Stay Organized With These Helpful Tips for Parents
Does it seem like parenting was easier two decades ago? If you feel this way, you’re not alone — 66% of U.S. parents agree with that statement. Between long hours at work and household demands, it’s easy to see why parenting today seems so much harder. Fortunately, you can reduce stress by tackling organization at home.
Look for Useful Tips
If you ever find yourself at a loss, look online for organizational or cleaning tips. You can find thousands of ideas on social media or through a simple internet search. With so many blogs, videos and magazines to look at, you’re sure to find an answer, no matter how specific your problem is.
Clean Out the Closet
While getting rid of items may be a long process, it frees up space and makes it easier to stay organized. To begin your decluttering journey, follow these tips:
• Do a little each day
• Put on a podcast or music to make the task enjoyable
• Discard items you haven’t used in a year
• Work on one room at a time
Once you’ve cleared out space in your closets, don’t fill them up immediately. Instead, prevent clutter by carefully considering purchases. Think about where to store an item and how often you’ll use it. If you’ll just dump it in a pile to gather dust, you don’t need it.
Organize Your Records
Digitizing records is an excellent way to save space and stay organized. PDFs are a popular format since most operating systems can open them without issue; you can also combine PDFs into a single document for convenience. For example, you can merge each child’s records into one document to ensure there’s no mixup.
Of course, you’re bound to have physical records as well. Keep these in a designated area, such as a filing cabinet, to prevent documents from getting lost. You should also purge your files annually to make it easier to track necessary records.
Rearrange Your Pantry
If your pantry is a mess, you may accidentally let food expire, purchase items you don’t need or miss an important ingredient halfway through cooking. Fortunately, you can arrange your pantry for maximum storage and accessibility:
• Place similar items together
• Organize packages by the expiration date
• Put larger items in the back
Optimize Work Hours
Working from home offers immense benefits to parents, but it also has its downsides — distractions. Focusing on your job when a pile of laundry is calling your name can be challenging, but setting boundaries is essential to keeping your productivity high. To optimize your work time, create a schedule and stick to it. That means no chores until you’re off the clock. Additionally, make it clear to family members that you’re unavailable until your work day is done.
Plan Meals for the Week
Meal planning weekly takes a little investment, but it can free up time for doing things you love. For successful meal planning, keep these tips in mind:
• Measure proportions
• Freeze leftovers for easy future meals
• Keep a list of favorite foods
• Leave one day for eating out or leftovers
Getting organized can be challenging for parents, but the benefits mean more free time in the long run. When you don’t have to waste time combing through files or figuring out what’s for dinner, you can relax and enjoy time with your family.