Simplify + Organize: A few ideas
Happy 2018, everyone!I was listening to a podcast yesterday about simplifying and organizing. In it, the host asked the guest what would be a simple thing that everyone could do right now to help their home function with more simplicity. The guest said to donate or throw away all of our towels. Explaining that in any given household we have all different kinds of towels, some are one color, others are another color, some are short, some are long, some go in only the kids bathroom, others only in the guest bedroom, while others are only reserved for the master bedroom. So the idea is to buy a stack of twelve, non-expensive towels from Target, all the same size and color, and then you never have to delegate where certain towels go again. Plus, she said the cheaper, scratchier towels dry faster and better. You know it's true.I love this idea, and it inspired me to hunt down other things that would help me simplify and make my house feel like a haven of streamlined happiness. Here are some of the things I found:1. PLANNERS: For years I have wondered, why a planner? It’s not 1992, and even though I am a visual person and prefer handwritten appointments to a pop up digital reminder on my phone, I have a wall calendar. It seemed unnecessary to record things on the wall calendar..but then to also put those appointments in my planner? Why? It wasn’t until this year that I looked through the pages of one and saw the potential for a more organized life. A good planner will have a weekly page where I could keep my lists of weekly dinner plans, right there on the correct week instead of on random pieces of paper in my purse and running unorganized notes on my phone. You can tell I’m a food person because this feature, is single handily what won me over. I like to meal plan, but I like to do it once, in bulk every couple months. My current method is to write long lists of dinner ideas and then divide them up into smaller groups of five (for a week) with each of those weeks made up of equal amounts of soups, vegetarian, easy meals and more involved meals.It occurred to me that I could still do this, but write my final draft into my planner in advance. Also, planners are cute, and I have a large purse so it works out. This also means that while I’m at a doctors appointment and scheduling a new appointment, I could just take my planner out and write the time and date down right then and there instead of taking a little reminder card home and hoping to remember at some point to put it up on the wall calendar. How is checking a card any different than checking planner? It’s not.Here are two companies I like:
Emily Ley:
Erin Condren:
2. THE HOME ORGANIZATIONAL CHALLENGE KIT: This website is awesome and they offer a free program which includes a step by step worksheet and schedule to tackle organizing your kitchen, pantry, dining room, living room, linen closets, and every other nook and cranny in your home. Do as many or few as you’d like. You can do this at any time, of course, but they launch an official program on Jan 6th if you want to do it in a group.
3. BOOKS:Make (Sh)it Happen Book: I put this under books instead of planners, even though it is a planner of sorts, it goes beyond and is also a journal, notebook, and workbook to help you make your dreams and goals your reality.The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up. I love this little book. It helped me specifically to decide to get rid of things I needed to get rid of. This was the best tool I’ve used to clear out my closet, but it goes beyond that.Grace not Perfection: This is the book of the woman I was listening to on the podcast with the towel suggestion. I’ve not read it yet, but I understand it’s meant to take you by the hand and provide practical advice along with inspiration to help get your house working like a well oiled machine. When I read this, I was like TAKE MY MONEY. The author is faith based and she references God, so if this makes you uncomfortable, it may not be the right one for you. But it sounded right up my ally.That’s all she wrote, guys. I hope you find some inspiration in some of the things I’ve found and may you go fourth and get your house in order. Maybe I might actually put the laundry away everyday instead of letting it collect, folded on top of the machines…and if I did that, maybe I would clean that spot where the liquid detergent spilled and has been making the top of the washer sticky for the last three months.What? Miracles happen.For anyone interested, here is a link to the transcribed podcast I listened to.