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Organising

5 Tips to a More Organised Life

Posted on August 26, 2022
Cathryn Lavery

I’ve always been a keen organiser and lover of to-do lists. Some time back my organisation systems needed an overhaul…

You see, I was an avid post-it-note user. As you can imagine, this wasn’t the most effective means of staying organised, no matter how well-intentioned my efforts were. Most of the time my post-it notes would end up at the bottom of my handbag, scrunched up, or would just disappear off the face of the Earth. Worst case, I’d end up with something leaking in my handbag ruining my organisation attempts. (Just a quick disclaimer, I am more organised these days, but after spilling 20% of my coke zero in my handbag earlier today I am definitely still working on that side of things ;))  

I still use a mix of handwritten and digital methods to keep myself organised.

I find a balance of both helps. There’s no greater satisfaction than ticking off completed tasks on paper but I also enjoy the convenience of having 24-hour access to my digital organisation systems.

Here are 5 Tips to a More Organised Life I recommend to help you on your journey to kick-ass at organisation!   

Disclaimer: Please note these recommendations are not sponsored in any way, they are just things I love and highly recommend!

The links to some items are from my Etsy store so I will receive payment for these purchases.

  1. Start a Bullet Journal

I discovered bullet journals a few years back and found they helped me to keep all my thoughts in one place and have a plan for action. Even better you can personalise it to suit your needs and schedule. I like to do a week to a page as well as a page for the monthly calendar and monthly goals. In the week’s plan I include the following:

  • To-do list
  • Weekly Meal plan
  • House tasks/chores I need to do
  • Monday to Friday Weekly schedule with dates for plans and appointments
  • A ‘To buy’ list for any items I need to buy that week such as birthday gifts
  • Exercise plan to mark in gym days and other exercises

On my monthly page, I mark in any upcoming appointments or scheduled plans for the month ahead so I can see my month at a glance. I also make note of my goals for the month on the page to the right. It certainly beats my old post-it note system and I find it extremely satisfying ticking things off my list as they are done. Is there any greater joy? 

You can make your bullet journal as simple or creative as you like it’s totally up to you! If you love drawing or are artistically creative I’m sure yours will look a lot better than mine 😛 

For anyone else a bit stuck on what to include in their bullet journal or how to get started, there are many “Bullet Journal” Pins on Pinterest to help you get some cool ideas and inspiration.

And of course the organisation doesn’t end here. There are a myriad of things you can use your bullet journal for:

  • Tracking your debt journey
  • A habit journal to record your achievements e.g. exercise daily, water intake, taking your vitamins, eat fruit
  • A list such as books to read, books I’ve read, documentaries to watch
  • A record of things you want to do around the house
  • Keeping track of your savings balances
  • Weight goals
  • Recipe ideas
  • Cleaning schedules
  • Favourite quotes

The greatest thing about the bullet journal is you can tailor it to suit your life and sometimes it feels nice to crack out texters and coloured pens and get your art vibes on (stationery lovers I’m looking at you!).

2. Use A Weekly Planner

If you aren’t keen on lugging around a notebook everywhere you go, I’ve got your covered. After a year or so of bullet journaling, I thought can’t I just make this process easier and save myself time each month ruling up new pages? Yes, yes you can!

So I came up with a Weekly Planner to help you stay organised without the need to manually prepare pages in your bullet journal or the need to carry around a notebook wherever you go.

Insread I would print out my planner each week which allows me to track all of my important To Dos, Schedules and Appointments, Meal Plan and so on in one place without the bulk! Every time I think of something I need to do that week, or if I need to buy something I quickly jot it down on my list which I carry in my handbag and tick off things as I go. You can even just paste it into your bullet journal to save yourself some time on ruling up new pages.

It will make it easy for you to keep track of:
> Your To Dos by how much time they will take
> Daily Appointments
> Goals, including Exercise and Cleaning Goals for the week
> Your Meal Plan
> To Call list
> Items you need To Buy
> Any Notes you need to jot down

If you like a more simplified planner without all the excess bulk in your handbag you can order your Weekly Planner here.

3. Three Item Task List

I first heard of the Three Item Task List from Joshua Becker and loved the concept of tackling three small to-dos a day, rather than trying to overwhelm myself with one large list.

If you are anything like me, you’ve tried the latter and sometimes our to-do lists can look so overwhelming that we don’t know where to start. Looking at a list of ten things might make it hard to prioritise what is the most important task and can be an extremely unrealistic goal. Let’s be honest, trying to do a large number of things in a small space of time can and getting overwhelmed can often mean we make no progress on anything.

The key to achieving our goals is to set realistic ones. If you try and attempt 10 things on your to-do list today you are more than likely going to fail. A good tip to limit the overwhelm of your to-do list is stick to a list for each day of the 3 most important tasks.

Pick the three things that you feel are the most important to be done today. The ones that if left incomplete have the most consequences. Once you have completed those three most important tasks, you will feel a great sense of achievement that you met your days goals.

If you feel like you’re on a roll and could do more than three go for it, but only do this once you have done your top three items. By the end of the week you could have up to 21 tasks on your to-do list cleared off and that deserves a huge pat on the back!

To help you get started you can grab a free copy of my Three Item To Do List worksheet here.

Don’t forget to check out “12 Simple Bedroom Organisation Tips!” for more organisation tips!

4. Google Calendar to keep track of your schedule

I have been using my google calendar for years and would be lost without it. Although the bullet journal is great for writing down your tasks and plans, there is nothing quite like having access to your calendar no matter where you are. I don’t carry my bullet journal out with me on nights out and there is the chance you could leave it at home one day. A wall calendar just never worked for me as you can only view it when you are home and it’s not ideal for making plans or appointments on the go.

Typically you will always have your phone or access to a PC, laptop or tablet at work so there will be very few occasions where you aren’t able to check your calendar. Each time I make any plans it goes straight into my Google Calendar to make sure I don’t lose track of it and forget. There is so much to remember day-to-day and we should utilise what tools we have to make our life easier.

Another advantage of the Google Calendar is you can share it with whomever you need – your spouse, team, colleagues. It can help everyone stay on the same page as to what is happening and when. I’m sure there are other digital calendars out there but I have found this one the easiest and most reliable.

5. Utilise Organisation Apps 

There is a whole range of organisation apps out there to help you get organised. Apps such as Google Keep, Wunderlist and Colour Note are great for organising your notes and to do lists.

Colournote App

One of my personal favourites I love to use to keep track of notes is Colour Note app. There is an option for notes or checklists. You can make as many notes as you need and copy and paste information easily. It’s great for those times when you want to make a quick note like a movie recommendation, or if you come across a book you’d like to read. I like to make notes in mine such as what I have planned for the day, my shopping list and where I am going to shop, recipe ideas, travel packing lists, and so on. Even better, it syncs with your phone so you can back-up your notes – no fear of losing your phone and your important notes. You can easily send the notes to your email or share it with others.

Trello

I’ve also moved on to using Trello more recently which uses boards and cards which allows me to do all of the above and more. Boards can be things like ‘My to-do List’ or ‘favourite recipes’ and the cards under can contain your tasks or favourite recipes plus ingredients or other notes. You can add notes or due dates to your items/tasks.

I love that I can make a quick note in my list and move it where it needs to be later by selecting, move, board and card.

Google Drive

Another organisation app I love is Google Drive templates. It offers a to-do-list where you can list your to-dos by category, record the due date, enter a description and mark them as completed when done. Simply open up your Google Drive account, click+New, Google Sheets, From a template, To Do List and start organising! 

Try a few out, research your own and find what works best for you!

For more tips on getting organised check out  13 Time Management Tips to Get Organised for more tips on getting on top of your to do list and tools and techniques to become an organisation master.

This weeks questions: What are your favourite ways to stay organised? Do you have any apps to recommend? Please Comment below with your tips.

Organising

10 Productivity Hacks For a More Efficient Day

Posted on February 25, 2020
Girl with long brown hair sitting at desk looking at her monitor and being productive

If you are like me, you love to get as much done as quickly and efficiently as possible. If I get something done, I am always looking at how I can do it quicker next time and what I can eliminate.

So you won’t see me tossing junk mail out in my house, because it didn’t get delivered to my house in the first place, thanks to a carefully placed ‘No Junk Mail Sticker’.

You also won’t see me sitting down paying my bills four times a month because most bills are set to direct debit.

Tax time you won’t see man scrambling to scan a years worth of receipts (at least not any more) because I now scan receipts as I go rather than waiting for a 12 month stash to tackle.

The less I have to worry about and physically set time aside for the better.

Everyone has the same 24 hours and it seems to never be enough. So don’t waste your precious time working inefficiently. There are always things you can implement to speed up tasks such as laundry or your finances. Check out these 10 Productivity Hacks for a More Efficient Day that you can implement in your life to save you time and get you back to doing more valuable things!

**This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase of a product from the links in this post I will receive a small commission, at no cost to you. This allows me to keep my blog advertisement free and support the running costs of my blog. I only recommend products I believe will add value to others and that I love myself.**

10 Productivity Hacks for a More Efficient Day

  1. Utilise Organisation Tools

If paper to do list just aren’t cutting it for you these day, check out some different organisational tools to get all your to dos in one place. In order to be productive you need to know what you need to get done and these organisational tools are there to help you jot down any To Dos or ideas as they come to you, whereever you are.

Some of my favourites are:

  • Trello is essentially a digital post-it-note, without the need to worry about them losing their stickiness! You can set up as many boards as you need and as many To Do items. Once you are done simply move the task to your completed list, or drag it to the top of bottom of the screen to archive it so you never have to see that To Do again! Good riddance!

I have many boards set up including: To Dos, To Buy, Meal Planning (where I list tried and tested recipes as well as ingredients), Gift Ideas and you name it! And the awesome thing is you can chose custom designs for each board to personalise it!

  • Google Keep is another great organisation option that gives you the satisfaction of ticking off a To Do Item. This used to be my main organisation tool before I moved across to Trello. Again here, you can make notes or checklists and it can be synced to your Google Account so it can be handy whenever you need.
  • Colour Note is similar to Google Keep, it’s a digital note pad where you can type out various notes or check lists under a topic category.  It also can sync to back up your lists.
  • Google To Do List Template – If you want a digital organisation tool and are as obsessed with spreadsheets as I am, Google To Do List can do just the trick. Open up their Excel To Do List Template and add in the due dates and tasks. You can separate each section into categories i.e. Home Projects, Car Related, Daily Tasks and so on. When you tick off a task it will strike-through the item on your list, providing an ever-so-satisfying line through your to do item. To create your own, simply go to Google Drive, select the + New and Google Sheets, From a Template and select the To Do List Template.

2. Set a timer

One of my all time productivity hacks has been to set a timer. I’ve been using this productivity hack for over ten years, back in my uni days #memories, in order to get shit done, I would lock myself in my bedroom, put a timer on and not allow myself to exit the room until that timer went off. It made for a fairly productive 1 or 2 hour work or study session and meant that I could reward myself with a break after some hard work.

No matter what it is, setting a timer can help you get what you need done. If you need to clean up your mess of a house, set a timer and speed clean as quickly as possible.  If you need to study, set a timer for an agreed period of time and only when it goes off, can you leave your books. Need to write a blog post? Get that timer on and don’t move your butt out of that chair until it goes off.

Sometimes a short timer is all you need to motivate yourself. Once that two minute timer goes off, you might find you are a lot more motivated to continue with the task you are on. And if not you can always stop.

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3. Time blocking

You may feel like you have no time in the day to get anything done, but I can assure you that you do, even if only a small window in the day. Whenever that may be, the key is to think of your time in blocks and allocated periods of time to a particular task.

My personal routine on a regular work day looks a little like this;

  • Morning – stretch and 2 minute quick tidy
  • Commute – Listen to Audiobook
  • Morning Tea – read daily news
  • Lunch – depends on the day but it can include a Duolingo lesson or two, a short walk, time to catch up with some YT videos, read, get something I need from the shops (to save time on the weekend)
  • Afternoon Tea – read/free time/make any important calls
  • Commute – Pimsleur language lesson, vocal practice, listen to radio or podcast
  • After work – quick speed clean (10-15 mins max)
  • After dinner – bass practice, go to the gym, blog and free time

A lot of my daily activities area squeezed into 10-15 minute periods of free time. And I don’t manage to fit the above into every single day, every single week. I certainly don’t achieve everything in the above list. But some really good days I might come close 🙂

But if I can get a few of the above done here and there, it means I am being a lot more productive than I would be if I just waited until I got home to get things done when I am more than likely exhausted from the day.

Now I want you to look at your schedule and see what you can time block in your schedule. Make your blocks whatever time they need to be to suit your schedule. I work full-time so a lot of my time blocks are small, but fifteen minutes is fifteen minutes and you’d be surprised what you can get done in that time! If you have more free time, your blocks might be bigger sections of time where you can fit more things in.

So can you squeeze a ten minute walk into your morning before you leave for work?

Or load the dishwasher before you walk out the door?

Could you do a quick Speed Clean for 10 minutes as soon as you get home to get onto of the housework?

Sometimes just a quick review of our weeks and time blocks can reveal free time we had been wasting on Facebook or watching TV which could be more productively spent time.

4. Prioritise

A super important productivity hack is to prioritise! If we don’t prioritise we will never get what we need done. Procrastination isn’t always a bad thing when you are putting off  less important tasks in order to do the things that really matter.

Work out what are your Must Dos and what can be put off.

Do you feel committed to going to the gym 3 days a week for 45 minutes? Okay great. Now think about what are you willing to give up to meet that commitment. Maybe you could cancel one social outing a week and rearrange your cleaning schedule so you free up some time.

Is your house sheer chaos and you only have 30 minutes before your friends are dropping by? Figure out what is the most pressing items to clean and leave the rest. For me, I hate really obvious visual clutter so I can live with a few crumbs on the floors or some dust that I will get to when I can, but if there are cushions and shoes and dirty laundry everywhere it drives me insane and has to be moved.

An import lesson I learnt from ‘Eat that Frog‘, is that you should tackle the most important task first thing in your day. Don’t leave the most pressing items on your to do list to get to at the end of your productivity sesh where they are most likely to not get done.

 5. Break up tasks into smaller tasks

If you get overwhelmed by long To Do Lists, set yourself a more realistic goal by creating a 3 Item Task List. Here instead of writing a long list of To Dos that you will attempt to knock over in a day, only to be frustrated by your lack of success, we try something a little less stressful. Think of the 3 most important tasks that you need to complete today and write those down on your day in the rows 1, 2 and 3.

If you don’t get to them today, that’s okay you can move them over to the following day.

This organisation method helps you to prioritise your tasks without overwhelming you with a long list of To Dos, to tackle today. And also gives you the chance to tackle 21 tasks in the space of a week. Imagine how much progress you would make if you could complete just three tasks a day! Even if they are super quick tasks you will feel like a winner at the end of the week with the progress you have made!

6. Put your phone on airplane mode

There is nothing that diminishes your productivity streak more than a phone call or notifications. The next time you are sitting down to get your productivity on, set your phone to flight mode. Silent is not good enough, that little irritating flashing notification light will get to you soon enough, even if you can’t hear your phone go off. It is unrelenting and no task’s pull  is so strong to make you ignore it. At least that is what I’ve found.

When you are done with your work you can turn your phone off airplane mode and get to any missed notifications. But they can and need to wait whilst you get your To Dos done.

7. Stay motivated and track your progress

If you are someone that likes to tick off your goals and see your progress utilising Habit Trackers can help motivate you to keep going!

My husband currently has a 40 day Duolingo streak for Japanese for our upcoming trip to Japan and he is determined to maintain it. This is a genius feature of the Duolingo app. It goes a step future by showing your proficiency score and ranking in the leader boards so you feel the pull to keep up with other learners!

If you want to stick to a goal, like going to the gym or paying off debt, having someone as an accountability partner can go a long way to helping you stay motivated and productive.

You could set up a debt pay off chart in your bullet journal or print off one like these from Debt Free Charts to track your progress. We currently have one for our mortgage and love colouring a line in whenever we cross that dollar threshold! Who knew colouring in lines could be so motivating 😉

There are also great habit tracking Apps like Habit Tracker, where you can mark down your daily goals ie. Drink 1L of water, go for a walk, read for 10 mins, buy no lunch day and so on and then you get the satisfaction of ticking off your achieved goals each day.

8. Utilise Your Commute

If you have a fairly distant commute to make to work or uni, or wherever you need to be each day, take advantage of that lost time however you can, and get productive!

Here are some ideas of how to utilise your commute time whether you drive to work, take public transport or walk or cycle:

  • Listen to an Audiobook – this is a great way to get some reading in, and maybe learn something new!
  • Listen to your favourite podcast – Mine are the Dave Ramsey Show, Joe Rogan Show and The Minimalists Podcast! (please let me know your fave Podcasts in the comments below! I could use some newbies!)
  • Sing along to your favourite songs (not on public transport of course hehe)
  • Catch up on your New Release Radar on Spotify
  • Call a friend or family member to say hi

9. Reduce Decision Fatigue

We make hundreds of decisions every single day. This is sure to wear on us and make us less inclined to be productive. In order to take away some of that mental burden we need to think smarter, not harder and implement some habits and new routines to give our minds a break so we can focus on more important things.

  • Create a Capsule Wardrobe and make mornings less stressful by eliminating difficult fashion decisions
  • Start Meal Planning so deciding what to make for dinner is less of a chore
  • Consider adopting a Minimalist Lifestyle where you keep only what you love, use and need and can eliminate the excess.

10. Limit Distractions

We are all prone to distractions when we are trying to be productive. This is why we need to create some Intentional Friction like Anthony from Break The Twitch discusses in his video, where he suggests to put up a small barrier between you and any sources of distraction. Some ways to limit distraction so you can get back to being productive are:

  • Delete social media off your phone. You can delete the apps from your phone completely and set yourself a rule that you can only access those social media sites from your Laptop or PC.
  • Set your phone Social Media apps to inactive by holding down your app and selecting the Inactivate option when it appears. In order to use the apps again, you will need to find the app in your Settings/App folder in order to reactivate it. Next time you go to click on the app mindlessly you’ll have to stop and think if you really should be using the app or could be spending your time on more productive pursuits.
  • Download the Self Control Mac or Windows plugin on your phone or PC to set times when you cannot access particular websites
  • Do a No Spend Month, so you aren’t distracted by online shopping. It’s a great way to reset when you are feeling that consumer pull.
  • Put your phone away temporarily. Lock it in a drawer, leave it in your bag. Just keep it out of your reach so you can avoid being distracted by it so you can get stuff done!

Photo by Nicole Wolf on Unsplash

This weeks comment question: I’ve love to know what productivity hacks you’ve implemented in your life, and for your family and what has been the most effective. Let me know in the comments! 

If you found value in this post I would be super appreciative if you could share it with others who might also find value in it 🙂

 

Organising

9 Effective Tips to Help You Stay Motivated and Focused on Achieving Your Goals

Posted on July 23, 2017
We all face times of lacking motivation. Having some effective methods to work around those periods can help keep you on top of your goals and stop you from falling behind.

Sometimes even the things we are passionate about and love can be difficult to complete in times of lacking motivation. As I write this I have been sitting on my comfy lounge, under the warmth of our heater and was more than tempted to just grab a hot chocolate and put on Netflix and put the stuff I needed to off for another day. But as a busy gal I know that I have to push through this temporary rut and get on with what I have to do.

I’m reminded of a quote I first heard from Joshua from the Minimalists “Drudge through the drudgery”, where Joshua Field Millburn suggests that in order to succeed at your passion you must be “willing to drudge through the drudgery to find the joy on the other side”. Since hearing it, I try and keep this in mind for those occasions where my motivation is lacking but I know that I must stay focused and push through any desire to postpone goals I have set myself.

Here are 9 Effective Tips to Help You Stay Motivated and Focused on Achieving Your Goals

9 Effective Tips to Help You Stay Motivated and Focused on Achieving Your Goals

1. Stay positive

Whenever I am feeling particularly overwhelmed, unproductive and lacking motivation I acknowledge the things I have achieved that day or in recent times. By doing this I more often than not, realise that I have been more successful in achieving my goals than I may have acknowledged. Don’t be too hard on yourself, keeping a positive mind frame goes a long way to getting you back on track.

Instead of saying negative self-defeating commentary to yourself like; I am so far behind this is useless, I’m not cut out for this and similar negative assumptions about your talents and abilities, go for a more positive train of thought. Try repeating positive encouraging statements at these times of self-doubt; I’ve got this, I got a little off track but I know I can reach this goal with a little bit of effort, this is my passion and I am going to show the world that I can do this! After a while, this will become a habit that will help you achieve your goals.

2. Have a shower and get dressed

Whenever I am feeling lethargic and not wanting to get out of bed or off the lounge or do anything much I get up and have a shower and get dressed. I find that no matter the time of day, this helps me to reset my energy levels and put me in a frame of mind to get back to business. Before I know it I’ve already come up with an idea for what I am working on and am recharged and ready to get back to the task at hand.

3. Give yourself a break

If you don’t want to start that assignment or that pile of washing just yet that is okay! Give yourself a small break allowance to do something you want to do and then get cracking once that time is up. I will allow myself one Netflix episode for example or watch a couple of Youtube videos I wanted to catch up with and as soon as it is finished I turn it off and get started. If you have been studying for hours on end take some time for you.

Grab something to eat, read something completely unrelated to what you are studying and give yourself a chance to rest your brain for a moment so you can get back to it refreshed in a little while.

4. Write your specific goals down

It’s hard to stay motivated when there are random undefined goals in your head. Get them on paper! It is much easier to tackle and prioritise tasks when they are written down in front of you and you can knock them off one by one. Be sure to tick them off when you are down for that extra rewarding jolt that comes from a crossed off to-do list item.

Be sure to list specific goals. You’ll have a much better chance of completing a task with spelled our tasks such as; fill out new superannuation account application, get stamp and mail off application, inform work of new superannuation account details etc, as opposed to a less specific goal of change super accounts.

5. Start with smaller-sized goals

Following on from the above tip, don’t try and overwhelm yourself by tackling things in large chunks that can be unmanageable and stop you from achieving your goals. So what if your whole bedroom isn’t organised completely if you have purged your wardrobe that is a huge achievement! Next time you can get to the drawers or your jewellery collection.

Don’t beat yourself up for not sticking to your new budget 100%.

Working to reduce one expense category at a time can still get you to your end goal and might even be more successful than aiming for 100% on the first attempt. Acknowledge the amazing progress you have made so far no matter how small it may seem. Every step taken is a step forward no matter how small that may seem.

6. Prioritise your goals by importance

I’ve often found things on my to-do list that seem to keep getting pushed off to the next week and then next. After doing this for a few weeks I usually come to a decision of either; this is a priority and I need to action it now or this isn’t a priority and remove it or put it on a longer-term goal list. We will always have things on our to-do list that seem to be equally important. If you take the time to assess what is truly valuable and prioritise that, you can help ensure you get what needs to be done and delegate or remove what isn’t so imperative.

Sometimes asking for help can make all the difference. If you are drowning in to-dos see if there is someone that can help you. Can your partner order the groceries for you this week? Can your family bring a dish each so you have less to cook for the family dinner? You don’t always have to do everything on your list. Get others to help out so you can get on top of things.

7. Pick three goals each day to achieve

As a lover of to-do lists, I know how easily they can blow out and end up being an endless list of fun-killing activities. Sometimes it’s easier to motivate ourselves to accomplish a few things rather than a long drawn-out list.

A Three Item Task List can help you stay motivated and reduce overwhelm.

If you get those first three tasks done in a day and have the motivation and time to do more – that’s great. If not then keep it on the list for tomorrow.

When you only have three goals to pick you will by default pick the most pressing ones and allow the not-so-urgent ones to be completed at a later date.

>>For more tips on getting organised check out 13 Time Management Tips to Get Organised!

8. Clear the mess and clutter

As someone who hates mess, I find that I can’t be productive when I am surrounded by dirty dishes and mess. Never have I been more motivated to clean my room or home than when I was studying at university and for my CPA.

I find that a quick five-minute cleanup helps take my mind off the mess and excess around me so that I can focus on what is important, my task at hand.

If time is limited I don’t necessarily recommend going all out and cleaning the whole house, just focus on the space you are working in. Ensuring that your work area is a clean and calming environment can help you avoid distraction and procrastination. If you can’t work in your ideal work environment find anywhere else in your home, or a cafe or library where you can work.

When you do have the time clearing the clutter can be a great way to help reduce stress and increase focus. Having less stuff can reduce anxiety and create more time. Check out how minimalism can help you claw back some of your time so you can redirect your time to work on more important things like achieving your goals.

9. Share your goals with others

Sometimes having others keep us accountable can help us stay motivated to achieve our goals. This could be on social media, with a close friend, a partner, a group you see on a regular basis or a coach.

Perhaps your goal is a financial goal such as to pay off your debt once and for all. By talking to a friend who has a similar goal, or hiring a coach they can help keep you focused on your goal over the long-term. Sometimes we need others to support us to stay motivated and help keep us on track to completing what we set out.

Do You Want to Learn How to Spend Your Money With Intention?

If you want to take control of your financial future, stop stressing about money and learn how to spend your money with intention, book in for your free Q&A call to see how Minimise With Me Financial Coaching can help you gain clarity around your finances! 

You can learn more about Minimise With Me Financial Coaching services here. 

How do you stay motivated when you are tempted to give up on something or procrastinate? Comment with your tips and what has worked for you below!

Organising

4 Daily Habits For a Tidy Home Now!

Posted on May 29, 2017
Do these 4 habits for a tidy home now to get on top of the mess and clutter and make your home a place you love

A few years back I was in a bit of a cleaning and organisation rut. It seemed as though I could never get on top of anything but it was really only because I hadn’t implemented daily habits for a tidy home. I wasn’t failing at adulting, I just hadn’t quite figured out the “hacks” and habits to keep on top of everything.

The dishes would pile up on all of our extremely limited bench space. We would fish out our clean, now wrinkled clothes each morning from the bottom of the basket as there never seemed to be time to put them away. Just hoping that what we were looking for had been washed that weekend. If we had guests coming over it was a huge ordeal getting the house into guest-ready status. We were convinced we needed a bigger home. One with more bench space and bigger area to wash up, a larger laundry room and more cupboard space. It would surely solve everything.

I quickly realised that more space was not the answer (in fact more space = more cleaning and work!) and seeing as we were hoping to own our home sooner than later up-sizing was not going to be an option either. I had to find a way to make what we had work. Coming home to mess, attempting to cook and make dinner with dishes everywhere and trying to use what scrap of bench space I could find could not go on. Life wasn’t meant to be this hard, surely!

Let me tell you it is not! There is a way to get on top of things before they get out of control. The key is to not let is get out of control in the first place and to do a little bit each day. A small amount goes a long way. And it doesn’t take hours and hours! Read on for 4 Habits For a Tidy Home Now! 

4 Daily Habits for a Tidy Home

  1. Do a general tidy daily

Let’s not build cleaning up to be more difficult than it is. Sure vacuuming and mopping and the rest take a lot of time but we don’t need to have show homes 24/7. A daily habit of doing a general tidy up is good enough. Spend five minutes a day doing a general tidy of the main areas of your home. You’re not going to be able to clean every space, surface, crevice but you will make your home look much more tidy with a small amount of effort.

Set your timer. I use the one on our oven so I know when to stop. During your general tidy go to each area of your home and pick up what doesn’t belong. A clothes basket can work great so you can chuck everything in there and move a lot of things quickly.

THINGS I DO IN MY GENERAL TIDY

  • Hang up the towels in the bathroom and clear the vanity counter.
  • Make the bed.
  • Straighten up the couch cushions and fold the throw.
  • Pick up any clothes on the floor and either throw them in the hamper or hang them up again.
  • Put anything away that’s lying around.
  • Bin any water bottles
  • Move any cups or plates to the kitchen
  • Pick up mess from the floor

If you just do five minutes a day or even just as often as you can, you will be amazed at how much tidier your home will look. If your spouse or kids can help out you will make even more progress. Everyone living in your home adds to the mess- get them involved, delegate!

If after your five minute general tidy is up and you are on a roll then keep going. You’re better off tidying when you feel like it or have the time than to leave it for a day where you just rather not move from the couch.

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2. Clean as you go

This is such an important tool for keeping your home tidy. Get in the daily habit of cleaning up as you go. When you are finished with something in the bathroom of a morning, put it back in the drawer or vanity. When you are walking from one room to the next take a second to look around and see what doesn’t belong and grab it to take with you on your way. Are you going out to the car? Grab that bag of donations you’ve had sitting at the door for the past week.

If you want to save time on cleaning and getting back to more enjoyable tasks think ahead and find ways to be more efficient with your time. Are you waiting for the microwave for five minutes? Go and clean up the mess from your meal prep or empty your dishwasher. Utilise what little time you have! Once you get used to this daily habit it will become part of your routine.

>>  If you are interested in getting organised you might find value in

4 Tips to a More Organised Life!

3. Clean your kitchen 

For me, cleaning the kitchen was the one daily habit that drastically changed my cleaning habits and stress levels. I used to feel completely overwhelmed with dirty dishes and marks on our bench tops that had hardened and become difficult to clean. I would struggle to cook and prep dinner with our limited bench space covered with last nights dishes that I just had not got around to yet. And try cooking anything when your sink is over flowing. It’s just going to make your daily life much harder than it needs to be.

A chaotic kitchen can add so much unnecessary stress and being the hub of the home, it’s rare that you can ever walk past without seeing the mess piling up. Set yourself a new daily habit of tidying the kitchen. I used to put this off as it would get so out of hand that I would need a good half hour to get it back in order but now i set the time for 7-10 minutes and knock it out as fast as I can. I find it a challenge to work against the clock and love how efficiently I can clean my kitchen with a bit of forethought.

ALLOCATE YOUR TIME

Work out a time each day where you can spend 10 minutes on your kitchen.  Whether it be in the morning, when you get home from work, or before you go to bed. Whenever is most convenient for you. The key is doing it every day so there is no mass of dishes you have to sift through. Set the timer and get started.

MY KITCHEN CLEANING METHOD:

  1. Grab all your dirty dishes from wherever they may be (save yourself some time and effort insist on a rule after meals all dishes and cups are returned to the kitchen!). Soak any in hot soapy water that you need to wash.
  2. Spray all surfaces with an All Purpose Cleaner so that can break down your stains whilst you get onto the dishes.
  3. If you have a dishwasher quickly unload it (if you unload it in the mornings and load in the afternoon this will make like easier :)) and put all your dirty dishes in. If you don’t have one, quickly arrange your dishes into plates, cups, cutlery and bigger items like pots and start washing.

I let my dishes dry on a drying rack and put them away when they are dry (hey ,we’re trying to save time and make life easier here, let’s not do things that we don’t have to ;)).

4. Then wipe all surface areas. The stains should easily come off after being broken down by your All Purpose Cleaner.

Hopefully you’ll be done before your timer goes off. If not I promise you it won’t be more than a few extra minutes and the next morning when you see your beautifully clean kitchen and when you go to cook the next night you will not regret the effort 🙂

4. Don’t let your laundry pile up

I’ve never really understood why people have wash days and tackle their entire laundry pile in one horrible sounding day. I like to plan ahead for my washing. I certainly don’t wash everyday (thank you Minimalism!) but I prefer to do it in manageable chunks.

Make it a daily habit to do your washing. Now I personally don’t have enough washing to wash daily, but it’s certainly a daily habit to check if I do or don’t. I normally throw on a load of washing on Friday before I go to work and hang it out in the afternoon (Love that timer function!). By Friday I have a full load of darks so hold off until I have a full load.

Saturday morning I’ll then wash and hang out another and set another load to go before I head out for the day. Sunday is then just a catch up day for towels, sheets and anything else that needs to go in. Again get someone to help out if that is possible. My husband and I both do washing. I work full-time and have more important things to do than spend hours each week washing.

BONUS TIP

Consider decluttering your wardrobe! If you have 50 shirts to wear and 10 pairs of jeans you are going to be washing 50 shirts and 10 pairs of jeans in a never ending pile of washing. Set yourself a more realistic laundry limit and wash regularly.

Don’t let that pile get a mile high whether that be washed or unwashed, as it will just be so much harder to tackle and get motivated.

If you chip away at your washing, load by load, and make it a daily habit to at least check your clothes baskets to see if you have enough for a load, you will save yourself the stress of endless baskets in your laundry and waiting to be folded.

These are the four daily habits for a tidy home I have implemented in my routine and I have never felt more on top of things in my home.

What are your top daily habits for a tidy home that you have implemented and that help you keep on top of mess and clutter in your home? Let me know in the comments! 

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