How to get organised for the new year, so you'll have more time YOU

The new year is the perfect time to evaluate your organisation tactics and adjust them so you get more time for YOU. Looking at ways you could be more organised could help you get that hot coffee you've been craving or give you a whole afternoon for shopping! 

Do you spend all year long wishing there was some way you could get into a proper routine so that you could sit and have just 5 minutes to sit down and enjoy a coffee? 

With laundry, ironing (ugh!), dishes to clean, packed lunches to make, kids to get to school, as well as dusting, vacuuming, and mopping floors, there are so many chores to do it's easy to get lost and run around not really knowing which job to tackle first. As a result you get no time for you because you're so busy playing catch up and trying to tackle that washing mountain. 

But with a little planning and organisation you can get all your chores done, and even catch up on the ones that are piling up, giving you time to enjoy a coffee or even make a shopping trip - and I don't mean grocery shopping!

So here's my tips on how to get organised for the new year, so you'll have more time for YOU.



Organise your Cleaning


Okay, so no one likes cleaning (or at least I don't!) but organising your cleaning so that you know what chores to do on what day will make the cleaning go faster and eventually you'll get on top of it. A cleaning schedule helps, and after a while you won't even need a list because you'll get into a routine and know which jobs to do on which days.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Having a cleaning schedule really helps you get on top of the chores.
One of my most hated chores, cleaning the toilet, but with a good routine it's not so bad!


I do most of my cleaning in a morning, getting most of it out of the way so that I can grab a coffee and chill out while the boys are at school. I keep my daily cleaning checklist on my iPad, because I use it every day, and check off my chores when they're done - much like my boys do with their chores lists. By the time I have to pick up LP from school my chores are done, and after dinner is over with I can relax for the rest of the evening. This gives me time to spend with my boys, the Hubby, but also it gives me time to spend doing the things I love - like drawing, playing games, or just enjoying a movie. 





The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine. 

Mike Murdock




Planning your evening meals will help you get organised for the new year


Knowing what to cook when, or even coming up with interesting meals for everyone is a job in itself, and without organisation can result in food not being used or eating the same meals again and again because it's the only thing everyone will eat.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Meal planning can really help you have more time for you, so you're not spending time working out what to cook every day.


Our evening meals were always a pain point for me, it would come around to dinner time and I hadn't worked out what we'd be eating. This meant I was scrambling to cook something interesting and somehow always failed to cook something everyone would enjoy. By the end of the week I'd have to throw away unused food, sometimes whole packs of chicken fillets that I'd forgotten to use by the use-by date. 

Then I started planning our meals.

Every Sunday afternoon I will spend an hour or so working out what meals to cook for the week and then making a shopping list so I don't forget anything. Sometimes it can take a long time, but I know that even if it takes a couple of hours it will save me time in the long run. I plan what I'll cook Monday - Friday, I always leave weekends free so we're not tied to eating at home and can have a day out if we choose. 

By planning which meals you're going to cook, and spending a little time doing your shopping list, you'll have more time. You spend a little time planning and writing your list, but when it comes to actually cooking a meal you'll know what you're going to cook and can just get on with it - rather than spending 30 minutes or more discussing what you're going to do for dinner.

I have found meal planning so useful, and have got into such a routine that I do it automatically every Sunday now. It also helps us with not getting into a rut, if we become bored of a meal - like spaghetti bolognese for example - then I just head to a recipe site (think Tasty) and find something new for us to try. 

It makes life so much easier meal planning and you get more time for you because your time isn't wasting on shopping or deciding what to cook.



Get your packed lunches organised


Something that can eat up a lot of time in a morning before the school run is sorting out packed lunches. You spend a good 20 minutes making sandwiches or a nice pasta salad, then have to rush out the door in order to get the kids to school on time.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Make packed lunches the night before and you won't have to spend your time doing them in the morning.
Make up sandwiches and put them in the fridge for the morning.


But what if you already had a packed lunch in the fridge that you could grab as you headed out the door?

LP likes his packed lunches occasionally and after lots of time spent on making sandwiches in the morning I decided I was doing it all wrong. I would spend most of my morning in the kitchen and not see anyone else in the house because I was so busy. So I started making the packed lunch ahead of time.

When I'm cooking our evening meals, or waiting for something to simmer, I make up LP's packed lunch. If he's having sandwiches they're fairly easy and I'll just keep them in the fridge overnight, but there's also pasta salads and all sorts of stuff he likes to try so by making it ahead of time I get to talk to my family in a morning rather than being stuck in the kitchen. 

If you make up the packed lunch the night before you'll have more time in a morning to spend with your family.



Snacks


Do you ever find yourself spending 10 minutes looking for, or making, snacks for the kids to have after school?

When LP comes home after school he is always hungry, and more often than not asks for a snack. Sometimes breadsticks will do, other times he wants something a little more filling. So having a snack pack put together and stored in the fridge - something he can just grab himself - saves so much time. 

Cheese sticks, ham and crackers, whatever it is if you have little snack packs put together and stored somewhere the kids can reach you'll save yourself time - which you can use on yourself!



Use a diary or a planner - they're brilliant for getting organised


Find yourself forgetting appointments or can't remember what day your kids' parent's evening is? Use a diary or planner.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Write everything down in a planner and you'll automatically be more organised.
My favourite planner - the Passion Planner!


My life has changed since I started using a planner and writing everything down. From birthdays and appointments to errands and deliveries I keep it all in my planner - including my meal plan for the week. At a glance I can see if I have anything important planned for the day, if there's anything I need to buy, or if I have time for a fancy coffee with friends. It has transformed the organisation of my life.

I use a Passion Planner, and it gives me space to write down my hopes and dreams, even plans, for the future. I absolutely LOVE IT and have been using it for 3 years now - I have my new one for 2019. 



Clear out make up


With the time you save on chores and packed lunches why not clear out your make up bag? By taking a look at the make up you use and throwing away the things you don't you'll be able to get ready quicker in a morning because you won't be searching through a bag of things you don't use.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Clear out old make up and you'll spend less time searching for what you want - giving you more time for you!


I'm not a big make up wearer, I just stick with mascara and a little concealer under my eyes - because as a mum that's where I need it most! But even though I don't use make up a lot I still have bits that are either out of date or things I don't use and this year I've been through my bag and thrown away the things I don't need. Now my mornings go quicker, I can be ready in 15 minutes rather than 30!



Declutter your wardrobe


Just the same as your make up bag, why not have a wardrobe clear out. Throw away clothes you don't wear any more or ones that are worn. Only keep clothes in your wardrobe that make you happy, that way when you get dressed in a morning you'll be happy, and it'll take you less time to get ready because you're not searching through your clothes trying to find something appropriate.





You have a more interesting life if you wear impressive clothes. 

Vivienne Westwood





I clear out my wardrobe every year, I put all my summer things into storage and pick out only my favourite jumpers and jeans to wear during the winter months. This year I'm liking v-necks, and have quite a few to choose from - and they all make me smile.

What clothes are making you smile?



Social media clear out


Now this might not help with organisation but take a minute to go through friends and people you follow and unfriend/unfollow people who don't bring light into your life. Ditch the dead wood. The new year is a great time for a new start so having a social media clear out will make you smile - and you can then find new, inspirational, people to follow!

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Have a clear out of your social media, you'll feel much better for it!


I love Michelle Reeves and Aby Moore - they're both inspirational and motivational women who make me smile every day. 



It's all about you


In order to get organised for the new year, so you'll have more time for you - you need to make some time for you!

Get into the right mind set and getting organised will be easy.

I want you to take 10 minutes for yourself at some point during your day and think about the best ways you could organise your life to make things easier for you. It could be having a chores checklist, it could be sorting out packed lunches the night before, but think about what could give you five minutes to have a hot coffee if you started doing it right now.

How To Get Organised For The New Year, So You'll Have More Time For You | Organising your life will give you more time - to enjoy that fancy coffee.
Now doesn't that coffee look good?


Focus on enjoying that hot coffee and you'll motivate yourself to get started today!


I would love to hear how you get on organising for the new year - and what you do with your time!



What will you be focussing on so you have more time for YOU?




To help you get organised for the new year, so you can have more time for a hot coffee, grab the Organised Mama Pack, which includes daily, weekly, and monthly chore lists as well as shopping planning and a daily planner!