Get organized – The right way

No matter that we get 1.440 minutes each day, we often seem to be running out of time. Getting organized is the way to get back some precious time, destress, and enjoy life.

Gorenje’s slogan Life simplified is all about getting organized, getting things done, and enjoying life. With a ton of work-related tasks, kids running around, and a household and a spouse that also need attention life seems anything but simple. Getting organized in such a by default chaotic environment might sound like a pretty daunting task but make no mistake: it can be done. Here’s how organized people do it.

Destress your home and family life

First things first. Time management. Once you take control of your time and the ways you spend it, you will immediately feel less overwhelmed and less stressed. Start small: make a timetable of daily activities and account for free time too.

Then it’s all about focus. Stick to your plan and don’t let any small issue derail it.

Household purge

It also helps to start with a clean slate. Gurus of organized life advise that you go through your household systematically. Throw away or donate any items you don’t use. We hear you, that is easier said than done. But since the hardest part is getting started, you will get over it soon enough. It’s the thought that is overwhelming, once you start and finish the purge you will feel great relief and see that it was well worth the effort. This way you will also gain precious space to properly organize your new life.

Don’t know where to start? Make a list and be specific. Break down daunting tasks into more manageable chunks. Tackle them one by one. You might start with one of the smaller areas first as the newfound order will get you hooked and keep you motivated. As you clean and check, look at each item and decide if you will keep it or throw it away. And think hard before you decide to save everything – if you are not saving outgrown children’s clothes for a sibling, donate them. We are sure there are tons of items that just scream to end at your local donation or recycling center.

Before you start sorting (smaller and lighter) things, get four boxes – one for things you will throw out, one for those you will give away or donate, one for things you will keep, and one for items that need to be moved. Place everything from every room in the appropriate box, so that eventually nothing remains outside the box. Some things may take you hours, days, or weeks, but in the end, you will achieve the desired effect. Be brave!

While cleaning your home, try to use the 12-12-12 rule. This means choose 12 items you will throw out, 12 things you will donate, 12 things you will put back in the right place which have been where they don’t belong for days – under the bed, in the living room, on the fridge… This is also a great way to engage your family members in putting your home in order. Even better – organize a competition who will be the first to collect 36 things to get rid of as soon as possible.

Gorenje also has a masterclass on how to arrange a wardrobe like a pro – check it out.

Do you need additional energy in your life? Take on cleaning the Feng shui way.

Stock up – on essentials only

After you have decluttered your household, it’s time to stock up. With essentials only. These are the things that need to be on hand when you need them, such as different household items (towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc.), office supplies (pens, envelopes, paper, printer ink, stamps etc.) and toiletries (soap, body wash, toothpaste, electric toothbrush heads, shampoo, hair products, razors, shaving cream, etc.). Having basic medicine products and some band-aids close by is also a good thing.

Then there are kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator. By all means, stock them with non-perishable food items like cereal and snacks, don’t forget about your favorite freezer foods. These so-called upcycling hacks can also help you organize your kitchen.

Everything in order

The things you eventually decided to keep need to be in logical places based on what they are and how often they are used. Do resist the urge to just stick them back where you found them. Think about how often you use the items – is it something you use just about every day that needs to be easily accessible or is it something you don’t use often and can be stored out of sight.

Once you have put a lot of effort into establishing order, your/everybody’s next task is to keep it. Just stick to this extremely simple rule: put items away in their designated place immediately after using them.

Re-organize

What? Yes, you have read it right. Experts suggest scheduling time to re-organize and re-declutter into your calendar, too. It can be a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly task. Make it a family affair so that everyone pitches in to get the job done quicker. It is a good idea to delegate cleaning and organizing tasks – yes, even the kids can keep (somewhat) clean and tidy bedroom and playroom. A chore chart and other visual reminders help too – stick them on the fridge.

Have a to-do/today list

It is a good idea to keep a to-do list. This way you can keep track of your daily progress and be organized. You can also add an extra column – called today – on it. Today’s column should only feature the specific things that you need to accomplish on that very day and with good reason. At the end of the day, you will feel like you successfully completed your tasks, instead of working off an endless list.

What about meals?

Yep, cooking and even preparation for it is time-consuming. And it takes a lot of work. Searching for recipes, grocery shopping, prepping, and cooking demand time – nobody wants this to become another stressful task. Solution? Meal plan(ning)!

Meal planning will deliver in spades. By spending a little time upfront, it will allow you to plan your week of meals. That way you only have to take one trip to the grocery store, prep and cook the meals for a few days in advance. Surely, it looks like a scary thought, but you will save enormous time meal planning. Check your calendar, consider your schedule, and come up with a time slot that you can use for weekly meal preparation.

Even the simple task of preparing food after a grocery shop run – for example washing and chopping vegetables into small pieces – will save you a lot of time.

We will let you in on a little kitchen secret – you can also plan leftovers. If you double some recipes you will have leftovers that you can freeze for a future evening-off of cooking. How about that? Just make sure you have a refrigerator with enough space for all the goodies.

Doing laundry

All that has been written above applies to laundry too. Make a plan, a list if you need to. Think about how many clothes do you normally wash in a week and when would be the best time to do laundry. It is that simple. We even have some pro tips about which washing machine is best for you.

The newest Gorenje washing machines are a thing of beauty and efficiency. They come with a wide range of fast washing options (literally called FastWashing) that will refresh your clothing in about a quarter of an hour.

We also understand that washing clothes is the easy part. It is the ironing that is demanding and time-consuming. Yet, with Gorenje heat pump based dryers you’re in for another treat: state-of-the-art drying. They are equipped with programs adapted to a rapid lifestyle that ensure minimized ironing. Don’t have the time to immediately empty the dryer? WaveActive dryers will periodically tumble the load every for up to 3 hours after the cycle has finished preventing your garments from creasing unnecessarily (AntiCrease function).

Because time matters

Family (time) is important. Time matters. Staying home while working a full-time job and homeschooling kids, while also tackling housework and cooking healthy meals is an incredibly demanding lifestyle. Yet, get organized and you will excel in all those roles. And have some time to yourself.