What routines/systems do you have to keep organized?

[tontamoo]

I'm just wondering what type of routines/systems/schedules people have in terms of keeping their lives and work organized?

My system is still being developed, and it'll need to be rolled out as I develop these routines but here's an idea of what I'd like.

Daily:
- exercise in the morning, be it just doing 30 sit-ups, something to get my heartrate going as I've been feeling lethargic
- before headiing home from work, set my most important tasks for tomorrow and arrange the materials I'll need on my desk so I can sit right down and get started in the morning
- file, trash, etc. all the papers that have accumulated on my desk (I hate people just handing me stuff)
- shower in the evening
- choose my clothes for tomorrow and set it out before bed
- put everything away before bed (saves from stuff piling up as it currently does)
- transfer stuff from my inbox (notes, tasks) to their respective categories

Weekly
- set a vacuum day
- wipe down the bathroom
- file stuff in my "to file" folder on the computer
- at a minimum, go for an hour walk around the nearby park once during the weekend

Monthly
- I have my bills set to be paid automatically, but I need to match up receipts on a set day every month
- enter all receipts amounts for the month into a spreadsheet to track expenses (and any deposits like paychecks)
- enter my timesheets (salaried, but I like to track how much time I spend at work. It's eye-opening to see what my hourly rate averages to in the end.) and mileage into their respective spreadsheets (I'm a huge fan of graphs and data.)
- clean fish tank

[purplefdu]

Right now I:

• clean my inbox daily. I can't handle it being more than 3-5 important e-mails.
• take the dogs for a short walk once or twice a day
• do the dishes every other day, rinsing daily
• do laundry weekly
• vacuum and tidy weekly
• pick up toys daily

I'd like to Add:

• a nice jog/run daily
• thorough clean weekly
• balance checkbook daily
• track mileage for errands/cut back
• tidy desk daily
• vacuum twice weekly

[GOTO Fashion]

I make my bed immediately after getting up in the morning (5 minutes). It helps me to have a "neat" mindset all day long. If you FLY, you'll understand what I mean by this being my "shiny sink."

I unload clean dishes immediately from the dishwasher and rinse dirty dishes before putting them in there - that way, nothing stays in the sink and kitchen looks neat and clean at all times.

I sort and take action on all mail immediately - junk mail and torn envelopes go in the trash, I shred any credit offers or other sensitive information, I place bills in a bill sorter on the desk by due date, I file anything I want to keep, and I place invites in a family calendar between the pages of the month they occur in. Before I implemented this system, I could never find bills that needed to be paid and I constantly had a massive pile of things to file in my inbox. Now, I don't even need an inbox!

I'm currently working on cleaning a couple of rooms a day and picking up the main living areas once per day. That way, my whole house will be cleaned each week without a marathon cleaning.

[NaturallyCheap]

I just write a list and do things one at a time!

[rainysparadigm]

Dh and I made a list of weekly chores on a sort of spreadsheet, print it out and put it handy. We print a new one about every 4 months or so. Just tick off the item when its done for that week, so we both know what needs to be done and nothing gets overlooked.

We keep a pot of rice cooked at all times. It's so easy to mix it with vegies and a can of cream soup, make a lentil dish, make a quick spanish rice, or just break out the vegies and soy sauce. Quick lunches, lazy dinners - keeps us from eating out as much on busy days.

Baskets. We have baskets everywhere. On the coffee table, entryway table, dresser, nightstand so we always have a "contained" spot to drop off small items in our hands such as change, cellphone, etc. These baskets are either wood or wicker, mostly. I also use alot of plastic baskets in the cabinets: one in the guest bath for odds and ends, several under our sink for our cosmetic stuff, one for meds in the closet and another for currently taking (vitamins, allergy med, whatever we need) so its handy. Basket for cleaning stuff above the washer, basket under the sink for cleaning items, another for dust rags, etc. Baskets to organize the pet stuff. We even have two large ones in the fridge, one for vegies that need to be prepared/eaten sooner than the others (spoil fast, been in there awhile, etc) and the other for newer, longer lasting produce. Couple in the pantry for smaller items like boxes of pudding, or small bag of dried beans. I even have a large one for pot lids, and one for tupperware and the other for the lids. I find this helps alot with keeping organized and spend less time searching for things.

Bills are organized with one of those plastic drawer sets from Target. Top drawer for pens, stapler, tape, stamps etc.
Three drawers: new bills, important, and things eventually needing to be attended.
Bottom drawer is large and has envelopes, paper, etc.

And while we try to have a place for everything, odds and ends that just dont have a home yet and may never will go into drawers on the china cabinet. Out of sight

I like the idea of setting a timer for one hour each night and just accomplish as much as possible. Our weekends are almost always abused with catching up, and its kinda annoying. I think I will propose that idea to my s/o and see if we cant free up a little time on the weekends.

[lucille]

We set reminders in our group electronic calender for things we need to do, like clean the fish tank. I either have payments set on auto pay from our bank or have payment reminders in our electronic calender.

I go through mail quickly as I bring it in to see if there is anything that obviously needs attention right now, otherwise it goes in an inbox to be handled once a week. I also keep an ongoing to do list of things that need to be done.

[khorrell]

I have a control journal, which has a daily list of things to do, plus a list of weekly chores. I never, ever get them all done but I know where to start. Also, I'm very easily distracted so the list helps to keep me on track. The binder also includes info for each of the kiddos activities so I know where to look for the Brownie leader's phone number or to track down someone to give a child a ride home from an activity.

Mostly, I would get everything done if someone would cut the cable to my computer!

[breadandbutter]

I'm not a fanatic of everything really organized and in order. I don't want to make long schedules and things like that. But, I want to keep a notebook where I could write what I need to remember. I'm a rather 'come what may" person.. though I value time and development I just seem to go with the flow and not make too much plans.

[rainysparadigm]

Originally Posted by khorrell

Mostly, I would get everything done if someone would cut the cable to my computer!

Second that notion! lol

[Mudd Bugg Designs]

I have great ideas for getting organized and even start them but following thru is where I lose it. A long list will make me feel overwhelmed so I don't do that although I will make notes on things that I need to remember. I do certain things that help me a little. The mail both snail and e-mail I take care of right away, bed made when I get up, the dishes put in the dishwasher after using and I do a quick clean in the bathroom frequently as I hate a dirty bathroom.