Life is hectic, no matter what your job might be or your family or social commitments. There always seems to be something that we should be doing, and that busyness often means that we can feel extremely disorganized and as though there is never a chance to take a break and just breathe.

By concentrating on being better organized in life, everything else will start to fall into place. Of course, this might seem that it is easier said than done, or you might think that you just aren’t an organized kind of person, but don’t worry; there are some great tips and tricks to help you become more organized, and once you begin, you’ll never look back.

Write It All Down 

It’s easy to tell ourselves that we’ll remember everything, but with so much going on, some things just slip our minds. When we remember – if we remember – we will feel disorganized, rushed, confused, and disappointed in ourselves that we forgot yet another important item.

One way to combat this issue that we all face is to write everything down. Even if you’re sure you’ll remember, make a note. Carry around a notebook with you so that you can jot down things that you need to do when you determine they need to be done or send yourself an email from your smartphone. Whichever way you choose to do it, writing something down helps you to remember, and you’ll get a lot more done. It will be easier to remember appointments, what your kids need to take into school each day, where you are meant to be, and even when your insurance is due to be renewed, for example.

Practice Mise En Place 

Mise en place is a French term that basically means setting the scene. In reality, it means that everything within your home needs to have its own place. Think of the most organized people you know; they will have a place for everything item they own, and not only will they always put these things back where they belong, but they’ll never lose anything again. When it comes to being organized, this is a true time saver.

You don’t have to rearrange everything right away if you want to be more organized, but start small. Label containers in your kitchen so that you know where the ingredients are. Store clothes with like items (so shirts hang with shirts and pajamas are in a drawer with other nightclothes). As you tidy up, find a good place to put something and re-do each room bit by bit until you are sure you know where to find anything that might be needed at any time.

Remove One Item Before You Buy Another 

Something that can often leave us feeling disorganized is the amount of clutter we have in our homes. Yet we continue to buy more (and there are a number of reasons why we like to do this too).

Unfortunately, if we keep buying things and don’t remove any of the old items within our home, the clutter will become worse. Therefore, make it a rule that if you want to buy something new, you have to throw out (or donate or recycle or put into a handy self storage unit) something old, or even two old items if you can. This way, your home becomes less cluttered, and you can still enjoy your new things.