As Mother’s Day approaches, I want to celebrate by sharing some organizing strategies I learned from my Mother that I feel would be helpful to you during this time. She is the reason why I can manage my home, time and life more effectively. Following are 15 simple techniques from planning meals, shopping to getting stuff done. Thanks Mom!!!
The Paper Piles…
- Opened all mail to stay on top of managing the household and life
- Tossed the junk mail to prevent piles from developing
- After magazines and papers are read put them in the recycling bin
- Use a small file box or filing cabinet to keep personal documents
- Discard (you may want to shred) duplicate information from banks, insurance companies, pharmacies
The Kitchen …
- Select a day to do the bulk of your cooking ( meats, sides, vegetables) so all you will need to do the night of is to heat it up
- Planned meals as she wrote her shopping list and listed items by aisle to save time
- When we would run low on an item she would add it to the list. (Actually once my Mom opened an item it was added to the list)
- Labeled and dated items that are frozen and moved older items to the front of the freezer to be cooked first
- Moved older items to the front of the cabinet/pantry and items just purchased to the back
Time
- Used her calendar as a reminder to change the baking soda in the refrigerator and smoke detector batteries
- Scheduled time weekly to do laundry, grocery shopping and cleaning
- Cleaned the kitchen ( wiped sink/countertop and sweep floor) after we finished a meal
- Tossed expired food ( if there was any) weekly the night before trash day
- Planned the route of her errands before she headed out the door
After reading this blog did it remind you of a daily or weekly ritual your Mom use to do? If so I would love for you to share, please leave a comment below. If you feel overwhelmed with organizing your home , time or life schedule a FREE 15 Minute Virtual Session with me.
Janet, sounds like we must be Sisters! My Mom did many of the same things! She would clear out ALL the cabinets in the kitchen once or sometimes twice a year to organize, ckean and discard old items. She also ensured there were no dishes left in the sink overnight…and that was before there were dishwashers! Smile
Sharell thank you for sharing your Mother’s wisdom and yes organizing sisters!
My mother will soon be gone 27 years. I still remember her teaching me “a place for everything and everything in it’s place.” That has served me well. Unfortunately, my husband still hasn’t learned it! LOL
Connie that you for sharing your Mother’s wisdom!