SMALL TASKS, BIG RESULT
Many stressed-out parents have come to think of home organization in terms of major closet, kitchen and basement makeovers, requiring substantial planning and time not available to busy families. But there are a lot of small things you can do routinely, without a huge investment of time and money, that will help make your house run more smoothly and give you a sense of order and control.
Think of these tasks almost like a set of commandments that keep you on track and lessen your mental load— that constant need to make decisions and remember details.
1.
Tidy small messes early
Make it a point to clean up small messes immediately. It’s much easier to take five minutes to put away a game, straighten up the pantry, put away your clothes or do a quick desk cleanup than it is to let your whole house turn into a disorganized mess that requires hours or days to clean.
2.
Stay on top of the dishwasher Many families go through enough dishes to fill the dishwasher daily. Make it a habit to run your dishwasher before you go to bed and to empty it each morning. Unloading the dishwasher takes less than five minutes.
3.
Open and sort the mail ASAP This is important — and easy. Make it your routine to open your mail every evening. It’s so much easier to manage if you spend a couple of minutes sorting each evening than it is to look through a big stack on the weekend. Recycle unwanted pieces immediately and place bills to be paid and papers to file in a designated spot.
4.
Unpack boxes right away
Many of us are increasingly using delivery services — for pet food, for groceries, for clothing. Take a moment to unpack the box, collapse it and take it to your recycling bin. Put the items away immediately, too.
5.
Pack backpacks every evening Have your kids pack their backpacks each evening and put them by the door. Place shoes and jackets for the next day nearby, and put clean lunch boxes and water bottles on the countertop so they’re ready to fill in the morning.
6.
Make lists
Keep updated lists, either with pen-and-paper or electronically. These may be a daily to-do list, a list of food and household items that need to be replaced, upcoming birthdays, or long-term plans.
7.
Limit your distractions
With so many distractions vying for our attention each day, it’s a wonder any of us get anything done. We’ve all sat down and planned to spend five minutes checking social media and then looked up after an hour of scrolling. If you find yourself putting off household tasks by distracting yourself with your phone, commit to doing one quick organizational project before you start scrolling.
8.
Meal plan A huge stress on working parents is deciding what to serve for dinner each night and then actually being able to prepare a healthy meal. Plan at least three meals, and do the necessary grocery shopping over the weekend.
9.
Make your bed
This is a demand most of us heard from our parents, and we never really understood its importance. Five years ago, in a commencement speech at the University of Texas at Austin, Adm. William Mcraven neatly laid out why this habit matters. He said: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another ... If you can’t do the little things right, you will never do the big things right.”