What does positive living look like?
Living a positive life is hard. Trying to live a positive life without an organized life is even harder. A lot of our happiness stems from living a balanced life that’s organized. When my house is a mess, I’m late paying the phone bill, or I realized the day has come and gone and I got nothing done because I didn’t have a to-do list, I’m a wreck. I’m unhappy, and I feel my life is in shambles. It’s not, but it sure feels that way!
I believe that finding balance and being organized contributes to positive living. And not just a little bit, but a whole lotta bit.
I’ve compiled a list of categories I believe are important to becoming organized and living a balanced life. I’ve also included some resources and products to help you accomplish that type of organization. If you’re feeling unorganized in your life (I mean who isn’t), then I’d encourage you to pick the one that stands out to you the most and work on it. Don’t get overwhelmed and try to accomplish them all at once, but just pick one. Do something today to start organizing yourself. Your future self will thank you!
6 Resources for Living an Organized Life
1. Schedule and Routine
Keep a schedule and establish a routine. This one is very hard for me because I have a love/hate relationship with sticking to a schedule. I want it, but I want to be spontaneous. I’m still struggling to find the balance between the two. So, keep a schedule while being flexible. Just don’t get so flexible that you lose your schedule. When I stick to a basic schedule I feel like I’m accomplishing something, I get more done, and I don’t feel guilty for things I haven’t done, or had to say no to. Schedules help to manage your time better, so you can get more done.
I highly recommend creating a to-do list or getting a planner. I can’t live without “the notebook”. In my house if I’m asking “Can you hand me my notebook?” everyone knows what I’m talking about. I write my to-do lists, my schedule, and my goals all over my planner.
Schedule Resources:
Free Resources:
JoAn from JoAn Liz Richardson has a great article about what works for her when it comes to planning a schedule. She also includes some awesome FREE planning sheets.
Grandi from My Aggrandized Life has a wonderful website about topics of organization. You can read her article about Time Management for Busy Moms and get a free download to a Planner and organizing your life and goals.
Laura at Sunny Day Family also blogs about organizing your life. She has a great article about how to Create a Planner for Kids to help them with a schedule. You can also buy her planner for kids.
Other Resources:
Day Designer. Love, love, love this planner. I could just stare at it all day. I could put nothing in it, but just smell it and turn the pages. (did I say that out loud?! What? I love the smell of new books!) It’s so user friendly and includes stickers (you had me at stickers). It has a section for weekly, monthly, and daily planning. It also includes to-do lists and goal setting sections. It’s an all encompassing planner. You can’t go wrong. It’s not a cheap planner, but it’s not super expensive either. If you’re looking for a good well-rounded planner, this is a great one! And it’s pretty!
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Get the Big Day Designer that goes into even more depth with goals and tracking finances and all kinds of organization tips and charts. The only downside is it’s more on the expensive end, but you are getting a ton of ways to stay organized in one spot.
Day Designer (The BIG One)
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Bullet Journal Planner. This is a freestyle-like planner. It gives you dots as a guidance and you make it what you want. Draw lines, create charts, color pictures. You make it yours. It’s compact, priced well, and good quality. The downside is that it doesn’t give you any prompts or ideas. It’s all up to your imagination. But bullet journals are the big thing right now and there is a lot of information out there about bullet journaling.
Learn MoreSimple Planner. This is just a simple planner that is a great price and can definitely keep you organized. It is highly rated. Super cute with great designs and motivational pages.
Learn MoreA routine is a lot like a schedule, but I see it more like a habit. Something you do everyday without thinking about it. OR “that something” that you just need in your daily life to make your day complete. For example, every morning I say a prayer before I start my day, if I don’t something feels off. Some people can’t live without their morning coffee. Whatever it might be for you, find those things that make you happy and boost your energy and add them to your daily life and create a routine.
Routine Resources
Ideas:
- Eating energy boosting food for breakfast every morning (instead of coffee)
- Working out in the morning before starting your day
- Taking “me time” at the same time everyday and planning for it or scheduling around it.
- Praying before bed every night
- Writing in your journal once a week
- Scheduling time for meditation
Free Resources:
Autumn from She’s a Wreck has a great article about creating a routine when your kids go back to school. Creating that routine when school starts always puts you at an advantage for the whole school year.
Jill from Organizational Toast has a great list of how to create a good morning routine.
Really ponder what you think gives you motivation and make it a habit everyday.
Post: 9 Ways to Kick Life’s Butt
2. Meal Planning
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, a majority of our time each day is centered around food. What to eat? When to eat? How to eat? Who to eat?….eat, eat, eat. It can be a real stresser and cause a lot of disorganization. Find a way to organize and prepare meals and meal times and eliminate a huge stresser.
There are several ways to do this, you just have to find the way that works for you and your family. I like to plan my meals starting the beginning of each week and go grocery shopping accordingly. Not that we always stick to the plan due to my spontaneity.
I also try to keep my kids on a food schedule throughout the day, so I’m not stuffing them with snacks all day. For them I also like to have like a “food bank” aka a list of foods/meals that are (maybe) healthy that I can choose from for their breakfasts and lunches according to their mood and what I have on hand. This way I never forget, and I don’t have to think about.
Meal Planning Resources:
Free Resources:
Chrissy from Snacking in Sneakers has several articles about recipes and healthy eating, and if you subscribe to her blog you can get a free Meal Planning Kit.
Rachelle from Three Littles has a great article about Meal Planning 101 for beginners with a free printable.
Tamara from Momma Making Moves writes about Meal Planning for busy moms with big families. If you have a big family, you could probably use this. Subscribe to her blog for a free meal planning printable.
Antonia from A Mum in Progress has an informative article about Meal Planning Made Simple. She has also created a free meal planning kit for you to download.
Kristine at KrisBeeMama has a great blog post about how to Meal Plan Weekly, and she also includes a free Meal Planning template.
Other Resources:
Some physical and simple products that are affordable and highly ranked on Amazon could also be an option for you and your family. I have used something similar to this before and it worked great. It also sticks to the fridge which is convenient.
Learn More3. Cleaning and Organizing your Home
I’m sure everyone else’s house is spick and span because they just love to clean and don’t have to worry about sticking to a cleaning schedule. Am I right? There’s just something about having a nice clean home. It’s inviting, and doesn’t make you want to run for the hills like when it’s a disaster. I’m so glad people don’t decide to just “stop by” because they would find out how I really live.
I mean, I enjoy cleaning, but sometimes I feel like it’s all I do. Then I’m like, didn’t I just clean this? No, maybe it’s been a week…I don’t know! (throwing my hands up in disgust and cleaning it anyway) Maybe I should be more organized with my cleaning, and I wouldn’t be going crazy.
Try to create a schedule of cleaning, so you aren’t going crazy cleaning all the time. Also try to slowly organize your home. Everything should have a place and be in its place.
Cleaning Resources:
Free Resources
Jenn from More Than a Mom of Three has a great article about keeping a weekly cleaning schedule with a free printable!
Becky from Clean Mama has a great website/blog about all things organization, but I really like her free cleaning printable and her article about Cleaning Routine. Check her out for other great organizational tips as well.
Krista from The Happy House has an amazing article about How to Organize your Home in just 10 Weeks. If you sign up with her, she will send you weekly emails to keep you on track with your weekly organizing. She has some products for sale as well to help you really be organized.
Other Resources:
Sarah Titus at www.sarahtitus.com. She blogs about all things organizational, but she also has a really cool cleaning binder to help you organize your cleaning. If you sign up for her blog she sends great information about being organized and often free printables. You can also browse her shop for some great deals and bundles no staying organized. Here is the link to her Cleaning Binder. (The cleaning binder is a product for purchase).
Norwex Products. These products are amazing and I highly recommend them. They last forever, and they REALLY work. If you want to do any kind of cleaning or DEEP cleaning Start here. I work with Katie Bills who is a very knowledgeable sales consultant, and can get you the right product for any mess.
4. Finances and Budgeting
This is huge. When I’m on budget and feel like I have a grasp on my finances, I literally feel weight lifting from my shoulders. How often does this happen? Maybe once a year. Finances are hard, and keeping track of finances is even harder. BUT when you find that budgeting thing that works for you, it’s amazing! If you aren’t already on a budget, I encourage you to do so.
Finance and Budgeting Resources:
Free Resources:
Michelle from Making Sense of Cents is an amazing resource to learn about all things money. Extremely useful information, and if you subscribe to her, you can get her free Master Your Money course.
Natalie Bacon from Natalie Bacon.com is an amazing resource for becoming financially free. She has courses, products, and articles to help you organize your finances and live your dreams.
The Penny Hoarder is also an amazing website that I have referred to often. They have amazing articles about how to make money, save money, spend money, and all things in between. If it’s about money, it’s there.
Other Resources:
A popular book by Jonathan Hawley called Dissolve Your Debt could be the answer for you. Click Here!
The Easy Money Planner. A super cheap option to get organized with your finances. A downloadable Excel file, so you don’t need any additional software. It’s a great template to get started with. Click Here!
Dave Ramsey is a great mentor when it comes to money. I referred to him a lot for money advice, and implemented a few of his strategies. This book is a great place to start.
Dave Ramesey: The Total Money Makeover
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I love Suze Orman and her passion for finances. I have read this book and found it very helpful. Still working on implementing strategies, but she hits financial freedom right on the nose.
Suze Orman: The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom
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5. Exercise and Healthy Living
Exercise has it’s own category because it can be it’s own kinda crazy. Exercise should be something you include in your routine, schedule, to-do list, and in your meal planning. Exercise releases happy endorphins, creates more energy, a healthier body, and provide much needed “me time”.
Post: How Exercises Saved my Mental Health, and Can do the Same for You
It’s good to find an exercise regimen that works with your schedule and for your body.
Free Resources:
Anything on the YouTube Channel PopSugar. They have so many different workouts like yoga, boxing, core, arms, legs, cardio. They are all different levels and all different lengths. If you need a 10 minute workout or a 45 minute workout, you will find it here. And they are good, high quality. I just did one yesterday. I love them.
MyFitness Pal. Track your calories and exercise with this app. I use it all the time, and I love it. You can sync it with several different software like the Fitbit and MapMyRun, so look for those options. They have a purchasing option, but you really don’t need it.
Check out my post 10 Ways to find time to workout with Kids or my 9 Tips for Beginning Runners for some tips and tricks to working out and running. Also a good resource is 5 of the Best Stretches for Runners.
Other Resources:
Beachbody. You might have heard of this, but it is a website with access to 1,000s of workouts for a yearly fee. I’ve done several of them, and I love them. They have the popular workouts like P90X and Insantiy. There are classes of all levels, and they have coaches and challenges to keep you on track. They also usually have a free 14 day trail.
Here are some other workout programs and options that are highly reviewed that you could check out:
Bikini Body Workouts Click Here!
Yoga Burn Workout Click Here!
You really just have to find that thing that works for you!
6. Purpose
It’s hard to organize your life when you don’t have a purpose. What is your why? Why do you do the things you do? What keeps you going? If you don’t know the answer, try to find it. I guarantee that once you know this, the process of organizing your life will be a lot smoother and happier.
Find your purpose by writing in a journal and really pondering your goals and aspirations, setting goals, connecting with God, or reading books or articles.
Post: 7 Ways to Take Control of Your Life
Here are some places to start.
Finding your Purpose Resources
Katie at Resilient has several article and resources to helping you find your purpose and “why” in life. It is worth reading through her articles to find something that resonates with you.
Mormon.org is an amazing informative website about finding your happiness and purpose in life and in God.
You could also check out my motivational blog posts for inspiration:
10 of the Best Speeches for Motivation
20 Inspiring Quotes to Live a Positive Life (with printables)
Other Resources:
Tony Robbins is famous for helping thousands of people get their life back by building confidence, saving relationships, changing their mindset, and living fulfilled lives. Check out his resources and classes.
Nadalie from It’s All You Boo has an amazing Slay Goals Planner to help you slay your goals and find your purpose. If you aren’t ready to commit to buying her planner you can start with a FREE 10 Step Slay Your Goals Guide.
Mica from Mind of Mica also has a great The Goal-Getter Playbook to help you become self-aware with where you are and where you want to be and then achieve it.
I hope you were able to find these resources helpful. If you do one, I’d love to hear how it has helped you. Please reach out to me. And if you did find this useful, please share!
This is fantastic! I am always on the lookout for better ways to organise my life, work and family. I definitely fall down on the whole cleaning routine and knowing what I last did when…..like when did I last change the kids bedding?! Yipes. I am off to do that now! 🙂
Thank You, I’m glad you found it useful! I am the exact same way!!!
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Thank you!
I am always looking for more ways to get organized this is such a great resource! I especially love all the printables every one has, I’m sort of obsessed with printables 😉
Haha, me too! I love printables! And thank you, I’m glad you find it informative!
Great post and this gave me a lot of ideas for my blog.
Thank you! I’m glad!