Special Series- Top 6 Organizational Tips

I talked on Tuesday about how I organized my pantry which gets so out of control so fast. It got me thinking about all those little tips that I use to organize our lives that I think work really for us. So I figured I would share them with you all.

1. Have separate laundry bins for all of your clothes. I bought three bins from Wally World that re nice a tall and fit a lot. They even come with their own labels of whites, darks, and lights. I have found since I got this, it has made laundry so much easier to get a handle on.

2. A basket on the stairs for all that stuff to go up. I have a decorative basket that I put at the bottom of the stairs to take up all those odds and ends like toys, and dirty kitchen towels (I have a second floor laundry room). The kids have actually learned to take it up and pull their stuff out of it. It is a easy way to put all that stuff in with out cluttering up the stairs.

3. Menu Board which I made here which helps me to plan out the weekly meals. I only do the weekdays because the weekend is fluid at our house. We may go get a big lunch on Saturday and just eat a light snack for dinner. I mark down everything I am going to make which helps me to plan what needs to be defrosted instead of standing at the fridge trying to figure it out at 4:30 each evening.

4. Kitchen chalkboard to mark down messages, and grocery lists. I got a decal one from one of the craft stores and put it on the front of my fridge. It is so nice to have because we will instantly write down anything we are out of and my husband has been so good at it to. It helps to make sure I don't miss anything when I go shopping. I just take a picture with my phone and I have an instant list with me.

5. My new favorite online tool in the Family Calender you can create at Cozi Central . I created our calendar and add all those important dates on there. I get a weekly email from them as to all of the goings ons and I can add to have email and text alerts to me when I really need to remember things. It also goes to my husband as well each week so he knows what is going on. When ever we need to go somewhere, I add it on to the calendar. There are also lots of other wonderful features on there as well that you can use. I have found it so nice to have plus there is a mobile version which I also have so I can instantly input data in.

6. Spend 15 minutes cleaning each day so that you don't have to do a marathon cleaning at the end of the week. I notice that when I do the big stuff like wiping up the floors, that goes really quick. I also pick an area to work on for the 15 minutes like one of the kid's rooms where I pick it up, dust, and do whatever needs to be done. At the end of week, I don't have all this stuff I need to do and the house is pretty neat and clean. Plus I get the kids involved in it as well and they now automatically do it without being asked very often.