If you’re beginning to feel that even the simplest tasks each morning are tiring you out before you’ve even left the house, here are some tips on how to get your life a little bit more organized, from getting your outfits ready the night before, to a few things you can do in the home to keep things in order.
Prepare the night before
PREPARE YOUR OUTFIT: Whether it’s going to work or a brunch with friends, get your outfit ready the night before. There’s nothing worse than waking up, feeling like you have nothing to wear and getting yourself tired and stressed out before you’ve even left the house. It will ruin your morning and can even knock your self-esteem if you’ve tried a few outfits on that for whatever reason, aren’t working for you that morning.
HANG YOUR OUTFIT: Either on the closet door or on a
section of your wardrobe rack if you have space, with your shoes and bag next to it and you’ll feel instantly less stressed having everything prepared.
DRESS FOR THE OCCASION
WORKDAY OR BRUNCH WITH THE GIRLS? PREPARE YOUR LOOK:
If it’s just a regular day at work pull an outfit that you know is workwear appropriate for your office, but if you have a special meeting or interview, be sure to choose something that will make you feel like your best self. Your outfit really can make a big difference to how you feel, giving you confidence and putting your best foot forward for the day.
Be sure to try your outfit on the day before: Iron it and hang it. Going straight from work to bar? Prepare by wearing an outfit that will work from day to night and add a statement necklace in your bag to throw on with your dress to jazz it up for the evening. Pack a clutch in your work bag for after hours so you don't have to carry your big work bag around with you.
PREPARE YOUR BAG
ORGANIZE YOUR BAG
If you like to switch your bags around, get a small pouch that you can keep all your essentials inside, for instance lip balm, credit cards, emergency touch up kit like concealer, safety pins incase you pop a button and lipstick. This way you can easily transfer items from one bag to another without having to worry you’ve left anything behind.
SET UP YOUR COFFEE THE NIGHT BEFORE / PACK YOUR LUNCH
If you’re a fan of filtered coffee, put it on a timer to be ready for when you wake up. The smell might even help you get out of bed! Taking lunch to work? Have that packed in the fridge the night before too.
PLAN ON WORKING OUT THE NEXT DAY?
If so, get your workout gear ready as well as your gym bag packed the day before. It’s surprising what a difference it will make if you have your gym wear ready to go. The motivation will be amplified and saves you searching the next day to find your gym kit.
TIPS ON GETTING READY
WAKE UP TEN MINUTES EARLIER
Someone that always tends to run a few minutes behind? Try setting your alarm ten minutes earlier and get up when it rings. You’ll be amazed at how much those extra ten minutes can make, so much less stressful than running around getting ready, worrying you're going to be late.
MAKEUP
It might seem like an odd tip to include in organizing your life, but if you wear makeup daily, the way you do your makeup can save you time. If you’re a fan of wearing eyemake up, do this first before applying the rest of your makeup. If you do your eye shadow last, it can drop on to the rest of your face, causing you to have to re-do your foundation and waste time correcting it. By doing your eyemake up first, you can use a wet wipe and correct any dropped eyeshadow, and then you can go on to do your foundation.
ORGANIZING YOUR HOME
There are several things you can do at home that will help de-stress your life.
A TIDY CLOSET
One of the best ways to make yourself feel more organized is to have a tidy closet. You'll save so much time being able to find everything easily if your items are organized.
Arrange your closet by:
Pulling everything out to start with. It might seem chaos when doing it but it’s the best way to organize everything. Once you've pulled everything out, lay them in piles according to type.
TOPS
Start by pulling out your tops. Arrange them by:
-Evening tops
-Day tops
You can then separate them by :
Blouses
T-shirts
Tank tops.
Then go and arrange them by color. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to see what you have and save you time rummaging around.
Arrange them by :
Jeans (hang them separately by bootcut, cropped etc.)
Work trousers
Evening trousers
Capris etc.
SKIRTS
Organize by:
Day casual short
Day casual midi
Day casual Maxi
Day smart (lunches etc)
Workwear skirts – Pencil skirts
Evening skirts / Long / Midi / Short
DRESSES
Similar to skirts arrange by:
Day casual short
Day casual maxi
Day smart
Workwear skirts – Pencil skirts etc
Evening dresses / Long / Midi / Short
SWEATSHIRTS
Fold sweatshirts and knits by color and type or hang them if you have room, and again arrange them by category and style.
DAY / NIGHT OUTFIT SAVERS
In your wardrobe it’s always a good idea to have a few outfits hanging up ready to wear for different occations. There might be times you didn't prepare an outfit the night before for work and over sleep or you get a last minute call from friends to go for breakfast or a last minute evening out. If you have a few outfits ready in your closet that are your go-tos you’ll be able to get dressed really quickly and know you’ll feel comfortable in what you’re wearing.
Good categories for your go-to outfits:
-Work appropriate outfit
-Brunches / days out with friends
-A smart evening outfit
PRACTICAL WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR HOME
ELECTRONICS
Buy a multi plug panel that fits all your plugs on one. It will save you time having to constantly switch plugs in and out, or even save you from thinking you're charging your phone when you’ve pulled the plug out and forgot to plug it back in.
USE THE NOTES / REMINDER LIST ON YOUR PHONE
Utilizing the Notes App or Reminder list on your phone will help keep your to-do list organized. You can easily pull it up when you need to check what you’ve got to keep on top of.
Organize it by home/ work to do / home admin etc / (credit card payments, booking flights/ items you need to pick up / phone calls you need to make). Then create a list for work items of things you need to do and other categories specific to you and your needs.
Shopping list: You can also keep a shopping list on there of items you regularly buy. Instead of always re-writing your list, you can just pull it up and re-purchase them. If you buy online you can keep a saved list on your online account and just hit 'buy again' to make life easier.
LIFE WITH A BABY
If you have a baby or children, the above ways to organize can also be said for having a baby. Organize your children’s closet by onesies / T-shirts / Sweaters / Trousers etc.
ORGANIZE THEIR CLOTHES / DIAPER BAG / BACKPACK
Similar to your own wardrobe, get your children’s clothes out the night before. It will be a real time saver. If your baby is still in diapers, prep the diaper bag the night before.
Make sure:
You have enough diapers, diaper cream / spare set of clothes/ set of bottles with formula / chill bag ready for pumped milk/ food pouches / snacks / clean spoon, bib and bowl. If your children are at school, organize their backpacks the night before with packed lunches etc ready in the fridge.
FINALLY- GET A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP
If you can, go to bed at a decent time. De-stress before by keeping your phone, computers etc out of the bedroom and try and give your eyes a break from technology for at least 30 minutes before bed. It makes a huge difference from a restful night, to one filled with thoughts of things you have to do the next day.