If you know me at all, you know I love to stay organized. It may border on an obsession, but that’s a topic for another time. Today, I want to share my top five tools to stay organized. These are the tools I use almost daily to keep track of my crazy busy life, and I know they can help you, too.
Don’t get overwhelmed
In the world of organization, the available tools to stay organized are endless. If you’re looking to get more organized, you may be a little overwhelmed by all the products out there.
My best advice is to try just one thing at a time and see how it works for you. It’s tempting to go a little crazy and buy or try every tool you come across. But take a deep breath, because if you do that, you will burn yourself out and be no closer to reaching your organizational goals.
So without further ado, here are my top five tools to stay organized:
1. Planner
A planner is number one on my list because I honestly don’t know what I’d do without mine. I started using a planner three years ago, and I can’t imagine how I lived without it all those years.
A good planner has a few key features:
A monthly and weekly spread
This may be obvious, but I can’t tell you how many products I’ve seen marketed as “planners” when all they have is a monthly spread. That’s not a planner; it’s a calendar. There’s a difference, people.
The monthly spread is great for tracking paydays, important days (like birthdays and anniversaries), and appointments. I use this part when I’m scheduling my doctor’s appointments so I can quickly see if I have a conflict.
The weekly spread is where the magic happens. My planner has vertical days and is broken up by the hour. This is super helpful if you want to time-block. I write in my appointments and commitments as blocks here as well. Since I don’t look at my monthly spread everyday, I write down anything I need to remember on my daily spread too (like when the electric company needs to come read out meter).
A place for lists
This is important because you need a place to write down your grocery lists and to-do lists. My planner actually has two list areas on each weekly spread, and they are so helpful! I use one for my to-do lists and the other for my grocery list. If your planner doesn’t have a list section, you can use the notes section (even the most basic planners have at least a few pages for notes at the back).
Tabbed months
This is mostly personal preference, but I will never buy a planner that doesn’t have tabs on the months. It’s just too much hassle to flip through the entire planner to find the month you need. Trust me, save yourself some time and get a planner with tabbed months.
My favorite planner
People often ask me which planner I recommend. I’ve tried several over the last few years, and my favorite is by far the Living Well Planner. It’s incredibly functional and great for goal-setting. Two of my favorite features are the budget section and project planning pages. And I can’t forget to mention that it’s super pretty, which makes it fun to use! As the top item on my list of tools to stay organized, I’d be remiss if I didn’t tell you how to use it, so check out this post about how to use a planner.
2. Pilot FriXion Erasable Pens
Have you ever written something down using a pen and then kicked yourself because you made a mistake or need to change it? I do that all the time, and my type-A personality hates seeing crossed out text or scribbles on my paper. So a good friend of mine recommended the Pilot FriXion erasable gel pens and I absolutely fell in love!
These pens are amazing! They come in some seriously pretty colors, and they are erasable! Y’all. These pens were a game-changer for me. No longer did I have to mess up my pretty papers and planners with scribbles. I also didn’t have to write in pencil like a grade school student.
I use these beautiful pens with my planner (and color-code them, of course). When my schedule changes, I just erase and rewrite!
One word of caution:
The ink does not react well to high heat—it actually disappears! Which is great if you want to draw a secret map to buried treasure, but not so much when you need to remember an important appointment. So don’t leave your planner in the car in the summer. But if you do on accident, place it in the freezer for a few minutes, and the ink should reappear (but I wouldn’t test it with something as important as my planner).
3. Weekly Wizard™ Sheet
Next on my list of tools to stay organized is the Weekly Wizard™ Sheet. This handy tool was developed by Ruth Soukup over at Living Well Spending Less. The Weekly Wizard™ Sheet is great for crushing your weekly goals. I either received it as part of a bundle, or purchased it a couple years ago; I can’t exactly remember. But I have it as a digital printable. Since I hate using a lot of colored ink on my printer, so I just printed one copy and slid it into a plastic sheet protector. I use dry erase markers to fill it in each week, and then erase with a damp paper towel when I’m done.
I love this sheet because it helps me prioritize my time. As a busy mom, it’s easy to get distracted by all the little things that need to get done. The Weekly Wizard™ Sheet divides my tasks into A, B, or C priority, and I love how it helps boost my productivity. Although it’s not available as a digital printable anymore, you can purchase the Weekly Wizard™ Sticky Notes, which may be even better! You can stick them right in your planner so it’s all in one place.
On the same note, Ruth also has the Daily Focus™ Sheet, which you can buy as either a digital printable, or as sticky notes. While I have not tried these personally, others have had great success with them.
4. Walmart Grocery App
I’ve written about this app (available for iPhone and Android) and how much it helps me with meal planning before, but I have to mention it again because it’s just so awesome. Basically, you shop for all your groceries in the app, adding them to your cart as you go. If you search for something (bread, for instance), the app pulls up all products that match that word. Then, you have the option to either scroll through to find what you need, or you can filter the results by brand. Amazing!
Once you have everything you need, select a Walmart store where you want to pick up your items. Not all stores do this, but they’re adding more locations all the time. Next, select a pick-up time (a one-hour time slot: 1-2 pm, for example). Then you pay in the app and that’s it!
When your groceries are ready, they send you a notification in the app. You have to “check in” when you’re on your way, and the app uses the location settings on your phone to alert the store when you arrive. The store has designated parking spots where you pull in to wait for them to bring out your order. I’ve never had to wait more than a few minutes. An associate brings your items out to your car and even loads them for you. Then you sign for your order and you’re on your way!
A couple things to note about Walmart Grocery:
- You have to spend at least $30 to use it, but that’s never an issue for me.
- You can’t always select a same-day pick-up time. If I place my order early in the morning, I can sometimes snag a late afternoon or evening pick-up time, but not always. In that case, you have to select a time for the next day.
- You are not required (or even allowed, I think) to tip the associate who brings out your order.
- If they don’t have an item you ordered, they will substitute it for you and you can choose to either accept or reject the substitution.
I love, love, love this app because it saves me the hassle of taking my seven-month-old in the store. Since I can shop right from my kitchen, I don’t overspend on things I don’t need. And because it helps me meal plan, it’s one of my favorite tools to stay organized.
5. Google Keep
I actually just found out about this handy thing a few months ago. If you have a Google account, you have access to Google Keep. You can use it in your desktop browser (there’s even an extension you can add to your toolbar), but I like to use the widget on my phone (it’s available for both iPhone and Android).
You can use Google Keep to make lists, store website links you want to remember, and take notes. The widget puts all the files in these cute little tiles for easy access. You can also tag and color-code the files if you want. I use it when I’m on the go or don’t have easy access to my planner.
Alright, mama! Now it’s your turn to find tools to stay organized. My number one challenge for you is to try using a planner (with the pretty FriXion Pens, of course), because it has the potential to change your life. Simplify your meal planning with the Walmart Grocery App, and crush your weekly goals with the Weekly Wizard™ Sheet. And stay organized on the go with the Google Keep widget on your phone. I hope these five tools to stay organized help you as you work toward living the simple life you love.
What are your top tools to stay organized? Let us know in the comments!
