Organized people are not born organized. They have to develop healthy habits, which then help them to stay organized. Here are some tips that have helped me and may help you in your busy day to day 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. You can also use a computer or a smart phone.
2. Make Schedules and Deadlines They recognize that keeping things organized goes hand-in-hand with staying productive. They make and keep schedules for the day and week. They make deadlines and set goals.
3. Don’t Procrastinate The longer you wait to do something, the more difficult it will be to get it done. If you want your life to be less stressful and less demanding, then organize as soon as you can. Putting in the effort to get things done as soon as possible will lift the weight off of you from doing it later.
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. Make easy-to-access storage spaces for things you use all the time, and don’t let your storage spaces get cluttered. Be creative about finding places for things. In addition, as a BIG NO: never label a storage space as “miscellaneous!”
5. Declutter Regularly Find time each week to organize. Stuff does not stay organized on its own; it needs to be reorganized continuously and consistently.
6. Keep Only What You Need More stuff means more clutter. People who live organized lives only keep what they need and what they really want. 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.
7. Know Where to Discard Items Do whatever you can to get rid of stuff. Less stuff means less clutter. Donate to thrift stores. Sell on Craigslist or eBay. Take a trip to the recycling center. Set up a garage sale. Find a place to get rid of your things.
8. Stay Away from Bargains You have removed the things you don’t need. Will you replace them when you see something on sale? Instead of bargain shopping without planning ahead, write down exactly what you need and buy only those items.
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. 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.
10. 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 all a breeze. It requires that you work hard with recognition that when you work harder, you can enjoy your clutter-free home life later.
Most of all don’t worry, give it to Jesus!
Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6
Thank you,
Carol Bridges