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Get Organized in 2019: Tips for Planning Ahead

Posted on | by Morrow Mechanical

We are all familiar with that list of resolutions we make at the start of the new year. Whether these goals are focused on your health, career, personal life or home, reaching them begins with changing your daily organizational habits. For some great ideas to revamp your habits and reach your 2019 resolutions, try following some of these tips from the insightful experts at Morrow Mechanical.

Tidying Tips for Your Home & Office

Clutter in your home or workspace will only lead to clutter in your mind. Developing organizational habits in your daily routine starts with organizing your space. Here are some tips to get you started.

1.      Organize your Tidying Time by item, not location

Old Ben Franklin said it best: “A place for everything, everything in its place.” This means keeping all of one item in the same location, so you do not find yourself repeating the same tidying work multiple times. This will reduce the daily amount of time spent tidying or trying to find misplaced items and leave you with more time to devote to your 2019 goals.

2.      Make Daily Time for Tidying

Adopt the habit of tidying your space before leaving it. Aim for leaving a space as tidy or tidier than how you found it, and you will be able to avoid stress-inducing clutter in your daily life.

3.      Returning Items to their Home

Make sure each of your items has a place, so you can more easily develop the habit of returning them when you are finished using them. Knowing everything is in its own place will help you feel at peace and comfortable in your home or in your workspace.

Organizational Tools & Apps for 2019

Now that you have learned some ways to declutter your home and workspace and keep it that way, you are ready to add some of these organizational tools and apps to make 2019 your year:

1.      The Things 3 App for iOS

Find yourself buying a new planner and calendar each year that just ends up collecting dust in a drawer? Invest your money in the iOS app called Things 3. This app includes an interactive checklist and a clean and easy-to-use design.

2.      The ZenDay App for iOS & Android

Approach your daily to-dos with a bird’s-eye view. ZenDay helps you zero in on your first task while seeing what you need to focus on next. This app helps you prioritize your list of to-dos and maintain perspective on your progress by color-coding overdue tasks and upcoming deadlines. If you missed something on your list, ZenDay will automatically reschedule those missed tasks.

*Pro Tip: Utilize the debriefing feature of this app to get an overview of your productivity level!

3.      Google Calendar for iOS & Android

Stay on top of events and deadlines with the Google Calendar app. With this app, you can set reminders for future commitments, and look up previous and future events with the search option. Gmail users will find events mentioned in their emails (such as hotel or flight reservations) automatically imported into their Google Calendar.

4.      do App for iOS & Android

This app is a to-do list and calendar in one and is ideal for organizing a large range of tasks into one location. Any.do is great for viewing your month at a glance and a day-to-day list of to-dos by offering a dual view of your monthly calendar at the top, and a scrolling list of to-dos, events and overdue tasks below.

*Bonus: This app is also compatible with your Google, iCloud and Outlook calendars!

Stay on Top of Household Maintenance

Do not let all the hard work you are putting in toward developing tidier habits go to waste by putting your household maintenance on the backburner. Here are some regular DIY maintenance tasks you should add to your 2019 to-do list:

  1. Inspect and change out your HVAC filters. For smaller families without pets or allergies, change your filters every 2-3 months.
  • Clean your kitchen sink disposal; put some vinegar in an ice tray, let it freeze, then run the cubes through the disposal. This will freshen your disposal and sharpen the blades!
  • Test your smoke/carbon dioxide detectors. Press the “test” button on your detectors; if the alarm sounds, you are in good shape, but if not, replace the batteries immediately and try again. If that still does not fix it and you’ve cleaned the battery terminal, you need a new detector.
  • Test your water heater’s pressure relief valve; this will keep your pipes from leaking due to a buildup of mineral and corrosion.
  • Vacuum your refrigerator coils. Save up to $100 annually by keeping the coils clean on your refrigerator so it does not use up more energy to keep running.

    • Now you have learned some tips on getting organized for 2019 that will benefit you in many different aspects of your life. Implementing the tidying tips and organizational app tools will not only help you focus more of your time and energy on the important goals you have set for yourself but will allow you to start 2019 off with a more peaceful frame of mind.

    For more peace of mind about your household maintenance, contact the experts at Morrow Mechanical and get ahead of future repairs.