One of my number one questions I am asked is “How are you so organised?” and I am here to share a slight disclaimer… I was born with it. I genuinely believe I was born with the ‘organisation gene’ in my DNA. It’s in my blood, in my nature, it’s just in me. And always has been. Administration and organisation are my hobbies, I find them fun!
I also often chuckle because many people are not surprised when they find out I have a teaching degree, and I have found a few common generalisations about teachers too:
- They are naturally organised people.
- They love stationery.
- They have neat handwriting (like the opposite of doctors with their illegible handwriting)
But back to the point of the blog post – how am I so organised? Yes, it is in me. Yes, it comes naturally. And yes, I like to be organised. But also let’s be honest – I couldn’t have had five children if I wasn’t organised. So this post is to share a few of my favourite tips and tricks, or organisation hacks to see if they may help you. Some are the usual no-brainers that you hear often and maybe you will learn something new today.
- Use a planner. Yes, it seems so simple and so many people try and often don’t keep up with it but use it. And use two – use a paper planner and use a digital planner/calendar. I promise this helps schedule and juggle your life and the many balls we have in the air at any given time. Put EVERYTHING in these planner as soon as you receive them (annual dates, birthdays, holidays, school functions, sport fixtures, appointments, bills to pay, exercise, weekly check ups, to do lists, all of it). Share your digital calendar with your spouse so you can be on the same page without actually having to communicate often (this helps when weeks get crazy busy! Not ideal but I am just being realistic!) Colour code so it’s easier to differentiate between all the children, all the tasks, all the juggling balls at one quick glance. I do realise as I type this that is a whole blog post on its own, so watch this space.
- Whatsapp yourself. One of the best hacks I have ever learnt. I send myself all the invitations, fixtures, directions, documents, screenshots, images, to do lists. And it is so easy to find them by date or in the “images, links and documents” tab on Whatsapp.
- Meal plan. Don’t roll your eyes, just do it. I promise it helps with so much: decision making, healthy meals, family time together, saving money and less food waste. Again this is a whole another post which will come soon but the quick story is: meal plan for a two week rotation, rotate your 8-10 favourite dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner, shop weekly on a Sunday or Monday (or online delivery) and then a top up on a Friday for the weekend. Trust me on this one.
- Prep the night before. The key to our mornings running smoothly in our home, preparation the night before. All bags are packed, all uniforms are out, all homework is done and signed, all lunchboxes lined up to be packed, basic house is cleared and cleaned and we are ready for morning. I check the next days calendar, to-do list and school app for any new events or reminders for the next day and I even check the weather to decide on my outfit choice.
- Purchase on the 1st of the month. At the beginning of each month, look at the calendar and set out your purchases: check your beauty and make up empties to replace, buy and wrap all birthday gifts for the month, write all birthday cards, set up all deliveries for birthdays or care packages (flowers or meals). And keep a back up stash – blank birthday cards for all ages, gift wrapping and even generic, cute birthday gifts for the current gender and age of your kids (very helpful for those last minute parties that you need a quick gift!)
- Schedule annual check ups for January, in November. Every November, I contact our dentist, optometrist, dermatologist, gynae and hairdresser to book our annual check ups and appointments for the whole family. And we set the appointment dates for the last few days of the holidays in January, before we head back to school. This also applies to our car license, drivers licence and passport renewals. Sometimes, these need to be booked for half year too and sometimes, these need to be split up to allow for split payments (if they aren’t covered by medical aid etc) because otherwise January is a pricey month!
- Rhythms and routines. I understand this isn’t going to work for the spontaneous folk but I recently read Habits of the Household for the second time and guys, do yourself a favour – it’s like a love language for me. The power of rhythms and routines is mind blowing and it helps so much in this fast-paced world that we live in. Simple ideas: shop weekly on a Monday, wash your hair on a Sunday and Wednesday, fill up your car and wash car on a Sunday, pay bills on a Monday, pizza and games night on a Friday, all check ups and appointments on the 1st of the month. It sounds silly to some but it takes away the decision making hassle, it’s a built in plan and it becomes a habit. Find what works for you.
Let’s be honest, there are many more tips, tricks and hacks and I will share many more as we go through this crazy, beautiful life. And I hope that you found some of these helpful.
What are your favourite organisation hacks to share?
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Image from Elevae Visuals