Organizing tips | Mama Papa

There are a lot of aspects of parenting that need to be tended to. Staying organized, though requires effort, can often save a lot of time and head ache. Here are some tips that may help keep you more organized thereby freeing up your time to do better and more useful things.

Everything in its place. If you just followed one tip on this list, this would be it. Practice this, and you can skip the rest of the tips and articles listed in this post. Seriously.For everything that you own, designate a place for it. You can even label some of those places, to make it easier to remember. Find something that doesn’t have a place? Designate a place for it. Then simply put things back where they belong when you’re done using them. It sounds simple, but it actually takes a lot of practice to get this habit down.
A shoe organizer hung on the back of any door stores hapts, scarves, gloves and more.
Put things you use frequently (keys, purses) on waist level shelves and rarely used items up onto higher levels.

Start small. If your life and your home and your office are all incredibly disorganized, don’t try to conquer all of it at once. Choose a small chunk (maybe the top of your desk, or at least one part of it?) and organize that. Then come up with a simple system to keep it organize, and try to practice that system until it becomes habit. Now expand your “zone of organization” further, to a new area. One chunk at a time, you can get organized.
Each season, schedule a day in your calendar for the fmaily to cull unused shoes, jackets, hats, mitts, etc.
Create routines. One of the best ways to keep your life organized is to make routines for everything — for errands, laundry, finances, etc. And if you do this one at a time, and make it a habit, you can pptimize your life this way.
Make staying organized a team effort. Each evening, you and the kids do the "five minute fury". Return sports equipment, toys, dishes, etc., to their proper place before you read them a story.
Make your system usable. If you’re having problems with your organization system, take a careful look at what’s tripping you up. Sometimes there’s a difficulty or complication that makes the system too difficult to use. If it’s too difficult, you won’t use it. Keep it simple and usable — if possible, even fun — and you’ll be more likely to stick to the system.
Clean as you go. This is a great habit … instead of having big cleaning binges, clean things as you go. Done using some dishes? Wash them right away. Clean the toilet when you finish using it, so it never gets dirty.

All info in one place. Use a text document, a wiki, or some other type of system to keep all the information you regularly use and need in one place. You’ll never look for it again.
Designate a basket or shelf are for mail. Keep a small recycle bin near your entryway, hidden under a foyer table for junk mail.
Put it away now. Done using something? Most people will put it down somewhere nearby, with the intention of putting it away later. But messy houses and offices are full of these intentions. Instead of letting things pile up, put them away immediately. Right now, no exceptions.
Hang pegs and 3M removeable hooks in a mudroom, about 3 feet feet high so little ones can hang coats, and backpacks as soon as they step inside.
Use an inbox, and empty it. Instead of having papers all over the place, have one inbox for all incoming papers. Well, one for your office, and one for your home. Now you’ll never lose a piece of paper again. Empty it regularly (at whatever regular intervals work for you — daily, weekly, every other day, etc.).
Provide each family memeber with a "drop" basket to contain items like books, mittens, backpacks, etc. This ensures that little ends up on the floor or is trailed through the house.
Anything you see around the house that is meant for someone or somewhere else (friend items, store returns, things for the office) get it to the front door right away, to ensure it does not end up creating more clutter.
Keep a simple filing system. If your filing system is too complicated, chances are you won’t use it.
A three-tier drawer system or wall mounted file holder will let you sort papers rather than absently pile them.
In the kitchen, have larger containers desinated for specific paper collections like kids art, homework, school notices, bills, etc.
Google Calendar. It really doesn’t matter what calendar system you use, but I’ve found that Gcal works best for me. It’s so simple and fast, and as an online calendar I can access it from anywhere. The whole family can share a Google Calendar, and put everything on it: work stuff, personal stuff, our kid’s school and extracurricular events, birthdays, family gatherings, reminders to follow up on things, school holidays, and much more. It keeps all scheduling in one place, and you'll never have to worry about remembering again. Other good calendar options: 30 Boxes and Outlook are also popular.