The New Year always brings about a fresh perspective. It’s the chance at a fresh start for many people, and one popular resolution is to get organized. Moms need organization, maybe more than anyone else, so here are my best organization tips for moms to help as you juggle faith, marriage, family, and everything in between.
Why you need to get organized
This may vary a little bit for each mom, but it’s probably something like, “I’m tired of running around like a crazy person, missing appointments, and never feeling like I have my life together.” Sound familiar?
I absolutely understand, which is why I put together this list of the best organization tips for moms. I’ve been there. Even as a highly organized person, I’ve come to that point where I feel like I’m losing control of things. And I hate that feeling, as I’m sure you do.
In fact, just a few weeks ago, I missed a doctor appointment for my son that had been on the schedule for months. I knew it was coming, and they even called me twice the week before to remind me about it. But when Monday morning rolled around, I completely spaced it. Do you know when I remembered the 9 am appointment? At 9:02 am as I struggled to get my sick baby to eat breakfast.
I felt terrible for missing that appointment because it not only inconvenienced the doctor and nurses who were expecting to see my child that morning, but it also inconvenienced me because now I had to wait another three weeks to get him in. Sigh. Sure, I had a lot on my mind and was dealing with a teething baby who also had a nasty cold, but I know I wouldn’t have missed the appointment if I had been more organized.
So, to help you avoid situations like the one above, read on for the best organization tips for moms that I’ve discovered over the last few years.
First, do some goal-setting for the year.
Do you want to declutter your entire house? Finally commit to and stick with meal planning? Make your grocery shopping easier? Create a realistic budget?
Figure out those big goals, and write them down. I write my goals in my planner, because it’s my secret weapon of organization tools, and I use it every day. But you can write your goals anywhere, as long as you’ll see them every day (or at least, a few times a week). Write them on your bathroom mirror, refrigerator, or computer screen. Just make sure you can see them.
Break those goals down into manageable pieces to complete throughout the year.
If you want to declutter your house, commit to completing one decluttering task per week (or month, whatever works). For instance, in January, commit to decluttering your bedroom. One week, work on the flat surfaces (dresser, nightstands, bookcases, etc.). The next week, tackle that pile of clean laundry I know (from experience) you have sitting in the corner waiting to be folded and put away.
The third week, commit to cleaning out your closet and getting rid of clothing items you no longer wear or feel great in. The final week, do a deep clean: vacuum or sweep the floors, wash the rugs, clean the baseboards, etc. And…done! One room down. Keep this up, and by the end of the year, you’ll have a lovely, clutter-free home.
This is one of my best organization tips for moms because it’s family-friendly. Breaking things down like this means you won’t stress out because you tried to declutter an entire room in one day and just made a bigger, more overwhelming mess. It ensures you accomplish the things on your list and still have time to spend with your family.
Second, start meal-planning, ASAP!
I started meal planning before I was a mom, but I can’t tell you how much I rely on it now that I have another mouth to feed. In fact, I’m so passionate about it, I wrote an entire post on how to meal plan. Basically, I plan our meals for the following week on Fridays (because that’s payday). Then, I make the grocery list and shop over the weekend.
Meal planning makes the list of best organization tips for moms because it saves a ridiculous amount of time, money, and sanity. I never have that dreaded 5 pm moment where I wonder what on Earth I should make for dinner. Plus, I rarely have to ask my husband to stop at the store to pick up a forgotten ingredient on the way home. Everyone wins!
Third, get a planner and use it!
During much of my adult life, I tried (and failed) to use a planner. I always bought a pretty planner in January and vowed that I would actually finished it that year. But sometime around March, my resolve would waver and I’d end up with a pretty planner sitting on a shelf collecting dust.
But in December 2015, I started a new job and and made a deal with myself. If I could use my inexpensive Target planner for an entire year, I’d allow myself to invest in a more expensive one the following year.
And guess what? My love for pretty organization tools won out, and at the end of 2016, I finished that planner and bought a new one for 2017. They say it takes twenty-eight days to develop a habit, but in my case, it took an entire year.
Now, I don’t know what I’d do without my planner. I use it for everything: time-blocking, meal planning, scheduling, goal-setting, and everything in between. I use the Living Well Planner because it has all the features I need. I’ve also used the Plum Paper planner, but it was a little too intense for me.
I use the Fixion erasable pens because they are pretty and you can erase if you make a mistake or plans change. In case you’re wondering about the power of the planner, don’t worry, I wrote a post about that, too (and one for those who are terrified of time-blocking)!
Fourth, make a cleaning schedule.
This is one of those organization tips for moms that I thought I’d never use. Before I became a parent, I pretty much just cleaned my house whenever I felt like it needed it. Who needs a cleaning schedule? I thought. It’s not that hard to clean a house!
Au contraire. As a mom, you are no longer free to clean whenever you feel like it. Unless your baby sleeps like a log, you can’t vacuum during nap time. You can’t spray chemicals on your surfaces when your little one is crawling around. And you certainly can’t turn your back for one second without them getting into something they shouldn’t.
Enter the cleaning schedule. I discovered when I make a cleaning schedule, I actually get almost everything done each week. For example: Mondays I do laundry, change sheets, and sometimes do a quick sweep of the floors. Wednesdays I declutter and deep clean the kitchen. Thursdays we host Bible study, so I accomplish the majority of the cleaning then: mopping floors, cleaning bathrooms, etc. Fridays, I touch up as needed so we go into the weekend with a nice, clean house.
Side note: if you just had a new baby, disregard the info above and read my post about how to manage household chores as a new mom.
Finally, schedule organization time each week.
I cannot stress the importance of this enough. You can do all the planning, goal-setting, and schedule-making in the world, but if you don’t implement it, it does no good. That’s why the last of my best organization tips for moms is scheduling organization time each week.
This means taking thirty minutes to an hour looking over your schedule, making mental notes of appointments (like doctor appointments *heehee*), making meal plans, and generally just planning out your week.
My doctor appointment debacle occurred because I happened not to do this that week. I normally plan do my organization sesh first thing Monday morning (or Sunday nights, occasionally), and it didn’t happen that week. Thus, we missed the appointment. Don’t be like me; make your appointments.
Okay mama, I want you to make this your best year ever! Set goals, and break them down into manageable bites. Get to meal planning and using a planner (paper or digital). Make a cleaning schedule, and schedule organization time each week. If you get off schedule, just pick up where you left off. You got this, mama! Use these best organization tips for moms, and live the organized life you dream of this year.
What are your best organization tips for moms? Share them in the comments!
