By Hannah Simpson
Staying organised as a busy parent takes quite a bit of work, whether you’re juggling different schedules for everyone or just trying to stay on track during particularly challenging weeks of the year. Using a few cost-efficient tools, you can manage your family’s upcoming appointments, events, and activities and keep your stress levels down at the same time.
Look for local resources that will help along the way, such as Yor-ok.org.uk, where you can find important information about everything from childcare to health and wellness services for the family.
Consider the areas of your family’s lifestyle that could use a bit of organization, and use this checklist as a guide so you can manage it all stress-free.
Streamline your important documents
It seems there are always documents full of important information that parents need to keep up with, from medical histories to school paperwork, and it can be difficult to manage it all throughout the year, especially if you have more than one child.
Digitising as many of these documents as possible will help you keep them secure and available at the touch of a button; you can also look for an online PDF editor that will allow you to make edits directly to the document after uploading it.
Not only will these tools help you stay organised, they’ll come in handy when you need to share docs with the school or with your parenting partner.
Get the house in order
Another area that many parents struggle with is getting the house into shape and keeping it neat, especially during busy weeks when different schedules throw an added element of chaos into the mix.
Rather than leaving all the cleaning for your day off–which doesn’t feel like a day off at all! - keep up with the chores by tackling one task each day. It might even help to create a chore list that breaks down all the cleaning duties throughout the week.
You can create a chore list for the little ones, too; in fact, there are several tasks that even the youngest child can help with when supervised.
Create an ideal work environment
Whether you work from home or want to give the kids their own distraction-free areas for school work, it’s important to create an ideal environment. Once the house is clean and decluttered, look for a spot that promotes focus and provides a bit of privacy, ideally with a door and some natural light.
If you don’t have room for an entire office in your home, consider utilising some ideas that are perfect for small spaces, such as a budget-friendly drop-down desk that can fit into just about any corner of the house.
Giving your family the right environment can truly help with reducing stress and maintaining organization throughout the year.
Give yourself the right tools
Whether you’re cleaning the house, organising paperwork, or whipping your workspace into shape, it’s essential to make sure you have the right tools to maintain order. After all, it’s much easier to prevent clutter from piling up on the kitchen countertops if things like mail and clean dishes have designated homes, and it’s easier to manage appointments when everyone has access
to the same calendar.
Look for organisational items that work for your needs, especially where
space is concerned, and make use of apps that will keep the entire family on the same page even when things get busy.
Getting organised is often a bit easier said than done, but with some careful consideration, you and your family can stay on track no matter how much life throws at you. Look for organisational tools for the home that won’t break the bank, and utilise tips from the pros when it comes to staying on top of household chores.