Too much stuff, not enough space.

Congrats! You now have to organize everything in your household! You also have to figure how on earth you are going to clean the entire thing. It may seem like a drag to go through and organize everything, but it will make cooking, cleaning, and basically your whole life a lot more efficient and definitely a lot easier.

GROCERIES:

• Get a notepad that lists items by the categories/types of food. This way, you will be able to get your shopping done at the store faster, as you can get all items in one area at the same time, rather than running all over the place multiple times.
• Write down on the list as soon as you run out of something. If you use the last stick of butter, right it down right away that way next time you go to the store, you do not have to think about whether or not you still have some of a particular item.
• Plan your meals ahead of time. If you do this, you can figure out ALL the ingredients you need for that week and you only have to make one trip to the store. You will save money on gas and you will save yourself a lot of time as you don’t have to go to the store everyday after school. It will also make you figure out what you are eating each night ahead of time, and then you do not need to worry everyday about what you are going to eat that night.
• Check out this website has free downloads for these kinds of lists for groceries and meals. Check them out and see if they help you in planning your meals.

FOOD/KITCHEN ITEMS:

• Labels! In your pantry or cabinets, labeling what items go where will be fantastic. It will help you locate things faster, and it will also help people who are not familiar with your home help you get things out and put them away.
• Label your items too. You can take jars or boxes that were previously used to store other items, and you can recycle them to be used for something new. You can take an old jar and fill it with rice, or any number of things. The possibilities are endless.

CLEANING:

• Schedule your days. The problem with cleaning is the massive list of things that need to get done. The best way, I think, to go about it is by picking different tasks to do each day. Classy clutter has downloads and suggesting of how to to create a schedule. If you can get it down to a routine, it will no longer seem overwhelming, and you will be able to manage your time very well.