might rethink it. Ask yourself why the goal is important to you, how achieving it will help you and how it will contribute toward your long-term goals.
Example: “To achieve my goal of being in leadership, I will update my resume with relevant qualifications so I can apply to three open positions for the manager of a marketing team at a tech company.”
T – TIME LIMTED
What is your goal time frame? An end date can help provide motivation and help you prioritize. For example, if your goal is to earn a promotion to a more senior position, you might give yourself six months. If you haven’t achieved your goal in that timeframe, take time to consider why. Your timeframe might have been unrealistic, you might have run into unexpected setbacks or your goal might have been unachievable.
Example: “To achieve my goal of being in leadership, I will update my resume with relevant qualifications so I can apply to three open positions for the manager of a marketing team at a tech company this week.”
Once you’ve identified your goals, take some time to break them down into smaller pieces that you can manage. Add those pieces and their deadlines to your planner and get to work.
8) Clean and Organize 15 Minutes Daily
It’s not always easy to find the time, but if you can commit 15-20 minutes a day straightening your home it will help maintain an inviting and clean environment.
A great time to do this is at the end of the day before you go to bed.
Integrating this daily habit into your life ensures that your home stays clean and welcoming. It also reduces the burden of big clean-ups on the weekend.
Doing this at the end of every day means that you wake up to a clean home and start your day off right.
You might also dedicate the last ten minutes of the workday to cleaning off your desk. Then, when you come in the next day, your environment will support you to succeed.
9) Plan Your Daily Priorities
It’s important to take some time each day and plan out your agenda. You should always prioritize working on the most engaging tasks that will help you progress towards success in business or life.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day and if we’re not careful that time can get quickly eaten up leaving us with little time to spend on what matters most to us.
Whether you are an entrepreneur or employee, having clear priorities every single day is essential to being successful. Establishing daily priorities also helps you organize your day, your time, and it makes you more productive.
10) Focus On One Project At A Time
Many people believe that they are fully capable of multitasking.
Unfortunately, this is a myth.
The human brain cannot multitask. It cannot do two or more things at once.
Instead, your attention is divided. You might be able to bounce back and forth between several tasks so that it seems like you’re multitasking.
However, each time you shift focus you lose a bit of time and productivity.
If you want to get more done and actually be more organized, focus on one project at a time.
Your attention won’t be divided, you’ll have better results, and you won’t feel as overwhelmed.
So where do you start?
Start your organization process with the area of your life or home that feels the most out of control.
It might be your schedule, your refrigerator, or your finances.
Whatever feels like the most frightening thing to tackle is probably where you should start because it’ll have the biggest impact on your life. And once you get that big mess organized, everything else will feel easier to take care of.
Let me know in the comments where you’ll start first?
It is an amazing post and you explained it in a detailed way. Nice to see this here. I will bookmark your blog for more details. Keep sharing new things like this.
Thank you for your kind words! It really helps keep me motivated.x