My Tips for Staying Organized While Working Full Time AND My Big Secret

Gosh guys, today we are going to get a little personal. Our life this week has been a bit unexpected, we had our first experience with a toddler & stitches. It was not fun– at all. But at the end of the night, when a forehead was mended and everyone was tucked back in their beds sleeping, I was thinking– wow, that was the most organized chaos we’d ever experienced. But no worries, the little guy is on the mend and recuperating well. He’d probably prefer to have a distinguishing scar, but this mama will be scouring the shelves at Meijer for some children’s scar treatment!

Scroll to the bottom of this post for my big secret! EEEEKKKK!

As we where going through the emergency with Owen, we were simultaneously applying pressure to control the bleeding, throwing the diaper bag in the truck, remembering snacks/shoes/sippy cup, and pajamas to make him feel more comfortable. Oh and the lovey. He always feels comforted by a lovey. Like I said, it was an efficiently organized chaotic Monday night. This left me wondering what my next blog post could be about…. this experience inspired me to write about keeping our home organized even at the busiest times– like week nights.

In order for me to feel calm throughout our lives, Jordan & I really like to keep our house organized. But it is so hard when we are away from the house 10 hours of the day. Then boom, it’s like a tornado of lunch boxes, paperwork, and mail arrives before dinner! Are you in a similar situation? I was thinking, if I could tell anyone a few simple tips to staying organized, what would they be? They need to free and most importantly– easy to do! Here are the biggest impacts for keeping this mama organized, even when I’m away from the house for a majority of the day.

 

My Tips for Staying Organized While Working Full-Time

Don’t Push it Aside: When the kids and Jordan arrive home, so do 2 book bags, 3 lunch boxes, paperwork from the kid’s daycare, and then the mail. The mail! It’s 95% junk mail. How on earth are you going to organize that tornado of your own home? Here is how I do it….. I never let it sit. Yes, that simple! Immediately tackle ALL OF IT. You will never have more energy to deal with it then as soon as it enters your house.

• Lunch Boxes: Take the few minutes to unpack the lunch boxes. You can probably do then entire family’s in less than a minute.
• The Mail: Next, quickly review the mail while standing close to the trash can. It’s so easy to toss your mail away when you look at it. If you’re unsure about a promotional ad, consider if you can find the coupon online at retailers like RetailMeNot. If you can, toss the circular.
• Grocery Store Circular: If you’re meal planning, you will want to reference your store’s sale ads. But if they are already online, will you really use the mailer? Toss it. If you’re ever in doubt about a sale, you can easily pull up the circular in just a few minutes online. If you’re saving it because you think you need it, watch to see if you ever reference it when it comes time to shop. If you notice that you aren’t referring to the circular in recent weeks, go ahead and feel comfortable tossing it upon arrival.
• Bills & School Forms: Have a designated spot for the really important stuff that you need to tackle. Make it small & out in the open. You won’t enjoy looking at it if you have to look at it all the time. 😉

 

Make Your Efforts Work Twice as Hard: Throughout the weekends, items always need to go upstairs or need to be carried downstairs. I make a point to make sure that I never walk up or down the stairs without one arm carrying clutter at the bottom of the stairs or down. I’m already running up to do some task, why not put away two or three items along the way?

 

Use an eCalendar: I use Google calendars for everything. Sure, the obvious uses are doctor’s appointments, but a calendar is so much more. If you haven’t already created a Google account, create one and sync it with your other half. I’e found that simply knowing

• How I use Google Calendar—-
  • Doctor’s Appointments for the entire family — with the provider’s name
  • Dinner Dates — with the time the babysitter is confirmed to arrive
  • Jordan’s work travel arrangements — including flight info
  • When we need to change daycare drop off & pick up arrangements
  • When I need to mail in a bill that can’t be paid online — writing down the due date is too late!
  • Work Events and Dinners
  • Girl’s Night Out

 

…and now it’s time to let you in on a big secret.

Over the past few months, I’ve been working on a secret project. I’ve alluded to it in a few emails to my subscribers in December.

Are you an email subscriber? They always hear the good stuff, first! Sign up here.

And now I am so excited to finally tell everyone….

I wrote an eBook.

When I returned to work after being on maternity leave with Aubrey, I was so, so exhausted. Sure, maybe you could call it “working out the new mom kinks,” but I felt like it was all that I could do to leave on-time in the morning, manage my career, and then finally manage a house and child in the evenings.

I just assumed that this was my “new normal.” Isn’t that what we are all told when you have kids? That your life is going to change? And wow, did it. And it wasn’t enjoyable or easy to manage every single day.

After a few months, Jordan & I realized that Aubrey deserved better than two exhausted parents. We needed to make our situation better. We didn’t have any family nearby (or even in the same timezone) and there wasn’t room in the budget to hire a housekeeper or chef to help us around the house.

So what did we do? We started to integrate new techniques into our daily tasks. We were disciplined in meal planning. We established a routine so that Aubrey knew what was coming next. We found out that keeping our home straightened up wasn’t nearly as taxiing as we made out to be. And when it comes to making a household run more smoothly, every little bit helps! 🙂

Grab a sneak peek over here. The eBook will be launching Monday, February 20th.

Can’t wait? Join my free 5 day eCourse  ‘Making Your Weeknights So Easy’!