Simple Organization 101 with Faithful Friday Link Up

I had an ah-ha moment a week or two ago. I’m not so much organized as goal oriented. It only takes a look into some of our drawers, closets, and cupboards to realize that organization is not of the highest importance to me. It isn’t that I’m disorganized exactly-it’s that there are people out there who are much more organized than I. Who thrive on organizing.

Clutter-free is important. Clear counters is important. Picked up toys is important. Spending precious time keeping t-shirts lined up just so or labeling my refrigerator shelves is so not on my important radar. If the drawer shuts, I call it an organizational success.

Hmmm…

Organization can be overwhelming and daunting. In my life I have to juggle 4 kids and a husband and all their junk not to mention all of our various schedules. I also juggle home schooling and all the paraphernalia that accompanies that. Plus I have to juggle a home business and all the equipment and paperwork that is part of that. Let me tell you, if it was only me, I’d be organized. I’d be the queen of organization. Sigh…

For me, I need an organizational system that is low maintenance. I don’t want to spend tons of time planning a system, nor keeping it up. I don’t want elaborate, I want simple. My system needs to be fairly no-brainer.

Here are my low maintenance methods for staying organized…

–Purging. Seriously, I love to purge. It is freeing. Plus there is the opportunity to bless someone else with my random junk. I am clearing out clothes that don’t fit or are worn out. I am getting rid of equipment we no longer use.

-Make a school room for the first time ever. I am still going to be having 2 of my kids in the dining room this year, but our Friday school will be taking place downstairs. I am going to be setting up my flags, globe, maps, and all that kind of stuff to the basement. I have more room down there, and it is time with our new Unit Study approach to make a designated area. I also am purchasing a corner hutch for my dining room in the next few weeks. It will serve the joint purposes of a beautiful dining room  piece, a place to hold my favorite knick-knacks and dishes, and a hidden place for our regular school books and supplies.

-Created a syllabus for school for the first time ever. Yes. I have never done this before, but I already have my unit studies for the year mostly planned out. Weekly or monthly I am going to have to do some home work for science and history, but the main planning is already done. Wow! That is uber organized in my book.

–Keep records not papers, and file in respective filing drawers according to business and school. For tax purposes, I need to keep 5 years of records. For school, I don’t need to keep every paper, I just need to record what we have done.

-Utilize the Cozi app. After hearing about this multiple times from various friends, I decided to download it and check it out. It has a calendar and a grocery list section, plus tabs for to-do lists and journaling. I can’t wait to explore and see how I can optimize it. I think it will be helpful for scheduling blog posts, individual and family events, and my husband’s jobs.

In conjunction with this, within the next week or so, I will put all of our school year weekly activities, with times, into the calendar. Then I will know what is on our plate, and what I need to schedule around. And if there is room to add more or not.

What are your tips for getting/staying organized? Share with me in the comments…

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