The secret to an organized life? Time. Since we can't get any more of it, we need to deftly manage what we have, especially during fall's hectic days. These 10 fall organizing tips can help.
Right now, before the mad dash of the holiday season is underway, is the time to get a handle on your home and family schedule.
Start with a master family schedule and conclude with a renewed cleaning routine just in time for fall's cooler, indoor days.
10 Fall organizing tips task one: Create a shareable master family schedule. Include details such as doctor appointments, soccer matches, play dates, and lunch meetings in the week ahead. Here's how it works:
Plan to combine errands this fall to save time and make room for more enjoyable activities.
The weather is getting cooler, and less junk in the house makes it easier to get organized. As an incentive to declutter your home, plan to unload the cast offs at a weekend yard sale. As an extra plus - you can make some pocket money to put toward the holiday season ahead.
Take a tip from school cafeterias and set up a monthly meal plan. Assign each meal a night on a biweekly basis.
If it's Monday, you're having pasta. If it's Thursday - pizza. Plan to grocery shop for two weeks in advance because you will actually know what you're cooking. (After a month or so, you probably won't even need a list.)
Open all the windows and air out the whole house before winter sets it. And while you're at it, plan to clean all your home's windows and screens.
You likely haven't opened your coat closet much since last winter, so now is the time to decide what to replace or give away. Give the interior a thorough cleaning, and you're ready for the chilly coat and boots season ahead.
The more organized your family's daily routine, the easier everyone's life becomes. Start with the most hectic time of the day: weekday mornings. Simplify school mornings by doing a majority of the essentials the night before:
This way, there should be no surprises in the morning. No last-minute discovery that the math homework wasn't finished. No fights about inappropriate or missing clothing.
Replace summer appliances - the blender, the ice cream maker - with the fall staples. Think slow cooker, Instant Pot.
Designate days for regular weekly errands or activities. Saturday mornings, for example, could be house cleaning time. Wednesday nights, laundry. Friday afternoons could be devoted to errands.
Break up chores into time segments. What needs to be done daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly? Post them on the family calendar.
Schedule in some fun as well. Save Sunday afternoon for family time.
Your mother was right. You should always clean up a mess the minute it is made.
Keep a basic level of tidiness, and you'll never face an overwhelming mess. If you follow these fall organizing tips, fall will be the start of more than a fresh new season. It will be the season you at last organize your home and family life.