Have you ever wondered how to manage family organisation in your home? By planning ahead, choosing the right planner, working as a team, keeping communication open and sticking to a routine, you will find your family organised in no time!
I’ve always been a super organised, on-the-ball kind of person. I was the first to arrive anywhere, always punctual. I remembered the name, face and memories shared with every person I’d ever met.
Then, I had children. Let me tell you, baby brain IS a thing. I don’t know the science behind it but I do know that my mind never stops working. Whether it’s keeping the family on time for appointments, organising meals and washing or lying in bed at night worrying about our future. My mind just never stops. I’m just joking about that last one, I’m generally lying in bed being kicked in the head by a toddler these days. I really find it hard to remember everything though.
Sleep deprivation adds to the chaos and it took me a while to find my rhythm again as a new mum. I’m not saying I have it all together now but I have found some simple ways to keep my family organised.
How I Keep My Family Organisation On Point
Plan Ahead
As much as possible, we plan ahead for big events. So if it’s a family holiday, day out, birthday party or road trip, we don’t leave the plans to the last minute.
I find this particularly essential when we’re going out for the day or away on holiday. We’ll plan the journey around nap times to give the kids some sleep on the way (and us some peace!). We’ll also look at the journey ahead of us and plan for places to stop and stretch our legs. I’ve found taking snacks and drinks in the changing bag an everyday essential too. Snacks are the answer to most toddler tantrums and in desperate times, a healthy snack will stop a full blown meltdown.
Find the Right Planner
On the subject of planning, I’ve found having a paper planner really helps to keep me and my family organised.
Every Sunday morning, I spend about 15 minutes planning all of the main jobs, appointments and events for the week ahead. That covers family plans, personal and work. I write them in an order of priority for each day of the week coming up. That way I can’t cherry pick the fun stuff and leave the pressing plans to the last minute.
Being able to see everything that needs to be done at a glance really helps me keep my mind clear to focus on what I need to.
You might find a paper planner works for you too or even an online app or large family wall planner. Find what works!
I’ve created a free, printable Weekly Planner that you can download here. Give is a go and see if it helps you stay organised.
Be a Planning Team!
My hubs didn’t get much say on this one but I decided that if planning ahead was working for me, it was going to work for him too!
So for any major plans that involve him, or that he is in charge of, I’ll send the details to his smartphone via the calendar app. This puts the event in his diary too and I can even set him a reminder to get it done. So far he hasn’t worked out how to send me any jobs back so all good!
Keep Communication Open
All jokes aside, in the early days of parenthood, my husband and I were sometimes just not on the same page. We were flustered, exhausted and stressed – well, we still are exhausted!
We have found that constant communication does help, especially when it comes to things that are going to have an effect on each other. For example, if one of us has a night out or needs to work late, we’ll give each other as much notice as possible. It’s just simple things like that to help us all stay organised without one of us feeling that we’re doing ‘all of the work’.
Stick to a Routine or Schedule
Routines and schedules do not suit everyone but they do suit us and our children. From day one of parenthood, I realised that the only way I was going to survive was to try and keep our family life as simple and easy as possible.
Bedtime is a tried and trusted routine for us. At 6.45pm each night we start to get the kids ready for bed and it’s the same routine each night. Of course there has to be some flexibility but in the main, by 7.15pm the kids have been bathed, teeth cleaned, read books, sang songs and are tucked up in bed. And then they go to sleep and sleep for 12 hours.
There’s a lie in there somewhere.
Seriously though, the routine helps us all know what’s coming next and keeps us calm and organised. As it happens, both of my children love routine and so it suits us all, however, I have close friends whose babies are quite the opposite and I know you can’t force a routine on a child that doesn’t want one. See if it works for you.
These are a few of the simple ways that our family stays organised. My main advice to a new mum who might be feeling overwhelmed is to keep things as simple as possible.
As well as that, be kind to yourself too. Parenthood is very hard at times and, even with the best laid plans, can be so unpredictable. Add sleep deprivation to that and it can be easy to feel like you’re sinking.
If you are struggling as a new mother, ask for help and consider taking all offers of help given. I wish I’d done this more in the early days instead of feeling like I had to manage everything myself.
How do you try to keep your family organised?
If you’re looking for some ingenious organisation hacks, check out these 5 ideas!
Mim Jenkinson is a blogger at Love From Mim. She shares all about her life as a mother, her love of planning, and her favourite products. You can visit her website, Facebook or Instagram pages.
