Staying organised can be next to impossible for anyone, especially for a mum who�is juggling multiple children, multiple activities and multiple schedules.
If you are finding that staying organised is leaving you stressed and out of control, then join the club! Below are four ways to gain back some resemblance of order in your busy life and keep on track of those day to day errands, events and everything else that comes up along the way!
1. Pack a Lot of Bags
No, we don’t mean carrying a bunch of luggage wherever you go. What we mean is having a number of different bags�pre-packed�and ready to go for the different events in your life. For example, in addition to your handbag, which can include things like your wallet, sunnies, keys and lip gloss, you may also have a family bag for items such as snacks, nappies and extra clothes for the kids as well as a pre packed gym bag, dance bag, swimming bag, soccer bag, and so on. When you need to get to the scheduled activity, whether you are hitting the beach or going to soccer practice, you have everything pre packed and ready to go. Simply wash and replace the items every time you use the bag.
2. Use Visual Aids
Whether you have a diary, a calendar or a house full of lists, writing things down in a system that works with your brain will ensure that you stay on top of everything that needs to be done each week. When you are trying to juggle various children’s activities, appointments and work commitments, it can be easy to get the time wrong, mix up the venue or forget the appointment completely. Having visual reminders will help you to stay organised and in control. There is no right or wrong way to stay organised with visual aids this all depends on what works for you. Some people prefer to look at a calendar filled with sticky notes or different coloured pens for different types of events; others will prefer to keep everything in a diary or organisational journal.
3. Schedule in a Bulk Cooking Day
When your children all have numerous after school activities to attend you can expect to be running around town doing pickups and drop offs every day of the week. By the time you get home and have a chance to cook dinner, it might be way too late to even consider anything but take away. When you do have a spare day, hit the grocery store and load up on meats, veggies, pasta, rice and all the other ingredients you need to make several frozen dinners. Make several casseroles,�lasagne, bolognese�sauce, curries, crumbed steak, shepherd’s pie and other staples. That way you can simply take out a dish, pop it into the oven and let it�cook. Furthermore, investing in a slow cooker can also make meal preparation much easier. Simply place the ingredients in the slow cooker at the start of the day and leave it to cook.
4. Don’t Schedule Too Much
Sometimes you need to know when to say ‘enough is enough’. If your children all have something on every single day and weekends too, you are never going to have a break and won’t have a chance to sit down, breathe and spend time together as a family. Try to have at least one meal together a day and at least one night off from any activity or event. That way you can actually relax as a family in between all the chaos of being a busy mum.
What do you do to stay organised?
Response to “4 Organising Tips for Busy Mums”
Ooh, I like the one about pre-packed bags. Would sure be heaps easier than searching for togs and towels and bathing caps on the morning of school swimming lessons! Will definitely be putting this one into practice….