I put things on my phone calendar which syncs to google (or vice versa) so no matter whether I add something to the calendar on my phone, ipod, or computer it will remind me on each device. I also put reminder alarms. Sometimes I set the reminder to go off at the time of the event (like for something I need to do at home) and other times I set the reminder for 5 min or 2 hrs or even one day ahead depending on what it is and what the consequences would be if I forgot it and how long it would take me to get there.

The other organized thing I do is do the majority of cooking on Sunday. I make something I can put into containers for lunch...this week it's shepherds pie, other weeks it might be a homemade soup of some kind etc. I put the entree in glass containers for each day of the week so I only have to grab a container, a piece of fruit, and a couple of veg (which may or may not be cut in advance depending on what it is) and then lunch is done. It's easy to do even if I don't pack my lunch bag the night before which I usually try to do. It makes getting out the door at 7 am possible.

I do the same for dinner except I don't pack it up individually. Of course you have to commit to your dinners in advance but it might be worth it for you to try it. On Fridays I tend to plan to eat out or at least grab something to go from the store on the way home. Whatever I cooked on Sunday is either no longer good or is gone. I recently started a delivery service that delivers fresh produce on Thursday mornings which is nice since I was eating out too much on the weekends because the fridge was looking pretty empty or not so fresh by Friday.

Those might be the only two areas of my life where I'm organized but those were the biggest ones for me and getting my calendar reminders set and meals organized has saved me a lot of hassle and headaches.

Get one email that you share with your husband and put on both your phones. Handle all kids, contractor, etc appointments from here so you can both send and edit emails and see appointments, etc.

I love being organized - I seriously get excited to organize things. Yes, I'm a dork. lol

My DH and I use a shared google calendar - we both have it on our phones and can access it from the computer as well. This way we can both add things to the calendar and it's our family bible. Get rid of the paper calendar and make the transition to electronic. You won't forget if you don't have to write it down twice.

I also use Google Keep (which you can access on your phone or computer) to make my "to do" lists. Then I can just take things off the list as I go.

If I have errands to run, I try to make one stop per day after work on the way to pick up our DC from preschool. CVS, dry cleaning, grocery store, etc.

We do one big Costco shop per quarter to stock our house with paper products, meat, frozen food items, bath items (we often take our DC and go on Friday evening after work because it's less crowded than going on the weekend). I also have several things set up on Amazon Subscribe and Save to be shipped on a recurring schedule so I don't have to remember to go buy them - dog food, coffee, pull ups, etc.

I have set as many things as possible up on auto bill pay. For anything remaining I pay bills twice per month on our pay day. I've split the bills into two groups so I know I have 3 bills to pay with the first monthly paychecks and 2 bills to pay with the second monthly paychecks. The rest are on auto pay. If the due dates don't jibe with the paydays then I've called the vendor and had them change my bill due date to work with my schedule - it's easy.

I agree with what others have said about everything has a place. I don't lose or forget things because I rely on repetition and all things having a particular place. I put my purse/keys and charge my phone in the same spot everyday so I can just grab everything and go. Shoes are taken off in the same spot everyday. Coats get hung up.

I also open the mail each evening while I eat my dinner. Junk mail goes right in the trash. Bills or other things I need to hang onto go in a designated drawer I keep in the kitchen for paperwork. I go through the drawer once per month to pull out anything that needs to be filed. I keep a cardboard box in the coat closet and when I pay a bill, I throw it into the box. This makes it easy for me to know what I can take to the community shred which we go to 2x per year. I keep a filing cabinet with folders for paperwork we need to keep. Most statements can be downloaded online if needed so I really don't keep much paper anymore.

Anonymous wrote:OP here and dear heaven you guys are amazing. I've already implemented the lists. I started a meal plan list, a shopping list, and a weekly schedule. I use calendars - both the apple calendar which syncs to my phone and also a paper calendar. The two calendar system often makes me miss stuff, because sometimes I forget to write it in both.

And to the PP who described what your day/night looks like - wow, so impressive and so enlightening for me!!! thank you.

I haven't had a chance to read through all the responses in detail, but I will tomorrow. Because I'm also taking the advice of going to bed at a reasonable hour. Thank you all and will be back tomorrow!

OP, let me ask: were your parents not organized at all, and that's why you don't know what you need to do? I learned organization from my parents growing up and watching them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work tomorrow, my kid was in bed by 8 and I have just gotten in bed. My car keys are on the counter right next to my wallet and phone which I always charge in the same place. I have packed my kids lunch and mine and they are both in the fridge ready to grab in the morning. My work clothes are literally laid out so I can get dressed in the almost dark while DW sleeps. DDs clothes are also laid out, with her shoes next to them so DW doesn't have to hunt for them when she leaves the house. This makes our mornings smooth and stress free. Anything that needs to go in the car in the morning goes next to the car keys the night before.
I get paid every two weeks so that's when I pay my bills. So I'm only paying bills twice a month and not constantly trying to remember what's due. Do you have a calendar? If not you need one for appts etc. I even write down the days DD has show and tell so I don't forget. There's no shame in writing stuff down.

This is great. How long does prepping all of this take each night?

15 minutes.

Anonymous wrote:I need help. I was always just organized enough to get by for most of my life. But my life and work were not that complicated. But now with young kids, a house to run, and a family to manage, I feel like I'm always a mess. I'm the absent minded professor, except the professor part. I had a traumatic loss at one point in my life, and ever since then, I feel like the executive functioning part of my brain went dead.

I leave my kids' stuff everywhere I go. I leave the house forgetting at least one thing every single trip. I have not been able to consistently plan my meals for the week for more than one week. I am horrible at keeping track of our budget and finances. I am the mom who forgets about school events and field trips. I forget about doctor appointments. I have no consistent schedule. Sometimes I fall asleep on the couch at 8:30 at night and other times I am up until 1 in the morning. I cannot multitask for the life of me, and I feel that has been my downfall. Because while I'm taking care of kids, I just cannot seem to muster enough concentration to do anything other than repetitive menial tasks.

I need some tips. A system. Or a book. I want to peer into your brain and see what your day looks like. How you start your day. How you end your day. I'm desperate to change my life.

Can your husband take this stuff over?

Pp, do you have a spouse or partner? One thing I see people doing wrong sometimes is not asking their partners for more help with the minutiae. Ask them to take on dinner planning, snack buying, firm filling, shopping, whatever.

Once you get a system, try to spend only a few minutes a day maintaining that system. Example, if my kids go to bed by 8:30, I spend from 8:30-9 putting things away, signing forms, prepping for the next day, etc. then I try to relax until bedtime.

If you do a little bit each day it's less overwhelming.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work tomorrow, my kid was in bed by 8 and I have just gotten in bed. My car keys are on the counter right next to my wallet and phone which I always charge in the same place. I have packed my kids lunch and mine and they are both in the fridge ready to grab in the morning. My work clothes are literally laid out so I can get dressed in the almost dark while DW sleeps. DDs clothes are also laid out, with her shoes next to them so DW doesn't have to hunt for them when she leaves the house. This makes our mornings smooth and stress free. Anything that needs to go in the car in the morning goes next to the car keys the night before.
I get paid every two weeks so that's when I pay my bills. So I'm only paying bills twice a month and not constantly trying to remember what's due. Do you have a calendar? If not you need one for appts etc. I even write down the days DD has show and tell so I don't forget. There's no shame in writing stuff down.

This is great. How long does prepping all of this take each night?

This is the PP, I make our lunches the same time that im making diner so it doesnt take that much extra time. If DD is having a bath/shower I get my clothes and her clothes out and ready while she is in there. If its not a bath night I do it while she is choosing jammies and putting them on. Sometimes I do mine after she is in bed.
Then I go downstairs and make sire everything I need to take to work is on the kitchen counter next to my car keys, it really doesnt take all that long because ive got into the habit of doing it almost every day. ( I dont work every day)

OP, I could have written that post myself, mostly. Except that I am actually a professor.

Anyhow, I don't know how to be organized either. My secrets are a) my husband is hyper organized, which helps with a lot
b) google calendar, including joint calendar, for everything
and c) (sigh, yes) an assistant who organizes a lot of my life for me. She works mostly for me at work but I pay her a supplement to handle some of my home life. Not a solution for everyone I know, but it's just not my personality to do it on my own.

Try fly lady.net. She helps you form habits for all the things you mention and has daily missions which are helpful in decluttering - only 15 minutes a day - so as not to burn you out. She has really helped me change my ways....You might find it helpful and encoraging. She reminds you that perfection isn't the goal, as that tends to stop some of us from moving forward. Just jump in where you are and take baby steps.

Single mom with a high-pressure job and a serious chronic illness:

1. Google Calendar - no paper // the school calendar is synced there - everything is on there for any event including phone numbers and conference call-in numbers // addresses for appointments, etc.
2. Launch pad by door with sunscreen, bug spray -- all the things we need on the way out the door. Always leave my pursue there. Kids' shoes have one resting place. Coats and tote bags/backpacks on hooks by launchpad/front door
3. Use Notes/Reminders on iPhone for addresses for taxi, lists, things to add to Calendars
4. Sometimes I write on my hand things I can't forget in the morning -- OLD SCHOOL!
5. I use a grocery service and eat simply during the week - have lots of cookbooks but only cook new recipes for special occasions
6. Household binder - you can get lots of ideas from Pinterest or Feedly - school forms etc. go in here, bills, auto paper, home papers. I have 3 small file holders for larger folders/archived financial docs
7. I use Feedly to organize blogs/ make lists on Twitter to ensure I can skim quickly by subject
8. I use Auto Bill Pay for ***everything***
9. All ideas for future purches are stored on Amazon's universal wish list
10. My journal is a Word doc open on my laptop - everything on my laptop is backed up to Dropbox
11. Everything in the house has "its place" -- it's not minimalist, but I know where everything is
12. Closest organized by color. Thinking about using an app to organize clothes "Stylebook"
13. I use LibraryThing to keep track of my books - I have a huge library for my job
14. I order almost everything non-perishable from Amazon.
15. Kids' toys organized by categories in bins; small toys in gallon bags that go in baskets

I am so organized, it is truly unreal at times.

I remember even being this way as a young child, lining up my stuffed toys by color & size.

Now as an adult, I am even more so organized, it's crazy.
Though w/age (I am 47!), my memory is not as strong as it once was so I have been writing a lot more things down.

I keep multiple lists in my mind, but from speaking to others... I know this isn't viable for everyone.
So I suggest you make tangible written lists.

Get an agenda @an office supply or bookstore.
Then write a list on each day of what needs to be done when.

For example:

• MON.- Pick up prescriptions at CVS, buy glue sticks for son, take the car to get washed + mop kitchen/dining room floors after loading dishwasher.
• TUE.- Mail package to Mom, return (or renew) library books, vet appointment at 4:30PM + vacuum living room/hallways/bedrooms before kid's bedtime.
• WED.- Go to Costco right after work, fill up gas tank, pick-up dry cleaning (make sure claim check is in wallet!) + take trash & recycling bins out to curb before bed.

When you make a Dr.'s appointment, make sure to automatically write it down in your agenda.

Start a spreadsheet for your bank account(s).

Make sure to go through your mail AT LEAST every other day.
Do not let it lie around because the stack of it will continue to double both in mind and reality.

Purchase attractive baskets or storage bins to keep items by category.
I.e., Electronics, toys, library books, etc.

And keep a bowl in the foyer created especially to drop and pick-up keys when entering & exiting.

Hope this helps! Good luck! You got this!

PP again - ADHD meds don't preclude getting organized the normal way. I have unmedicated ADHD and make do with simplifying my life. Buying little, tossing much. We practically have only one of any item, no redundancy to clutter and get lost. Everything has a place on the ground floor, but the upstairs and basement are a complete mess!

We're still on paper and pencil over here, so we have a monthly calendar on the fridge for children's activities and appointments and a meal-planning weekly calendar. I hardly ever forget an appointment, but my DH does.
We try to have a very strict routine for meals and bedtime, for everyone, since we are an ADHD family.

You need a psychologist to evaluate you for inattentive ADHD. If the diagnosis is confirmed, you need a competent psychiatrist to start medication.

Medication for ADHD is safe and non-addictive. Its side effects can be appetite loss and irritability or mood changes.
But for people who suffer daily from inattention and disorganization, it's a true godsend.

ADHD is also heritable. Think for a moment whether one of your biological parents has the same symptoms, and whether one of your children has those symptoms.

On Sunday Night I sit down with the family to discuss the schedule for the week. Practices, appts, meetings for work etc. This way it is top of mind.

I would recommend that you try and tackle 1 thing at a time. Maybe it is meal planning. This Friday you make the plan for the week so you can do the grocery shopping Sat AM and prep some of the food this weekend.

Cut yourself some slack. There will be weeks when you have chicken nuggets 3 nights (we have a stash in the freezer for when we have those weeks).

Once you have some success with 1 item, use the momentum to move on to the next item.

There are some podcasts that have some great tips for productivity. You may want to check out "Beyond the To-Do List". Good luck