​Take Time To Plan - Weekly planning sessions will have a big impact on helping you stay in control and at peace as the week progresses.  Decide what day works best for you …possibly Saturday mornings, Sunday evenings or Monday mornings.  This will help you and your family stay organized and avoid the chaos of forgetting appointments, activities or other details at the last minute.   Use this planning session to go over the upcoming week’s schedule and add errands, deadlines, appointments, phone calls etc. to your calendar.  This is also a good time to plan the week’s menu for meals and to update the weekly chore chart.
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10 Minutes Each Night - Have each family member take 10 minutes before bedtime to get ready for the next day.  Pick out outfits, pack everything that needs to go to school and set it by the door.  Also, gather together after school supplies for activities.  Doing this will make the mornings run smoother and will prevent items from being forgotten.  This is also a great time to have family members tidy up their rooms and play areas and put things away.

Conquer Clutter - Everything in your home should have a permanent home, if this is not the case in your family, take the time to assign homes to everything you own and make sure other family members know where things go.  It is also important to take time each year to de-clutter and purge items that you are no longer using.   Kids tend to accumulate and grow out of things rapidly, so by moving unwanted items out of the house on a regular basis, you balance what is coming in with what’s going out.

Practice the Two Minute Rule – Teach your family to practice the two minute rule; If it takes less than two minutes to put something away, do it now rather than later.  This will prevent clutter from accumulating and will ensure that items can be found when they are needed.  It’s always easier to do a task now rather than wait until you have an enormous and overwhelming pile of mess to tackle.   You will also appreciate not having constant clutter sitting around your home.

Make a List –Do you have too much stuff floating around in your head telling you what needs to get done?  Creating a daily to-do list allows you to dump all that stuff onto paper and get it out of your head.  A to-do list helps you to let go and relax and ensures that you won’t forget anything.  Additionally, it is gratifying to be able to cross items off your list as you complete them.  Be sure to have just one to-do list and not several.   Having a grocery list is also extremely helpful.  Teach family members to immediately add items to the grocery list when they run out of something.  As you plan your weekly menus, add the meal ingredients to the list.

Establish Routines – Routines can help keep families in order.  Everyone functions better once a system is in place, but routines are especially important for children.  Forming habits, such as doing homework at the same time every day, and having set bath and bedtimes, can help both you and your child feel more in control. Routines give a sense of security and predictability that make our lives feel less chaotic. Establish a school routine with your child as soon as possible and stick with it.

Learn To Say No – This may be the most important step in promoting peace and organization within your family.  Today, many families overbook their days, not wanting to miss out on activities and opportunities.  We also struggle with saying “no” to requests for commitments because we feel pressured.  It’s always easier to tell someone “yes” than it is to say “no” but it is important to stand firm for your family’s sake.   Be selective about your volunteer time, choosing only those causes that are most important to you and limit the number of activities your children participate in. Make having meals together a priority and schedule unstructured time along with your activities.  Balancing activities and commitments with time spent at home is essential to ensuring peace and harmony within your family.   

Written By Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Professional Organizing Services

Write It Down
A calendar and a to do list are wonderful helpers when it comes to staying organized.  Put EVERYTHING that you need to get done on your electronic or paper calendar.  Even routine chores like washing the bedding is more likely to get done if you write it on your calendar.  Daily TO-DO lists are great for getting those nagging thoughts of what you need to get done out of your head and on paper.  Be sure to keep only ONE list, and have fun crossing items off your list as you complete them!  

Everything In Its Place
Everything in your life should have a place to call home.  Where do your car keys go?  Do you have one designated spot for your check book?  Assign homes to everything you own, start with your purse and work all the way down to your fingernail clippers.    

 
Put It Away Now
Practice the 2 minute rule, if it will take less than 2 minutes to put something away, then do it now.  Don’t set it down on the dining room table and leave it there.   It will be easier to do now than to wait until you have an enormous and overwhelming pile of mess to tackle.  Your home will stay clutter free if you can master this one good habit.


Establish Helpful Routines
We all function better once we have developed a system.  Forming habits like doing chores at the same time every week, and having other set routines can help you feel more in control.   Routines give us a sense of security and predictability that makes our lives feel less chaotic.  Establish a work routine  and stick with it. You will find that life runs smoother when you have set routines in place.

Less Is More                                              
Look around your home and evaluate everything you have, it is serving you?  Is everything you see pleasing to the eye?  If you have a surplus items in your home that you have not used and/or they no longer lift you up when you look at them, it is time to say goodbye.  A peaceful and welcoming home is one that includes plenty of open space.  Too much décor and/or furnishings  creates stress on the eyes and makes a home look smaller.  Less stuff allows energy into your home and creates a peaceful environment.  So less really is more!

Written By Laura Coufal
Clean & Clutter Free
Cleanclutterfree.com
cleanclutterfree@gmail.com