Let’s Get Organized!

By. Teresa Marchant

I’m a librarian.  You would naturally assume I’m organized. My professional life is highly organized which might explain why I was less than organized in my personal life. Over the years I have tried to maintain order amongst the chaos.  I would like to offer you some tips on how I achieved organization in BOTH aspects of your life!

Work

Create daily folders (digital or hard copy) that goes along with your lesson plans. I usually create my own lesson plan/schedule as an online template.

Having an Emergency Sub Plan folder should be part of your planning. You never know when you might need it.  Better safe than sorry.

Using a file folder to organize paperwork for renewing your teaching certificate will save you time. This is helpful for your professional development credits.  If you haven’t started, now is a good time to start!

Placing labels on the outside of containers makes it easier to locate items for your classroom and future use.  You can create your own labels using the Circuit!

Home

Use a filing system and an “emergency” accordion folder found at Staples. Birth certificates, passports, vehicle registration and other important documents are hard to replace if they are lost in a fire. All members of your household should know where this folder is located.

Deal with the mail each day! Seriously, throw the junk away before it hits the counter. This also means your email. It’s easier to deal with on a smaller scale, trust me, I’ve learned my lesson.

Take time to weekly meal planning. This cuts down on trips to the store and can save you money. You can stay organized with weekly or bi-monthly grocery trips by keeping a list on the fridge when you run out of things. Save time through Instacart!

Hold weekly family meetings to review activities for the week.  This is critical to your sanity.  Having six kids was very chaotic and we used a LARGE calendar to organize activities by person.

Check out exclusive offers to the Container Store. Select a large tub for each child to hold “important papers” like school projects and other mementos of their childhood. They love going back through these and laugh at the items they HAD to keep!

Buy in bulk at places like Costco and use the oldest items first! This is a lifesaver.  When you store your items, put new purchases behind the last one.

Have a reusable cleaning chart for chores. This way you know who is responsible for bathrooms, trash, and dishes at a minimum. Try to have others in your household help with nightly “pick up”. Turn up the music and set the timer for 5 minutes. See how much can get done in a short amount of time.

Garage

If you can’t park your car in your garage, you may need some help organizing it. Amazon has timesaving tools and accessories that will help. Try adding hooks for bikes and camping gear and add large storage bins for easy access to swimming and winter gear.  If you have room,  it’s a nice idea to keep clothes for hand-me-downs or charitable donations in these bins as well.  Figure out what works for you. My way of organizing may drive someone else crazy!  As you daily, weekly, and monthly tackle the junk that piles up, you will feel less stress. We can then enjoy the organized places in our homes and workplaces.

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