Can we talk about being organized?

[happily single]

With 2020 so close to being behind us I'm sure many of us are planning on being more organized. I know I am.

Generally I am a pretty organized person. I figured out (mostly) how to use the calendar in my phone. Hey, baby steps

While I would love to say I would use a divided 3-ring binder type organization book I just won't keep up with it.

With that said, what do YOU use to stay organized? I'm mainly concerned with 1. Bills; 2. To Do Lists; 3. Upcoming appointments. 4. Shoot. I just had 2-3 more things come to mind, but I forgot!

Does anyone have a system that they love?

 

[White Cat]

Bills are removed from my accounts automatically.

Phone reminder and paper.

Phone reminder and paper calendar.

 

[starvenger]

Since most of my bills are electronic now, I use a spreadsheet to keep track of those. Google calendar for appointments so that's linked to my phone.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I use Google Sheets for bills.

I put all appointments in iCal.

I use the Google Keep app for to do lists.

I have a planner, but I’m bad about updating it. I also have a monthly calendar on the front of my fridge to keep everyone up to date with events.

 

[NannyBeBe]

I'm old school. I use an At-a-Glance weekly planner and a wall calendar. I check both every morning. I pay my bills online every Friday. I sometimes use the timer on my cell phone to remind me of something I have to do that day. It's a simple system, but works great.

 

[Praying Colonel]

With 2020 so close to being behind us I'm sure many of us are planning on being more organized. I know I am.

Generally I am a pretty organized person. I figured out (mostly) how to use the calendar in my phone. Hey, baby steps

While I would love to say I would use a divided 3-ring binder type organization book I just won't keep up with it.

With that said, what do YOU use to stay organized? I'm mainly concerned with 1. Bills; 2. To Do Lists; 3. Upcoming appointments. 4. Shoot. I just had 2-3 more things come to mind, but I forgot!

Does anyone have a system that they love?

1. Bills: I automate every bill I can. Bills I can't automate I discuss with DW at a budget meeting we have the day before every pay period.

2. To do lists: I've tried a bunch of them, including the old paper Franklin Planner system, but the one I like is Any.do. It's free, flexible and integrates well with Siri and my calendar. But it's like any discipline: the important thing is to find one you like and stick with it.

3. Appointments: I use my phone calendar, which syncs with my computer.

 

[SueInBoston]

Most of my bills are electronic debit to either a credit card or checking account, I use mint and download to excel for categorizing and budgeting.
Google Keeps for shopping and to do list
phone calendar for all appointments

 

[tvguy]

At A Glance Weekly Planner like @NannyBeBe for appointments. Piece of scratch paper for To Do Lists. Bills, no need to track them, when they come in either via e-mail and snail pail, they get paid immediately. Only bill I have to watch is one that comes automatically out of my checking account. Signing up for auto pay was a huge mistake but it the only way to get a discount on our life insurance premium. While my normally course is to pay a bill as soon as it arrives, I want to reserve the right to decide the exact day I pay a bill. December is brutal anyway, no way I can pay all the bills due without dipping into savings. Long Term Care Insurance, Property Taxes, Auto insurance add up to $10,000 due in December, and oh, THEN there is Christmas.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Most bills are automatically paid; my husband handles the few that aren’t. I have a desk area off the kitchen that is used as the household “command center.” Something similar to this hangs to the left of the desk:



It’s the running to-do list. Things get added and removed from the dry erase side daily. The bulletin board, slots, and hooks hold paper to-do notes and random doodads that need to be dealt with.

Below that board is a 3-slot mail organizer that is almost always empty because we rarely have any mail to deal with (but if we did, it would have a place!) and a small, horizontal dry erase board for upcoming appointments written as “date, time, family member’s name, doctor.” I could use a calendar, but I prefer to have them all visible at a glance without having to flip through pages.

The back wall has a list of important phone numbers — currently looking for a liquid chalkboard to fit the space to replace the paper version — and one of these for birthdays and anniversaries:



The right wall has a hanging paper calendar that I can refer to when making appointments or for keeping track of household things that follow a schedule like houseplant or fish tank treatments. Also on the wall is yet another dry erase board that I stuck there because I had it and didn’t know what else to do with it. I’ve been using it as a running list of things to do for holiday/birthday party prep and it’s actually turned out to be a very useful addition. It’s not a true dry erase board — it’s a glass-covered canvas print, so when it’s not being used as a note board for upcoming events it just looks like a framed picture.

Anything that needs repair or new batteries goes on the desk to be addressed. Filing cabinet for important paperwork is under the desk.

I know most of this info could be managed in my phone, but my phone can sit for days without me looking at it and I’m kind of old school in wanting to have tangible lists and everything available at a glance. Having it written down also means everyone in the house has access to it.

My kids’ growth chart and a clothespin bulletin board for their artwork also hang in that space opposite of the desk.

 

[disney212]

Spreadsheets. I LOVE a good spreadsheet. I have each year expenses planned 15 years in advance. Always have, always will. I do have to make adjustments but I enjoy it. Yes, also vacations planned out that far too. I have spreadsheets dating back to the early 90s. It's how we live so well in our salaries.

 

[slo]

I use the calendar on my phone to keep track of what I make for dinner.
Let me explain....
Every time I make a meal that is approved by the family I put it in my phone 3 months from the time I make it on a Thursday (why a Thursday you ask? It's because I go grocery shopping on Thursdays every week). This way, I don't forget about meals we like and I don't make other meals to often and get bored of them.
I started this about 3 years ago and I swear by it - I love it!
I have a very large list now and when I make something all I have to do is change the date in my phone.
My family is indifferent about it, because I only make their favorites 4 times a year - LOL!
I'm really strict about it - I will not make something until it comes up in the rotation.
Making a grocery list is a breeze - I just go through the list, pick out some meals, buy the ingredients and I'm done - no guessing or wondering what to make.
This has also been great with new recipes because so many times I will try something new and then forget about it - I don't forget anymore with my rotation. I make the new recipe, and ask the family at the table if I should enter it in the rotation - sometimes they say yes and sometimes they say no.
Everyone I tell loves this idea, but says they could never be disciplined to do it, but I always tell them that if they would give it a chance, they will be happy they did.

 

[GreatLakes]

We use our Google calendars and shared Keep lists to help stay organized and make sure we both about family events and obligations.

 

[happily single]

Spreadsheets. I LOVE a good spreadsheet. I have each year expenses planned 15 years in advance. Always have, always will. I do have to make adjustments but I enjoy it. Yes, also vacations planned out that far too. I have spreadsheets dating back to the early 90s. It's how we live so well in our salaries.

I love a good spreadsheet too. Unfortunately the only thing I know how to do in Excel is make a list and Auto sum lol. Could you share what your spreadsheet looks like? Are there formula's, etc in it?

 

[happily single]

I use the calendar on my phone to keep track of what I make for dinner.
Let me explain....
Every time I make a meal that is approved by the family I put it in my phone 3 months from the time I make it on a Thursday (why a Thursday you ask? It's because I go grocery shopping on Thursdays every week). This way, I don't forget about meals we like and I don't make other meals to often and get bored of them.
I started this about 3 years ago and I swear by it - I love it!
I have a very large list now and when I make something all I have to do is change the date in my phone.
My family is indifferent about it, because I only make their favorites 4 times a year - LOL!
I'm really strict about it - I will not make something until it comes up in the rotation.
Making a grocery list is a breeze - I just go through the list, pick out some meals, buy the ingredients and I'm done - no guessing or wondering what to make.
This has also been great with new recipes because so many times I will try something new and then forget about it - I don't forget anymore with my rotation. I make the new recipe, and ask the family at the table if I should enter it in the rotation - sometimes they say yes and sometimes they say no.
Everyone I tell loves this idea, but says they could never be disciplined to do it, but I always tell them that if they would give it a chance, they will be happy they did.

I love this idea. Unfortunately I have the world's pickiest kids. well one will eat anything resembling meat if I call it steak and there are no veggies near it lol. But this is a great idea for me (who is trying to eat healthier) and is famous for finding great things to try on Facebook, then forgetting about them.

 

[MICKIMINI]

Wall calendar. Notes on recycled scrap paper. Like other OP's I pay bills the day I receive them. I pay credit cards typically once a week or after a big purchase. I keep a running list for the grocery store. I really keep tight track of any cash back or extra miles programs when there is a threshold to getting perks - all in a $ store notebook. It works!

 

[mousefan73]

I’m hopelessly disorganized. One thing that works for me concerning vacation planning is creating a folder per year for vacations. We travel a lot so an email folder for each trip is too much. As soon as I get an email confirmation or a cancellation confirmation I move that email over. At least I have all my travel stuff in one place.
I also found binders work better than file cabinets for us. We have file cabinets but most “files” are dumping grounds. My retirement statements, super important stuff etc are all in a larger binder with tabs. Actually having to hole them makes me make a decision to keep or not

 

[smile145]

Most bills are automatically paid; my husband handles the few that aren’t. I have a desk area off the kitchen that is used as the household “command center.” Something similar to this hangs to the left of the desk:

View attachment 546974

It’s the running to-do list. Things get added and removed from the dry erase side daily. The bulletin board, slots, and hooks hold paper to-do notes and random doodads that need to be dealt with.

Below that board is a 3-slot mail organizer that is almost always empty because we rarely have any mail to deal with (but if we did, it would have a place!) and a small, horizontal dry erase board for upcoming appointments written as “date, time, family member’s name, doctor.” I could use a calendar, but I prefer to have them all visible at a glance without having to flip through pages.

The back wall has a list of important phone numbers — currently looking for a liquid chalkboard to fit the space to replace the paper version — and one of these for birthdays and anniversaries:

View attachment 546976

The right wall has a hanging paper calendar that I can refer to when making appointments or for keeping track of household things that follow a schedule like houseplant or fish tank treatments. Also on the wall is yet another dry erase board that I stuck there because I had it and didn’t know what else to do with it. I’ve been using it as a running list of things to do for holiday/birthday party prep and it’s actually turned out to be a very useful addition. It’s not a true dry erase board — it’s a glass-covered canvas print, so when it’s not being used as a note board for upcoming events it just looks like a framed picture.

Anything that needs repair or new batteries goes on the desk to be addressed. Filing cabinet for important paperwork is under the desk.

I know most of this info could be managed in my phone, but my phone can sit for days without me looking at it and I’m kind of old school in wanting to have tangible lists and everything available at a glance. Having it written down also means everyone in the house has access to it.

My kids’ growth chart and a clothespin bulletin board for their artwork also hang in that space opposite of the desk.

Do you happen to know where that 4 in 1 organizer can be purchased?

 

[easyas123]

Bills are removed from my accounts automatically.

Phone reminder and paper.

Phone reminder and paper calendar.

Me, too -

I’m hopelessly disorganized. One thing that works for me concerning vacation planning is creating a folder per year for vacations. We travel a lot so an email folder for each trip is too much. As soon as I get an email confirmation or a cancellation confirmation I move that email over. At least I have all my travel stuff in one place.

I do the exact thing!

I'm not terribly organized, so it's helped me to have my bills automatically deducted monthly. I know how much has to go out, so that is how much I have direct deposited into that account. I'm very, very bad about keeping a tidy and organized house, and what has helped me so, so much is getting rid of 50% of the crap I thought I needed/wanted/had to have but didn't! I've slowly started to go from being a bit of a pack rat to finding joy in getting rid of the excess. I've gotten a lot better at thinning out clothes but have to keep at it! I'm starting to go from "save everything" to "less is more'. It helps A LOT that both the kids are now out of the house and I have time to concentrate on just the stuff of my husband & I. Luckily Husband is on board with tossing as much stuff as possible!

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Do you happen to know where that 4 in 1 organizer can be purchased?

https://www.amazon.com/Prosumers-Ch...t=&hvlocphy=9010766&hvtargid=pla-897061803514

 

[Imzadi]

I use Google Calendar for all appointments. I can set it to email me in advance as far ahead as I need, so I'm not surprised or unprepared for something I need to buy or prepare for. Also, I have it defaulted to email me the day before an appointment.

For any type of lists: To Do list, different store lists, grocery lists, Reminders, Notes to myself, I LOVE this ColorNotes app on my Android phone. I can sync it to different phones, so different people can actually see or write to the reminders & lists too as they get updated or stuff gets crossed off.

I have different lists now per store. For instance, my Trader Joe's list is has items listed by aisle as I normally walk through the store. This way I don't forget anything or have to backtrack aisles.

I have a Dollar Tree list. There is usally so much stuff there, that I may forget something I really need, while I'm looking at all the new items. (Same for my Walmart & Target lists.) And I can move items up or down on the list, if I don't need it that trip, but still want to keep it on the list for next time.