10 ways to simplify and organise your life

Hi there!! I am sure I am not the only one who often times feel overwhelmed in life.  It somehow always seems like there is just not enough time in a day to accomplish everything and it's very easy to get caught up in everyday life's craziness.  I have found some small things that helped ease my life and help me to cope with all that goes on.  These are my 10 tips and tricks to simplify and organise your life:

1. Have a daily planner.  This is probably the most important thing to do in order to sort out your life.  If you cannot find one that works for you, try a bullet journal.  See my post on my 2018 bullet journal here.
2. Set goals for the year ahead and work out an action plan - this can easily be included in your journal.  See my post on my goals and resolutions and how to set your own here.
3. Plan your meals for the week ahead of time.  I not only plan our dinners for the week ahead, but also try to do some meal prep.  Simplemost and Greatist has some great ideas.  The point here is not to overwhelm yourself spending an entire day in the kitchen prepping meals for the week ahead.  Think of what you usually eat, look through meal prep ideas, and try to incorporate prepping into your usual meals. 
4. Keep lists - shopping lists, to-do lists, favourite meals lists, go-to entertaining action and food lists, birthday lists - the list goes on :D Familyshare and Day Designer has some nice ideas. 
5. Have a place for everything, in your home, your handbag, desk/office space and your car, and always make sure everything is put back in their place.  This will reduce the clutter in your home tremendously and make it so much easier to look for something when you need it.  Alejandra from Home Organizing by Alejandra.tv has some great ideas.  If you are not a fan of such intense organising, choose the elements of organising that appeal to you and make it your own.  Organising your home, office and personal space does not have to be an intense task that overwhelms you, there are some simple ways to do this, just explore and be creative.
6. Have routines - for yourself and for your family.  You will find that you get things done so much quicker when you have a routine that you are used to.  Try to get your children into routines at night as well and have morning and evening routines for yourself.  See my post on my daily routine here.
7. Have go-to outfits, hairstyles and make-up routines.  Should you for some or the other reason be running late in the morning, these can be a HUGE help.  If you tend to forget, like me, one day, when you are home and have some spare time, put some outfits together and take photos of yourself.  You can also pair some matching hairstyles if you'd like.  Keep these in your journal for a quick reference when you are in a rush.
8. Invest in some time-saving products, such as dry shampoo, a crockpot/multicooker, a coffee machine, a manual food chopper, velcro shoes for the kids.  There are so many products that can help you save some time, think of what takes up a lot of your time and look for some things that can help you do it quicker. 
9. Focus on one task at a time, and THEN move to the next.  This way you will be able to complete your tasks faster and more effectively.  You will also be able to concentrate a lot better if you focus on one thing at a time, and feel less overwhelmed and more energised when you don't have to concentrate on ten things at once.
10. Have a quick reference for the whole family.  I have a weekly planner white board on my fridge where I write down the major things for the week, such as family visits, doctor's appointments, etc.  There is also a small shopping list open for anyone to write down what they might need, such as toiletries, school or work supplies, etc.  This can be a big help to have everyone on board for the week.

Good luck with your 2018 and may this be a simplified and organised year!! :)

Bye bye :)

Michelle Smillie

Let life be, let love in