My Tools For Staying Organised... (at least trying to anyway!)

I often have people ask me how I am always so organised. Since having my 3rd child, I have discovered that staying organised is the key to keeping everything else running smoothly, and also makes life a lot less stressful. 

Sometimes, however, life gets in the way and my little organised way of life flies out the window, but with a few simple tools, it is fairly easy to pick up again. I have found that the following things have been really helpful:


The Household Planner
This is simply a large A4 ring binder with note paper, plastic pockets and dividers for different things. You can use your Household Planner in many ways, and store all sorts of useful information in it.

Our Household Planner is easily accessible to everyone in the house, which is important. It helps to ensure that even if I'm not around at the time, my husband or even my children can refer to it quickly and easily.

At the very front of our Household Planner, I have listed important information such phone numbers and addresses for family, friends, doctors etc, Medicare and Ambulance Membership Numbers, and a printed out map with directions to our house highlighted (and also written down on the page alongside it). This is all information which would be useful in an emergency, or if somebody else is looking after the children for us. Following this section are my dividers.

To give you an idea of how one of these Planners could be organised, I have listed below the divider title and brief description of the contents of each of these sections for Our Household Planner. If you want to make your own, you could use these ideas yourself, or tailor your planner to suit yourself or your family.

Daily Routines
This section is where I keep my To Do Lists, Daily and Morning, Afternoon and Evening Routines (discussed in more detail below)


Medical 
In this section, a plastic sleeve is allocated to each family member to store important medical information such as prescriptions, hospital appointment letter, referrals etc. I also have copy of my medicine cupboard contents and their expiry dates (as per my medical stocktake tip). 

Special Events 

This section is a place to put invitations, notes for party planning, reminders for upcoming shows etc
Cleaning Zone Lists
I have divided the house into 5 different zones:

• Zone 1 - The Entrance, Front Porch and Pergola
• Zone 2 - The Kitchen, Dining Room and Office Area
• Zone 3 - The Bathroom/Toilet and Laundry
• Zone 4 - The Living Room and Master Bedroom
• Zone 5 - The Children's Bedrooms (x2)

For each zone, I have listed all the cleaning tasks which would be a more detailed clean than the general once over, and those jobs that generally get put off as they are 'too hard'. Things like cleaning windows, skirting boards, fans, walls, oven, cobwebs, washing curtains etc.

The idea is to pick one zone each week and every day choose at least 5 jobs from the list to complete so that at the end of the week, the list is completed and one zone of the house has had a thorough clean. The next week you move on to the next zone and so on until you come back to the start and begin all over again. It’s much easier to tackle a few small jobs at a time than trying to do them all in one mammoth effort.

This is something I need to begin implementing again as since Melody was born, this has kind of gone out the window a bit!
Bills To Be Paid
This has 3 sections: 

• Bill Timelines and Comparisons - a sheet with tables for each utility bill, where each bill amount is recorded against the year/month it was received. This helps to estimate how much a bill will be and approximately when it will be due going by previous bills. It also helps to to compare bills and work out whether it is time to investigate moving to a cheaper provider due to price increases. This also helps when working out our annual budget as I can see at a glance how much we have spent over the year on regular bills. 
• Monthly Bill Summary - a table printed out on an A4 page for each month for listing bills due that month, date and amount due, date paid and method of payment (ie direct debit, cash, B-Pay etc) and any comments (ie receipt numbers etc). I place all paper bills on the reverse side of the plastic sleeve for the corresponding month (in date order) so that they are easy to locate when that bill is due. 
• Pay Day and Bill Forcaster - this is a table which shows when each pay day falls, and also when bills are due. This helps to work out which months are going to be the most expensive months for bills so that I can plan ahead to make sure we have enough money set aside to cover them. 

Budget 
Here I have a simplified print out of our annual budget, showing yearly and monthly totals for expenses and income.

I also have a sheet with bank details showing breakup of automatic payments set aside for bills and the accounts they go to.

The most important thing in this section I feel is our Savings Thermometer! We have given ourselves a goal of saving $20,000 towards a home deposit, and every time we save $250 towards that goal, we mark it off on our thermometer with the date we reached that mark. It really does help to keep the goal of saving in mind as it is really satisfying every time another mark is added and the goal amount gets closer and closer!
Menu Planning and Grocery Lists
In this section, I have a monthly menu plan, a generic shopping list, and an inventory of food that is in the pantry and freezers. I also use this section to keep recipes I might like to try out.
Gift Ideas
In this section, I have a list of people’s birthdays, a Birthday Gift List and Christmas Gift List table which provides space to list ideas for gifts for people, where the item can be found, and price. These lists help to also keep track of gifts which have been purchased in advance throughout the year, and also how much has been spent to ensure that I go not go over budget on gift purchases.
Child Support
This section contains information pertaining to child support, including a running record of payments received and the dates so that I can keep track of the payments more easily.
School 
This section is where I place things regarding school, such as newsletter, excursion notes, canteen price lists etc. Makes it a lot easier and quicker to find the information, and saves having numerous pieces of paper stuck all over the fridge with magnets!
Swimming 
This section is where I put all the information, newsletters, development reports etc in regards to Jack's swimming classes.
Scouts
This section is where I put all the information, newsletters, etc in regards to Scouts.
Household & Nappy Bag Diaries We have a large day-to-a-page diary at home, where all appointments and important information is recorded. I keep this diary next to the Household Planner for quick reference.

I also have a diary which I carry around in my nappy bag so that when I am out and need to make appointments, I can check straight away that the suggested day or time for an appointment is not going to clash with any other plans.

Whether I am at home at the time, or out and about, I record the information in the relevant diary and make sure that it is also recorded in the other one as soon as possible.

With three young children, two of which always seem to have an appointment for something or other, this ensures that we never miss an appointment! It also ensures that library books are always returned before the due date, and that important paperwork is completed and returned on time.


Daily Routines - in more detail

I mentioned above (for the Household Planner) my daily routines. I thought I might go into more detail here as these simple routines really do help to keep me organised and on track.


My Morning Routine - What A Way To Start My Day! 

• Get out of bed 
• Get dressed 
• Make the bed, open the curtains and turn off the power points 
• Wake Jack up and make sure he gets dressed. Open his curtains and turn off his night light. 
• Wake Ebony up and get her dressed. Make her bed, open her curtains and turn off her night light. 
• Organise the kids breakfast, and have breakfast myself. 
• Empty the dishwasher / put dry dishes away. 
• Get meat out for dinner 
• Put dirty washing into the wash baskets, or put on load washing machine if full load ready 
• Check diary and household planner for appointments, bills to pay, mail to post, upcoming birthdays etc 
• Feed fish, rabbit and guinea pig. Check cats biscuits and water bowl and remove wet food bowl for cleaning if finished (Tim normally feeds the cat when he gets ready for work) 
• Swish the toilet, and wipe down the bathroom sink, counters and mirror (once Jack has finished in the bathroom) 
• Check Jack has packed his school bag properly (lunch box, water bottle, notes, reader bag, homework, hat etc) 
• Get Melody ready (ie change nappy and clothes, feed etc) 
• Take Jack to school and post any mail on the way. 

My After School / Before Dinner Routine 

• Check Jack's school bag for notes and get out his lunch box 
• Make sure that Jack does any homework he has (homework is generally done on Monday and Tuesdays, as he has swimming and Scouts on Wednesday and Thursday nights) 
• Get any washing in, fold, and put away 
• Make Tim and Jack's lunch for tomorrow 
• Organise dinner 

My After Dinner / Before Bed Routine 

• Pack Tim's lunch for tomorrow 
• Stack dishwasher or hand wash dishes (depending on amount) 
• Wipe down kitchen benches, stove top, sink and dining table 
• Sweep kitchen and dining room floor 
• Shower/bath Jack and Ebony and get them ready for bed 
• Have a shower 
• Tidy up loungeroom and kids bedrooms 
• Sit down with Jack and do his reader, and read a book with Ebony 
• Put kids to bed 
• Give Melody a bath, feed and put to bed 
• Sit down with Tim, have a cup of tea and relax! 
• Go to bed at a decent hour - you need your rest! 

I also have a weekly routine which these daily routines form part of:


Monday 

• Morning Routine 
• Weekly Home Blessing Hour – vaccum (middle of floors only), dust and mop 
• Select at least 5 items from current cleaning zone to complete 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Empty bins and put wheelie bins out for collection 
• Wash out bins if needed 
• Evening Routine 

Tuesday 

• Morning Routine 
• Water plants 
• Select at least 5 items from current cleaning zone to complete 
• Do any bulk baking/cooking needed 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine 

Wednesday (4.30pm - Swimming class)

• Morning Routine 
• Select at least 5 items from current cleaning zone to complete 
• Clean out fridge 
• Wipe out microwave/toaster/kettle 
• Clean rabbit and guinea pig cage 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine 

Thursday (5.30pm - Joey Scouts night)

• Morning Routine 
• Wash and hang out towels 
• Select at least 5 items from current cleaning zone to complete 
• Clean interior of car (and exterior if required) 
• Clean fish tank 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine 

Friday

• Morning Routine 
• Select at least 5 items from current cleaning zone to complete 
• Prepare grocery list 
• Clean out purse/handbag 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine

Saturday

• Morning Routine 
• Strip beds and wash sheets 
• Change bed sheets 
• Do grocery shopping and put it away 
• Update freezer/pantry inventories 
• Spend at least ½ hour working in the garden (if weather permits) 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine 

Sunday

• Morning Routine 
• Spend at least ½ hour working in the garden (if weather permits) 
• Write menu plan 
• Afternoon Routine 
• Evening Routine 

These routines are not always followed completely, as life is unpredictable at times. The important thing is not to beat myself up if I don't follow the schedule completely, and to remember that it is there simply as a guideline.

Melody might be having a particularly unsettled day where all I can do is sit and have cuddles all day, or I may have appointments to attend, friends to visit and catch up with, or children who just want to play with me - and well, they are far more important than housework!

At the end of the day, children are only children for so long. They will not remember when they get older whether the house was spotless all the time, but they will remember the special time they spend with you!