Five Ways to Stay Organized

#1. 5 Minute Clean-Up Session

     ♥ We all know how messy our rooms can get - clothes everywhere, little pieces of trash on the floor, and some of us college kids may have dishes in our room. But all of that can be picked up in 5 minutes if you do it everyday. This will prevent your room from getting too out of control, to where you have to dedicate a whole day to clean. So before you get into bed, put everything back in its place, tidy up, and pick up the random pieces of paper and clothes off the floor. This will make your hectic mornings more mellow and peaceful, knowing that you can find anything you need last minute and will not be tripping over things in the process. (Taking 5 minutes to clean up your desktop on your computer can also help you to find things better - make folders, color-code, and add titles.)

#2. To-Do Lists, Shopping Lists, and More Lists

     ♥ To-do lists are a tangible reminder of what needs to be done that day. Even if you can "remember" what needs to be done, seeing it on paper will help you complete these tasks more efficiently. Take advantage of "sticky notes" on your laptop. I am on my laptop 24/7 so having reminders on my desktop help me stay organized. Shopping lists will also help you save time, instead of roaming around Wal-Mart for hours. Keep a list in the kitchen. If you find out you need something, quickly jot it down and bring the complete list with you to the store. You will not get sidetracked or forget anything!

#3. Agenda

     ♥ Whether you're solely a worker, student, or mother (or all three!), having an agenda, or planner, can surely keep your life organized. You won't miss a shift, homework assignment, doctor's appointment, or your kids at soccer practice! Agendas give you a realistic perspective of what needs to be done in a certain amount of time. Again, you will need to keep up with this, so make sure you update your agenda on the daily.

#4. Give Everything a Home

     ♥ Going along with #1, in order to easily find anything you may need, have certain places for certain things. Keep your toiletries in the bathroom, school materials by your desk, and clothes in the closet or dresser. That may be obvious, but having containers and bins help a lot! For example, I store all my toiletries in a vertical shoe organizer that you hang over a door. This keeps my sink area clean and spacious, and if I am ever in a hurry to get dressed, everything is still available to me within arms reach. At my desk, I have a magazine holder for my books and a drawer container for all my stationary - markers, pens, pencils, sharpies, stapler, ruler, pin drives, you name it.

#5. Color-Coding and Labeling

     ♥ Whether it's for your agenda, notes, lists, or containers, color-coding and labeling is the next step in getting organized and can be very convenient. For example, you may have a lot of organized bins on the top of your shelf, but you may ask yourself "which container holds my ____?" Labeling will save you the time and energy from reaching that top shelf and hoping you picked the right box. Labeling may not be necessary if you have two distinct bins, but color-coding your school notes and agenda are necessary. For me at least... Every class has its own color, which saves space in my agenda, rather than writing out "Chemical Engineering - study chapter 5."

Throughout the day, you may think "Ain't Nobody Got Time Fo' Dat," but it really does save you a lot of time in the end. You won't have to dedicate a day's worth cleaning and organizing every week or month. Just keep up with it, and everything will go smoothly, I promise!