Ready to become an organized parent quickly?

Check out these tips!

1. Get time management under your control 

One of the first things that you can do to become organized is to get time management under your control. If we allow it, time will fly right by us and then we are left wondering what happened to our day. No matter the age of your child, it is vital that you prepare for everything AHEAD of time to ensure you can stay on top of it. If you do not, you will find yourself getting behind and it is much harder to catch up once you are behind. 

A great way to start is to make sure you prep the night before. For example, if you know that your child will need to pack a lunch on Tuesday morning, do it Monday evening before bed. That way, the lunch is done, ready to go, and you saved yourself 15 minutes in the morning. 

Another great way is to lay out your child’s clothes the night before. This way, there is no fighting in the morning about where the shorts are or what shirt to wear. 

While these seem like small steps, they help give you extra time in the morning and you will quickly find that they help you stay better organized in the long run.

 

2. Find yourself a place for storage 

As a parent, you already know how quickly things can stack up and how quickly you find yourself with paperwork that your child brings home. One way to get yourself organized and caught up is to have a dedicated storage area. This can be something as simple as a plastic bin where you keep their drawings or artwork. 

Of course, you want to make sure that you do not hold onto everything as this will just lead to clutter, but you can definitely safely store the keepsakes. 

3. Create a routine for the family 

Routines are hard, especially since things can change at any given moment but they are almost a necessity. Routines allow you to set your family up for the best possible success. Whether you have an infant who needs to be fed, changed, and put to sleep on a schedule or a school-aged child who needs to eat dinner, do sports, and homework, you need a routine. 

Make sure that everyone understands what the routine is and knows exactly what to do – this way, you do not constantly have to play referee and can expect things to get done on their own. 

4. Schedules are crucial 

When you have kids, schedules become HECTIC! Between work, school, dinner, appointments, after-school activities, sports, and time for yourself, you may feel like your head is spinning off your shoulders. 

To get as organized as possible, you want to make sure that you create a color-coded schedule so that everyone is on the same page. 

5. Always be prepared 

This tip goes two ways – always be prepared. 

First, you always want to be prepared for things to go differently than how you planned them. Always have a back up plan or a just in case plan for anything that may come up or happen. For example, if you planned a family road trip and two of the stops were closed, have a plan of what to do in the event that happens. Being prepared allows you to stay on schedule and not stress out when the unexpected arrives. 

Second, always be prepared for what may come up. An organized parent always has the things that he or she may need while on the go. This means having a bag packed and ready to head out the door with you. This bag may contain things such as snacks, juice, a first aid kit, sunscreen, wipes, tissues, and a change of clothes. 

Becoming an organized parent takes time, practice, and patience, but you will get there, especially with the tips above.