Tips on Tuesday: Get Organized!

I've got a lot going on this week, and I'm feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed right now. I know I'm probably not the only one who feels a great sense of relief once I get things organized and just how I like them, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite tips on organizing my mind and my surrounding so I can think clearly and tackle all of my tasks.

1. Bullet Journal. This is my favorite thing ever right now! I love my bullet journal. I first heard about them around Christmas this past year, and I got one to try out in January. I have always loved planners, but a bullet journal is so much more and better than a regular planner. It's also a place for random lists, a journal, a wish list, and a brain dumping ground. The best thing about bullet journals is they are exactly what you need when you need it. You can have all kinds of things in between your calendars and to-do lists. And if you don't want to write anything down at all for a week or two, you don't have wasted pages like you would on a regular planner. If I can get everything flying around in my head written down in my bullet journal, I feel so much better and it all looks so much more manageable.

2. One Minute Rule. This rule states that if whatever task is in front of me would take one minute or less, then I need to do it right now. File that document. Throw away that junk mail so it doesn't clutter my desk. Close the cabinet door in the kitchen. Hang up my coat. All of these things are so small and simple, yet they have a cumulative effect that really makes a big difference!

3. Clean for 15. Every evening I like to set a timer for 15 minutes. In that time, I pick something in my house to clean and I keep cleaning until my timer goes off. I can always manage 15 minutes. I would always use an excuse to get out of a 30 or 60 minute cleaning stint, but 15 minutes goes by quickly, and if you stick with it day after day, you can really get your house in good shape! I was on a great roll with this back in January, and I was running out of things on the main floor of my little house to clean, so I used my 15 minutes to do things like sweep my basement floor. I felt so much better when my house was that clean!

4. Sunday Basket. I just learned about this strategy recently. The idea is that you set up a basket (or bag in my case) where you put mail or any kind of papers that you accumulate throughout the week. On Sundays you get it all out and deal with it in whatever way is most appropriate. You pay what needs to be paid, schedule what needs to be scheduled, trash what you don't need to look at again, and so on. It really helps cut down on clutter, and it saves time because you can be more efficient doing that all one time on Sundays, rather than a little every day. And you know right where everything is!

5. Power Hour. I really like the idea of the power hour, and this is one I have yet to employ in my own life, but I would really like to start! We all have annoying little tasks that we keep putting off, and usually whatever can happen at any time happens at no time. If there's no deadline, it'll never happen. So the power hour is one hour a week that you schedule into your calendar to get all of these little tasks done, such as calling the doctor to schedule an appointment, getting a screwdriver and tightening the handle on your bedroom door, and other random, nagging tasks.

Have you ever used any of these strategies? Do you have tried-and-true strategies you love that aren't listed here? Please share!