It’s time for all of us to admit that we need help organizing our lives. It will be an arduous task to do everything we suggest, but staying organized makes life easier in the long run. Think about how much easier it will be to find the things you need and avoid last minute hassles.

Organization is often the last thing on people’s minds, as they don’t consider it a priority. But not only can you benefit in many different ways from proper organization of your home and workspace, your entire life can be organized for efficiency, stress-relief, and even self-care.

Here are 12 simple ways to start organizing different areas of your life.

1-Keep Your Mail Sorted

A good place to start with organization is to figure out a system for sorting your mail. Mail tends to be one of the most cluttered and chaotic areas of the home. If you have stacks of unopened mail, junk mail, and magazines littered on your table, countertops, and entryway, then you know this is a good one to start with.

The good news is, organizing your mail and creating a system for going through it is one of the easiest things you can do when organizing your life. All you need is a designated place for your mail, and a way to sort between different types of mail, like bills and invoices, magazines, letters, personal mail, and anything else you receive.

Always keep your mail in this designated area no matter what, and have a system for when you open the mail and either file it away, or shred it.

2-Use a Meal Plan Every Week

Another area of your life you might find is a little disorganized is with your meal planning and grocery shopping. To avoid having to visit the grocery store more than once a week, save money, and eat healthier meals, a meal plan is really helpful.

Meal planning is much easier than you might think. You start by seeing what food or ingredients you already have in your fridge and pantry, and then create a list of meals that use some of those ingredients to start with. Choose 3 meals a day for your family, then create a grocery list of the items you still need to get.

Place your meal plan somewhere visible in the kitchen not only so you know what you are preparing each day, but also so your family can see what’s coming up.

3-Create a Master To-Do List

A master to-do list is a type of to-do list that includes everything in your life you want or need to get done. Instead of being specifically about daily or weekly tasks, specific goals, or a category, it includes absolutely everything.

The great thing about having a master to-do list is that it keeps all those lists you have in one place. Any time you think of an item you need to buy, an errand you have to run, or a home project you need to get done, it goes on the list. There are many ways to organize a master to-do list, from using categories, to turning it into its own binder.

4-Have Routines for Organizing and Decluttering

When it comes to decluttering and organizing your home, you need to create a routine and schedule. Otherwise, you likely will organize your entire home over one weekend, then not do it again for months or even years, or until everything is cluttered again.

A better system is to treat it like routine cleaning. You add decluttering to your regular routine, whether that is daily or weekly. You can also schedule in sessions of organizing and maintenance. The good news is, once you create organizational systems in your home, it is much easier to just maintain.

5-Write Everything Down

Get into the habit of writing things down whenever you think of them. Whether it is something that goes on your master to-do list, or a new routine you want to try out, this can be really helpful for life organization.

For example, when you sign up for a new site and choose a password, write it down so you can add it to your password manager or printable later. Have a notepad next to you at your desk so that whenever you think of something you want to get done, you can add it to a task or to-do list. If you are in your garage, and see how cluttered your holiday decoration boxes are, make a note that you want to organize them one day soon.

6-Be Consistent With Decluttering

Decluttering will likely occur more than actual organization. With organizing different areas of your home and life, it is more about setting it up the first time, then just maintaining it. But decluttering is something you have to do on a regular basis, otherwise things become chaotic and disorganized very easily.

Think about your junk drawer at home. I bet when you first moved in to your home, that drawer was somewhat organized. You had some pens and notepads, a few small tools, maybe some scissors and batteries. But it eventually became a catch-all for everything, and because you didn’t keep up with cleaning it out, it became overly cluttered.

This likely happens in different areas of your home, unless you are decluttering in your regular cleaning routine.

7-Start Using a Block Schedule

A block schedule is what will help you to organize your time more effectively, as that is just as important as organizing your home and workspace. With a block schedule, you choose certain tasks that will be done at specific times of the day.

Your “blocks” of time can be any amount of time that fits within your schedule, whether you work in 1, 2, or 3-hour blocks. They will also change throughout the day, so you might have a 30-minute block for one task, and a 2-hour block for another task.

8-Figure Out Your Preferred Organization System

This is one of the most important things you can do to organize your life. Everyone has a different system for what they want to be more organized in their life and home, and what tools they will use. One person might have a weekly session where they organize another area of their home, while the next person prefers to have a home binder with printables they use to organize every single part of their life.

You might be great at keeping your living room and kitchen organized, but your basement or garage is a bit of a mess. This is why you need to personalize the system to you and your own life.

9-Try 15 Minutes Daily Speed Cleaning

If you struggle with cleaning and decluttering because of time, then the speed cleaning method is what you need. All you have to do is set a timer for 10-15 minutes a day, and clean or declutter as much as possible within that amount of time.

This is best for tasks like picking up toys in your kids’ bedrooms, organizing your entryway or mud room, choosing a small area of your home that often gets cluttered, or a quick cleaning project. You can also do this several times a day, instead of trying to fit in an hour cleaning session all at once.

10-Have a Place for Everything

When it comes to organizing your life, particularly your home, you need to have a designated place for everything. If you don’t, you will never be completely organized and will have a lot of junk drawers and baskets that are meant for random items.

What happens is when you start finding a place for everything you own, you discover items that you no longer need. If they don’t have a place and are always hidden in some random drawer or box, you probably don’t use it or even remember you own it. That is how you know it’s time to get rid of it and minimize a little.

11-Always Put Items Away When You’re Done Using Them

Start a new habit of putting items away after you have used them, whether it is a pen and notepad you were writing something down on, dumbbells during a workout, or going through your skincare routine in your bathroom. Everything has a place it belongs, so when you’re done with it, put it back. It takes only a few extra seconds and allows your home to stay clean and orderly at all times.

12-Don’t Forget About Digital Organizing

When you think about organizing your life, your home tends to be the most common focus, which is completely normal. But it is not just about physical items in your living space that require organization. You should also be decluttering and organizing your digital files, email accounts, photos, and anything else on your computer or digital devices.

Organizing your life seems a bit overwhelming. We have so many things to do on a daily basis such as: work, kids, spouse, etc. that we forget to do the most important things. These 12 tips will help you improve the organization of your personal life and your home. If you follow them in your daily or weekly routine you will see a lot of changes in terms of your time, how you plan your meals, cleaning etc. Buy my weekly planner to get organized on a weekly or monthly basis.

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See you soon,

Ludmilla!