We have reached a new year. Time for new goals, new plans, new outlooks, new habits. Does part of your plan for the new year include being more organized? Finding more time to spend with your family?
I have found in my years as a mom, that these two goals go hand in hand. The more organized I am, the more time I free up for leisurely quality time with the ones I love.
So if you want to be more organized in 2019, in order to increase your family time and decrease your stress level, I have two simple, practical, and doable ways you can do that as a busy mom. Well, three ways.
Use a google calendar (or something equivalent)
Sync it up with your phone and with your family’s calendar. Color code the different events such as school events and work events etc. I color code each of my children’s school events so that I know which child it’s for. Fill out the calendar as far in advance as you can. If you have the school schedule for the semester, take some time and add in those important dates now so you don’t have to later and you know exactly what is happening each day. Super practical.
Use a meal plan
Plan out your meals weekly or monthly, write them down and then grocery shop according to that plan. If you create a monthly plan, you can just repeat that cycle of meals every month and transfer them to the next month calendar. Each month looks exactly like this:
Plus, create a meal rotation list, (it’s included with this product), of the meals you make regularly so you can just look at that cheat sheet and plug the meals in without having to think about it too much. Super easy.
Use a weekly to-do list
Write out your tasks for each day so that you are ready to conquer the day, be productive with your time and have the satisfaction of checking the tasks off as you finish them. Use a weekly checklist to write out household chores and tasks, tasks for work, appointments, reminders and even self-care needs. Whatever you need to remember to do, write it down. Then enjoy checking it off from the list and your mind at the end of the day. Super doable.
These are really the only three things I use to keep my family organized and our lives running smoothly. They work, and they have helped me be so much less overwhelmed and so much more organized throughout the year. As a mom of three little ones 6 and under, working at home and trying to run children to and from school every day, these printables are lifesavers.
Organization without a planner
So if you would like to join me in 2019, I have just created meal planning and weekly to-do lists for you to use to make these simple organizational systems happen. The google calendar you can add on your own 😉
In full disclosure, I don’t use a planner. I just use these pretty printables. This is as “planneresque” as I get (yes, I just made up a word), and these simple systems work wonderfully well.
Implementing these systems
I print out the meal plan monthly and keep it on my fridge. The meal rotation plan I print out once and keep behind the monthly meal plan on the fridge.
At the beginning of every month, I print out 4 weekly to-do lists for the next month. Then I use one a week. I keep this to do list by my work desk and often hang it on the wall next to my office chair so I can see it throughout the day and modify it as needed.
Simple. Practical. Doable.
So will you join me? If you have any questions or run into any issues, just let me know. I’m more than happy to help you have a more organized year as a busy mom. It just takes a few simple routines to make your mom life run much more smoothly.
Once these systems become a habit, it will free up some of your time and relieve the stress of figuring out what to have for dinner at the last minute or trying to remember all the little tasks you need to get done. Your meals will be planned, your tasks for the day will all be neatly listed and you can go play that board game with the kids stress-free. Who doesn’t want that?!
I hope you will take a moment and check out these simple organizational systems. Give them a try for a month and see what happens. If they work for my busy family, they can work for yours too!
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” Philippians 4:8.