TOP DAILY TIPS TO KEEP LIFE ORGANIZED!

Today’s post is a going to be a little different than you’re used to. I’m not going to talk about decorating, or sharing tablescape how-to’s. What I am sharing with you are my ‘go-to everyday life hacks’ that keep me in check. I can’t tell you how often I hear the question, ‘How do you keep your house so clean?’ or, ‘When do you have time to keep everything organized in your home?’…Not only from my readers but also from friends and family. To be honest, I’m not the most organized person. I wish I were! Trust me on this, our kitchen pantry is a mess (UPDATE!! I FINALLY ORGANIZED IT – SEE THE MAKEOVER HERE!!) and our linen closet needs a serious overhaul…I think those may be some future blog posts, once I can set my mind to it. What I do quite well though, is keep our home clean and tidy on a daily basis, which for me, is a huge factor in keeping our lives organized as well. I’m even training our kids to be cognizant about staying organized and doing simple things, like hanging up their coats and schoolbags, so there’s one less item on this list. So today, I’m sharing my top daily tips to keep life organized! Keeping a clean and tidy house is easier than you realize…

GET THE LOOK :

Like most of you, this is where our day starts off every day. I happen to work from home, so on a typical day, this is also my office. I’ve been  working from home now for about two years, and I can tell you, it takes just as much work to be organized and stay on top of everyday items as it does working out of the house. I’ve done both, and while the pace is slower and quieter at home, spending more time here can lead to things piling up. I talk about why I decided to leave my career in this post, here, a ‘tell-all’, honest post about the trials and stresses of motherhood and working. Ok let’s get back to my daily to-do’s.

First thing’s first, my husband and son wake up at 5:45 – 6:00 a.m, (they leave at 6:45), and I’m usually up between 5:45 – 6:30, depending on my day. I try very hard to be up at 6 the latest, but it’s tough sometimes! Especially in the winter when it’s still still nighttime outside. I’m getting better at it, and ideally, my goal is to be up around 5:30, in the future if I can. My days are jam-packed, so if I can gain an extra 30-60 minutes, I will. It’s a work in progress! One of the things that always helps in the morning is getting the coffee pot ready the night before – that’s one of my hubby’s jobs – so we just turn on the stove in the morning. We use an old-fashioned percolator (no coffee can come close, trust me!), so it’s a process to make, but so worth it! We’ve been making ‘Bullet Proof Coffee’ (part of our diet, keep reading below for more on that) for a while now, which consists of coffee, organic better, heavy cream, XTC oil, and I still use a little sugar. With all the high, natural fats, it keeps my quite full for most of the morning.GET THE LOOK :

I sit right here each morning and check my emails and listen to the news while having my coffee. After I have my coffee and send the boys off for the day, I workout. Like everyone, January and February are all about getting back to optimal health and I have to say, being in our forties, it’s no easy task. I can’t just ‘drop 10 pounds in a month’ like I use to be able to. Everything is harder, and moves just a little slower now haha. We are very health conscious around here, but we also indulge, and the holidays along with my ultimate weakness, Peanut M&M’s, get me every year!! All that to say, as I’m aging, I want to look and feel better and we’ve made the conscious decision that there is no time like the present. So we’re back at it, full swing.

I don’t have a lot of time in my day, so I need fast workouts with maximum benefits. For me, I get the best results with HIIT workouts. High Intensity Interval Training. These are typically 12-15 minutes a day. They’re tough, rigorous and intense. I promise you, if you have the determination, you can do these. The first time I tried one about 6 years ago, I thought it would be impossible. I couldn’t even do more than a few pushups. Not any more! I stuck to it and saw fast results. Along with a proper, healthy diet, I felt far better and had more energy. Also – I DO NOT OWN A SCALE!! I can be obsessive about weighing myself, so I purposely don’t have one. I can gauge simply by how my clothes fit. And I won’t lie, I’ve been up and down and because I’m barely 5 foot 2, weight gain shows up instantly on me. That being said, I’ve been bad the past two years and inconsistent. Being home got the best of me and being on the move less helped me fall off of my routine. Now that I’ve been back on track since Christmas, I’m already seeing results, which pushes me more. Go online and look for HIIT workouts to find a level that suits your needs. I personally love http://thebettyrocker.com – she is awesome. You can do it too, trust me. I also love yoga on the days I’m not working out – you can download tons of apps for beginners. If this isn’t for you, find the thing that works and make the conscious effort to stick to it!!

As for nutrition, we’ve always tried to avoid processed carbohydrates, and stick to mainly vegetables, proteins and healthy fats. We loosely follow the Keto diet – find it here – and as I said – if you’re determined, YOU CAN DO IT!!! I promise! It takes some adjusting to – I had some bad headaches in the beginning and sometimes felt a little light headed – this is normal as your body is adjusting to a new way of eating. This is not for everyone, and I believe, if you are diabetic, this may not be for you. I’m not endorsing this diet in any way for anyone, but this happens to work well for us. Always speak to your doctor first about any new nutrition plan you want to start! Again, find what works for you and stick to it.

GET THE LOOK :

MAKE YOUR BED : IT’S GOOD FOR THE MIND AND SOUL!

By the time I’m finished working out, it’s 7:00 – 7:30 and I wake up our daughter. This is what the next hour or two looks like :

 1 – Breakfast for our daughter.

2 – Cleaning up the kitchen (no dirty dishes around here, or they end up staying all day!).

3 – Finish packing lunch. QUICK TIP : I pack the kids’ lunches at night, which is usually leftovers from dinner, veggies that are already cut up for the week, healthy snacks, water and a homemade muffin or brownie, sometimes chocolate milk. Yes, the kids still get to indulge in the fun stuff ;)

4 – Make my bed – there’s nothing like a clean bedroom and NOTHING like a crisply made bed at the end of the day, trust me on this!

5 – Shower and get ready – yes, I do  my hair, makeup and get dressed for the day, even when I’m home all day long. I feel WAY better when I look decent!

6 – School drop off.

 It’s now 9 am, I’m back home and ready to start my day. My house is picked up, beds are made (the kids make theirs every morning too – although our son can sneak out without doing it haha), kitchen is clean, and I’m ready to start working. I grab a quick snack around now as well. Usually something light like nuts and cheese (healthy fats, part of our diet again). It’s truly amazing how much you can accomplish in a short time if you plan it out and stick to it.

My work day is short – I have to leave at 3 pm to pick our daughter up from school and take her to dance. I’m often out of the house until, or around dinner time, so I have to be proactive and cook supper any time between 2 pm and 4 pm, so it’s ready to eat when we are all back home at the end of the day. Our meals are usually quick and simple, and mostly consist of meat and veggies. Taco Tuesdays are a life saver too! I don’t make them every week, but they’re always helpful. Nutrition Tip : Forego the taco and tortilla shells and use romain lettuce leaves to roll your taco meat in. Load it up with yogurt, avocado, tomatoes, cheese and they are delish!! We do the same with fajitas.

After dinner, we clean up the kitchen completely (I told you how I feel about dirty dishes!), make lunches, the kids to their homework and we all usually settle down to relax together around 7 or 8pm. Sometimes we have to go get our daughter from dance in the evenings as well, her schedule differs from day to day. I’m often back to work in the evenings, since my days are short, but I’m always on the sofa relaxing and with my family while I do. Lucky for us, our son started a study-sport program this year at school, so his hockey is during the day. Not having hockey at night or weekends anymore has also made things much more simple for our family. I don’t get to see him play often though, that’s the one downside…but he loves it even if his day starts early. Even evenings still can be busy between homework and work, sometimes later than usual meals and cleaning up. Especially when it comes to our bunny…

OSCAR LOVES THESE :

Have you met Oscar, our lionhead bunny? You may have seen him make cameo appearances in previsous posts. He’s my third baby and we all love him so much! He’s another messy guy in the house…yes, he chews baseboards and drapes – read about how that lead to our dining room update here! You don’t usually see his cage in my  photos, but it’s here. We clean it daily (the kids also have to), and he goes in and out throughout the day when he’s not sleeping. At night, he stays in there until morning. He’s actually completely potty trained too! Bunnies usually train themselves and he’ll even wakeup from a nap under our bed and hop into his cage to go! So cute. Hay and bedding can get scattered around, and the occasional Oscar poop can show up here and there, so I always make it a point of vacuuming and sweeping daily as well.GET THE LOOK : 

That sums up my daily routine and all of the things that I make sure to do, to keep our lives organized. And trust me – there are days when my house is messy and there are piles of laundry sitting until I can get to them! Sometimes when I haven’t done the dishes yet and I need to shoot pictures while the light is good, I’ll stash them on outside of the camera frame so you can’t see them ;) My point is, life is busy and no one is perfect. My house is not perfect. I just try to keep it neat and tidy with a few simple tricks that help me along the way. Here are a few more tips to staying on top of life’s little messes! Pin the image below to keep as reference!

I hope you found this helpful! I promise you, stick to a plan and life is much less messy. Take care of yourself, and your home. Looking good equals feeling good and having a clean, clutter free home feels less stressful and creates positive energy. Our home is open concept and everything is visible, so it’s something I have to do to keep my sanity! It takes work and a lot of repetition with the kids, but slowly you can achieve the same things in your home. Let me know if you use any of these tips in your everyday lives, I want to hear all about it!

*Affiliate links are used as sources for some of my favorite items. These are either the same as the items featured in this post, or are similar options for your shopping convenience.

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