Running a household isn’t easy. There are meals to plan, shopping to buy, cleaning to attend to, gardens to titivate, not to mention keeping on top of paying bills, organising trips and holidays, ensuring that your kids (if you have them) get to school on time with all the things they need for the school day. The list is endless, but if you want to get ahead in the household organisation stakes, the key is to make lists!
We give you some suggestions of how to whip your household into shape and keep it that way.
Commit to Daily Cleaning or Should that be Clearing?
Ok, we’re not suggesting that you give your home a thorough clean every day but completing some tasks daily can make all the difference between your house looking untidy and looking as though you’re on top of the housework.
Easy fixes include:
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Clearing and wiping down your benches every day
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Putting the dishes away and loading the dishwasher (if you have one)
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Decluttering old mail and make sure that you deal with new mail as it comes in.
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Making the beds – encourage your kids to make their own
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Wiping around the bathroom
Make Sure All Your Belongings have a Designated Home
Ensuring that everything in your home has a designated home will go a long way to keeping your house organised. It not only makes your house look tidier, but everyone knows where their things have to go.
Some suggestions for organising your stuff include:
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Having dedicated places for outdoor shoes, bags, hats etc
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Using baskets to store small items in bedrooms and the bathroom
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Keeping all letters, etc from school in the same place
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Having a laundry basket rather than leaving dirty clothes on the floor
Invest in Planners
You’re probably used to using planners and to-do lists to keep on top of your work life, but they can work equally as well at home.
Weekly and monthly planners can also be a godsend when it comes to keeping track of who is doing what and when, while planners that help you to keep track of what meals you’re going to make for the week and the shopping you need to make those meals will mean that you’ll never be faced with trying to rustle up a dinner with one soft carrot, a sprouting potato and last night’s leftovers.
Use a to-do list to make note of projects and tasks that need attending to before they slip your mind. You can then prioritise your list and make a plan to sort out each. While storing your to-do list on your phone is a great idea, it’s probably better in this instance to have a physical list in a prominent place where it can be seen by everyone.
Small but Consistent Steps
Keeping your household organised is easier when you have a plan to tackle tasks consistently. Incorporating small tasks into your daily routine will pay dividends in the long run and not only help your household to run more smoothly but reduce the chances of you forgetting an important date, event or task. The key is to decide what will make your life easier, and then commit to starting! Starting with something small such as making your bed or adding an item to your shopping list when it runs out is easy. Then simply build on this by adding more tasks each day. And don’t forget to delegate! It really is the way to stop your household obligations from becoming overwhelming.