I get a lot of questions about getting organized,  the one that I really had to think about was how to get organized for life?  Seriously does anybody have it all together?  I’d say No with that capital N! Let’s be honest, organized people are not born organized, they have to cultivate healthy habits, which then help them to stay organized.  There are people like me who have always liked order and cleanliness, but once the kids came I had to say goodbye to perfection.  To be honest, being organized doesn’t mean your life looks and runs perfect, but it sure does help.

So even if you think you are a very disorganized person, you can learn how to be organized. From planning things, jotting things down, to ditching the unnecessary and organizing things that matter, you will become an organized person as long as you’re willing to learn and practice.

Here are 10 tips on how to get organized for life:

 

 

1. Write things down

We all know someone that remembers every birthday and sends cards for every holiday. It’s not magic and they don’t use memorization. Trying to remember things will not help you to stay organized. You should try writing things down.

I use my smartphone. You could use a planner, notepad whatever works for you. Write down everything: shopping lists for groceries, holiday gifts, home decor, and important dates like meetings and birthdays.  I keep notes of quotes, books I want to read, and the clothing sizes of each of my children.  I’m the most forgetful gal around so I feel confident that if I need to remember something I can find it in a folder on my phone.

2. Make schedules and deadlines

Organized people don’t wast time.  To get organized for life you have to recognize that keeping things organized goes hand-in-hand with staying productive.  Make and keep schedules for the day and week.  make deadlines and set goals. And most importantly, and stick to them! (ok not always but most of the time) Similarly, by living a cluttered lifestyle, you will not have the time or space to make your deadlines or achieve your goals.  If my desk is full of last weeks projects or my children’s homework I’m not going to be very productive till I clear up the mess. I also like to have my dream wish list or goals framed and sitting on my desk where I can see them.  It’s good to be reminded of why you need to work so hard.

3. Don’t procrastinate

The longer you wait to do something, the more difficult it will be to get it done. Well, we all know that!  It seems a little bit harder to do your tasks when they are not all fun and games.  If you want your life to be less stressful and less demanding, then put in the effort to get things done as soon as possible.  this will lift the weight off of you from doing it later.  I do my least favorite thing on my daily list first, which is working out. If I can get that done in the morning and out of the way the rest of my list isn’t as stressful. Think of one thing that you should organize in your life. Write it down. Then write down when you can do it and what you need to get it done. If you can get it done right now, then go do it!

4. Give everything a home

It’s easy to get lost if you don’t have a home. Keeping your life organized means keeping your things in their proper places. This is a biggie and maybe the hardest especially if you have lots of littles running around.  If you can get your possessions Organized, stored properly and labeled then you will have the greatest chance for success.  I mean your hubby will know exactly where to put his sweaters, hammer or the cheese if he sees a label staring him in the face.  Never I mean never label a storage space Miscellaneous!!!  When you are finding homes for things try to only have one home, It gets too complicated to have things batteries in every room of the house just put them in a clear shoe box in the laundry area. It might be time-consuming to collect all the like things together but you will thank me later when you are shopping your house and not the stores for the hundreds of school supplies you have purchased over the years.

5. Declutter regularly

Find time each week to declutter. Highly organized people make sure they find time every week to declutter their things. this is a different step than organizing.  This step is done after all your stuff is organized and gone through.  If you need help organizing I have a few organizing posts to help you.  Stuff does not stay organized on its own; it needs to be reorganized continuously and consistently.  I have clients that I go visit every few months to make sure the systems we put in place are right for them, and that they are keeping up on their decluttering.

6. Keep only what you need

More stuff means more clutter. People who live organized lives only keep what they need and love. Having fewer things also means that you enjoy those things more and feel better about using everything you own, rather than letting half of what you own collect dust.  Think if you could open your closet and everything fit and look great on you,  you just might love getting dressed in the morning.  live by these rules and you will always be surrounded by things that bring you joy.

Have you ever felt like you don’t have the space to keep all the stuff you own? Instead of renting a storage unit or buying a larger home, get rid of the things that don’t spark joy. Don’t keep things to please other people, like Christmas sweaters and hand me downs unless you truly love them and they make you happy.  I’m not saying we all have to be minimalist  I have a ton of ribbon boxes in my office and it all brings me joy and they are all organized into white boxes, which also brings me joy.

 

7. Know where to discard items

Do whatever you can to get rid of your clutter. Less stuff means less clutter. I love to Donate to my local thrift store, I hate Selling on Craigslist or eBay but my sister loves to do that. Do what make sense for you.  Take a trip to the recycling center. Set up a garage sale.  As an experiment, choose one space in your house to purge. Go through shelves, drawers, and boxes. Everything you find that you don’t need, set aside. Make a pile of things to maybe keep, and a pile of things to discard now. Then find a way to kick those things out the door immediately.  It is freeing and addictive, once you have a cleaned out drawer, closet or garage it’s hard to go back to being a clutter bug.  Think about all the items that are getting a new life in a home where they are truly loved and not just junk cluttering up your space.

8. Stay away from bargains

This might be a hard one for you when it comes to, how to have an organized life it is for me.  You have removed the things you don’t need. Will you replace them when you see something on sale?  Don’t do it!!!  Instead of bargain shopping without planning ahead, write down exactly what you need and buy only those items.  Even when I go to flea markets and I’m not sure what I’ll find, I will only buy what I absolutely love or already have an idea of where to put this new object of love.  Organized people do not give in to false advertising. Items on sale will only produce more clutter.  I’m not talking about the grocery store case lot sale, but bargains that are too good to pass up.  Unless you need it don’t buy it put that 5.99 towards debt or your upcoming trip to Italy.  Start working on your bucket list of dreams instead of cheap junk taking up valuable space.

 

9. Delegate responsibilities

A really organized life is not overfilled with responsibilities, meetings, and deadlines. In fact, it has less because things that create stress have been slowly organized out.  look at your to-do list or make one. Go through the list and find one task that you can remove from your list or give to someone else. Now feel the stress of having to do it fall away.  I’m lucky I have two strong boys at home to help with yard and home chores,  but I’m also finding out that my husband can help me with my business side of my life.  I don’t feel as stressed when I have a team of family and friends to help tackle all I need to do.

10. How to get organized for life, Work Hard!

Put in a little effort. Actually, put in a lot of effort when necessary. Once you have delegated responsibilities and made a schedule, then you can organize what you have to do and when you can do it. Staying organized is not a walk in the park. It requires that you work hard with a recognition that when you work harder, you can enjoy your clutter-free home life later.  You also must continually work to keep up the systems you worked so hard to put into place.  you have to train your kids that the cereal goes on this shelf now and that they must put their dishes in the dishwasher.  But working hard only brings great rewards and your reward will be the more organized life you were dreaming of.

I’ve learned how to organize by following these organizational tips, I’m slowly making them my habits one by one. Soon you’ll become a lot more organized and productive!  If you need help getting started please email and I can do an online consultation for you and get you started on your more organized life.