Smart tips to help you stay organised

Life is complicated! It’s hard to plan every aspect of your day and even harder to stick to that plan.

When your plans unravel and unexpected things pop up life may feel out of control and messy. Sometimes we just need a little help to get back on track, so here are some tips we found to stay organised and make life a little easier in the long run.

• Write everything down

Even if you have the best memory in the world, don’t rely on it! When you are busy and trying to focus on many things it is easy to forget something. Avoid this by writing it all down! Either in a notebook or in the notes on your phone.

• Scan and back up your photos

Scared of losing your precious family photos but sick of your house being taken over by albums? Easy fix – have all of your pictures scanned and saved to your computer or device. You will be able to access them easily whenever you need and they won’t take up your living room. You can safely store your hard copies in a cupboard or memorabilia box that can be tucked away to free up some space.

• Check the expiration dates of medicines and canned goods

De-clutter your cupboards and make room for new supplies by checking expiration dates. The Return Unwanted Medicines (RUM) project is perfect for this, you can take your unwanted medication to your pharmacy so they can be disposed of properly. You may be surprised by how long some things have been hiding in the pantry…

• Create a list of passwords in a safe app or offline file

Passwords are integral to security and privacy, however it is not recommended that we have the same password for everything. A good idea is to keep all of your passwords together somewhere safe, via a password app or even just a word document on the computer.

• Create a donations area 

To avoid clutter and gathering unnecessary items around the home create a spot for items that can be donated to charity. It’s a good idea to have a box somewhere in the house you can put stuff in that is in good condition but no longer needed. Try and pop something in every week and then at the end of the month drop them off to a charity.

• Create a shelf for things that can be thrown away

Similar to the donation station but for items that cannot be re-used or are broken.

• The one minute rule

If you notice something around the house that needs doing and you can do it in under a minute…do it. Simple things like picking clothes up off the floor and putting them in a basket, wiping down a bench, putting shoes away etc. If it will only take one minute of your time, why not do it now?

Finally, don’t stress! Like we said before, life is complicated and some days won’t run smoothly and that is okay.

How do you stay organised?