BETTER LIVING: Organize Your Chores (and Stress Less)
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Before Spring Cleaning looms, let's get our lives (and our homes) more pulled together during these late winter months. We'll emerge like butterflies come March. My secret? Planning and scheduling. Here's how to get it done in a snap.
Spend a little time planning a schedule similar to the one below for your own household, stick to it for two or three weeks (long enough, according to science, to establish or break a habit), and watch how much easier your everyday routines become!
Daily
Housekeeping: Tidy up before bed. Do a load of laundry. Run the dishwasher (if it’s full) at night, and empty in the morning – don’t leave dishes sitting unwashed overnight.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTFinances: Sort through your mail, placing bills and other important correspondence in the appropriate area.
Family: Sort through children’s backpacks each day after school, so important papers, assignments, and artwork don’t get lost (place these in a basket, file, or plastic bin to keep them together). Before bed, repack backpacks with tomorrow’s necessities. Help your children choose tomorrow’s clothing and shoes.
Weekly
Housekeeping: Some people prefer to set one day aside every week for housecleaning, while others prefer to assign certain chores to certain days; choose a system that works for you.
Finances: Pay bills on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, to avoid late fees. Setting up automated payments through your bank for monthly bills like mortgages, car payments and insurance, is also a good idea.
Groceries: There’s no need to hit the supermarket every day. If you plan meals in advance, you can shop once a week. Keep a list taped to the refrigerator (or on a fun clipboard, shown here), and when you’re low on necessities like sugar, flour, or milk, jot it down.
Laundry: Work clothes should be clean and ironed before the week begins, to save time on workdays. Otherwise, choose a day to catch up on washing and folding. Many dry cleaners send garments out on a weekly schedule: ask about your cleaner’s schedule and drop off clothing accordingly, to minimize time out of your closet. Also, look for cleaners that don’t use PERC, which can be dangerous to your health and can seriously pollute the air in your home.
Car: Clean out accumulated trash and replace any must-haves. Car organizers can be very helpful for organizing cell phones, spare change, CDs, etc.
Family: Go over family appointment and activity schedules at the beginning of the week, to make sure there are no conflicts. A dry erase calendar where kids can write in their own appointments is a great tool for easing schedule conflicts.
Monthly
Housekeeping: Big chores like cleaning windows and blinds, washing curtains, and cleaning under/around furniture should be done once a month, or every other month. Set aside a day to take care of these necessities. If you can get the whole family involved, even better.
Groceries: Bulk shopping should be done once a month; it’s a great way to buy items like toilet paper, paper towels, and other household necessities. Make a list before you go.
Finances: File billing statements according to your personal system. Shred anything you don’t need to keep. Recycle old catalogues when their replacements come in.
Recycling: Any items that can’t be picked up by your weekly recycling service should be brought to your local recycling center once a month. You can recycle batteries, CDs, shredded paper, even old electronics; call or go online to find out the specifics for your area.
Family: Review the family calendar at the start of the month, taking note of any birthdays, holidays, parties, or other special events that will require purchasing gifts or tickets, or that will require special planning.
Quarterly
Housekeeping: Sort through closets at the start of each season, eliminating items that no longer fit, or that you or your children no longer wear. Donate these items to charity, or store them for next year’s consignment. Toys and books should be purged in a similar manner.
Finances: If you pay taxes quarterly, gather all necessary material to give to your accountant. If you use a computer accounting system like QuickBooks, make sure all your entries are up to date.
Garage: Organize tools, gardening items and seasonal items. Discard broken, rusted, or otherwise unusable items, to free valuable space.
It’s easy to get organized – and stay organized – when you have a system in place. Stick to your schedule and you'll find yourself with less stress, and maybe even a little more free time!
Candita Clayton is the founder of Your Life Organized and author of Clean Your Home Healthy. Visit her online, here.
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