You may know where your planner personality falls on the organizational scale, but what do you do with that information to help you understand organizing essentials?
We like to connect organization to planners and neat storage systems and the concept of everything being spic and span and in its place. But, while those things can reflect organization, they are not the definition of organization. Instead, organization is a state of health. It is an attitude of being ahead of the curve rather than constantly in a state of urgency. As such, it’s important to note that organization will look very different for each person.
In fact, every personality probably needs to make some tweaks in their organizational structure! For instance, a Type-A individual might need to learn to adopt a more relaxed system of organization that includes spontaneity and rest while the go-with-the-flow free spirit will need to learn some structure. But, there are some organizing essentials that work for every personality type.
Healthy Organization
Whether you need to back off from being a perfectionist or need to find a way to introduce a little more structure into your life, here are some organizing essentials to help you find a healthy organizational balance.
Organizing Essentials: A Chore System
Being healthy in organization does not mean you will have a spotless home. (In fact, I would argue that a spotless home might indicate a lack of health in relational and mental areas of life.) Instead, it means that you have a system for controlling your chaos. If the bathroom isn’t clean on Friday, it’s because you know that it’s regularly cleaned on Tuesdays. So, it’s okay today because you’re going to get there.
This why a good chore system is one of our organizing essentials. The simple act of having a system in place and keeping to it as regularly as possible can go a long way toward creating a peaceful, healthy home.
Organizing Essentials: A Calendar
The next in our list of organizing essentials is critical for keeping everyone in the family on the same page! Not everyone loves planning, and that’s okay. But, no family should be without a calendar of some sort.
Even if you think you can hold it all in your head or that you prefer to be spontaneous, it’s important to remember that you’re not the only person in the family. That’s not an accusation of self-centeredness but a reminder that everything runs more smoothly when the whole family is on board.
By having a calendar visible for the whole family to see and contribute to, you’re not responsible to keep it all in your head. Nor do conflicts arise because you aren’t aware of something that’s stuck in another family member’s head.
Organizing Essentials: Request for Help
It can be so difficult for those with an organized planner personality to understand how the rest of the family doesn’t see the chaos! It feels like they’re just being lazy. But, in truth, someone who is not inclined toward organization views the world very differently. They prioritize differently. And they don’t really understand the source of your frustration.
This is why asking for help is such an important part of our organizing essentials toolbox. Before your frustration boils over into anger, take a deep breath and speak up. A quick request of, “Hey, can everyone help me spend 15 minutes tidying the living room/dining room/kitchen area this afternoon?” goes a long way toward helping your less organized family members tangibly see how they can help you — without it ever turning into a fight!
Organizing Essentials: Regular Rest
It’s easy to think that rest is something you do when everything else gets done. Guess what? Everything else will never be done. You will never “deserve” rest. Rest is, instead, a choice to take care of yourself and your family physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And yes, it’s an absolutely critical addition to our organizing essentials toolbox.
If you’re naturally highly organized, rest times remind you to stop, play, and prioritize relationships. If organization is not naturally important to you, established rest times help provide the motivation you and your family need to go ahead and get done the things that need to get done so you can play and rest together.
What are your organizational preferences? How does that fit with the rest of your planner personality? Take our Planner Personality Quiz to find out!
Comments (118)
This is interesting to think about. I will try out the quiz.
I love a great notebook/planner to keep me oragnized especially with homeschooling 4 children and keeping up with daily household tasks. In addition to that, the tips offered can be helpful. I will definitely be incorporating some of them in my daily routine. I love the idea of planning rest also.
We definitely need a chore system! I am the planner and my husband is spontaneous, it’s been difficult meeting in the middle.
Organization is my worst quality and I am definitely praying for guidance. Which quiz was most helpful for you?
Paper organizers are much better!
Hi Crystal! Our Planner Quiz is the one being referred to here. It helps you see what kind of planner you are so you can learn how to work within your personality! https://wellplannedgal.com/planner-personality/
With home schooling 4 kids organization is so important! Your products and helpful advice so wonderful! Thank you!
Hey! I have 5 kids. 3 have been home schooled for a few years, 1 is starting his first year this year and 1 is just a baby atm. I’d like to start of by saying WOW this is an amazing product from the screen shots I’ve seen so far. Can I make a suggestion, as maybe an add on option? For split home families maybe a section to help navigate with the other parent. One of my kids father is super forgetful so it’s pointless talking to him about school at pickup, so have a section or even a column on the planner that allows us to mark off goals or curriculum they need to focus on would be super helpful. I would 100% pay extra for this feature
My husband and I depend on our calendar to function in life. With out it we would forget everything or over plan. There are some good tips in here!
Great ideas. Will help in Homeschooling my 2 children. Thanks!
I love the idea of planning rest. So often I feel my schedule needs to be full, but planning rest does so much for my mental health!
Great info here! Have a few blogs of your I need to read for help! Thank you!
Planners are my weakness! The advice, the designs, and to take a quiz and find out my planning type…very enjoyable.
It sounds easier than it actually is.
I will be starting my homeschooling journey in about 2 weeks with my preschooler. I hope to learn a lot from your blog to help on my journey!
It’s so hard to make sure I get enough rest with a LO who is still breastfeeding and co-sleeping. But I’m thankful for resources like this to try to help get myself on track! Thank you!
I am so excited to use the planner! I am very analogue with organization and HAVE to write things down or else I’m all over the place. Homeschooling a Kindergartener and 3rd grader this year, I will need all the help I can get!
These are great tips and definitely a good reminder.
This is amazing, so excited
I’m so excited! I just happened to stumble across your page on Facebook and I can’t help but think of what a wonderful resource this will be!
Your blog was highly recommended by other homeschooling mamas on Instagram so I of course had to check you out and I am so excited I have stumbled across your pages! Please keep the content rolling in. New homeschooling mom here and need all the help I can get.
Regular rest…yes, regular rest. Sometimes difficult to schedule.
Definitely sounds interesting to check out
This was very helpful and I love the section about keeping a calendar. I’ve tried going without and you know what happens? I ALWAYS forget something.
Those are all things I’m thinking about as i set up our school year. Its helpful to have them in one list!
This is the best planner we have found. Plenty of room for every subject, specials and enough room for everyone’s daily life plus yearly curriculum!
The one thing I have not been good about and plan to improve on this next year is having a chore schedule in place!
My youngest will be in middle school this year and my planning skills need some revamping. I am so glad I happened upon this website.
Thank for sharing, this is great idea and tips for everyone, I really appreciate it
Thank you! I don’t fold towels anymore. The kids split them and put them away along with their own clothes.
This sure seems like something I would need for homeschooling I’m not very good organizer when it comes to homeschooling or much of anything. I would love to see if this would help me
I love the look and pretty much everything about this planning style. This is such a great thing your doing with the give away! Thank you for giving moms the opportunity to experience this! I can see this being a huge confidence builder.
This was very helpful. Having 7 kids ranging from 13 down to 5, it would help to plan out our week with a planner.
Really excited to try out this planner. First time homeschooler this year with 2 young children and 1 high schooler. About to take the planner quiz.
Newbie to homeschooling. I have a preschooler and a 10 month old baby so I am a little nervous on getting started. But reading all the tips on staying organized and the tools you offer help me feel a little more confident in starting.
I’m really enjoying the content here and I appreciate the insight from this blog on organizing. It is something I struggle with.
Love these thoughts. Very helpful as a new homeschooling mom.
Really excited about the quiz (I LOVEEEE a good personality assessment!!!)! I’d classify myself as a hybrid homeschooler/unschooler and, while previously I would have assumed unschoolers typically fly by the seat of their pants (and, we do sometimes), for me personally, I’ve realized how important organization is—maybe even more so when we are leaning into unschooling.
So excited that you’re discovering this, Megan! You’re very much on the right track. In my experience with unschoolers, the most successful ones have been those who’ve made this very discovery about organization and record-keeping. Even if they don’t do a whole lot of planning, they recognize the need to keep certain resources on hand, have a framework that their education process fits into, and have a way to keep a record of what they’ve done. Makes all the difference!
Interesting! I’m a “motivated planner” though I often get overwhelmed in chaos.
This website is extremely helpful. Thank you
Thank you!
A chore system for my young kiddos is definitely what I’m lacking. Looking forward to implementing and holding them accountable!
Great information! Thank you
I need a good planner to get organized for this coming homeschool year.
Thank you so much for sharing all this wonderful info. It is so appreciated!
I love all of the helpful organizing tools.
I would have to agree. I did pre-k with my oldest last year. I wanted to call it kindergarten and get her reading strong but we weren’t stable enough. It was more like when I wanted to do it, we did it. We had a lot going on- moving, a new baby, a puppy…she was only 5…but I wanted to be on top of things and organized.
Fortunately, there is so much learning flexibility at that age, and just giving your daughter an introduction to reading concepts is definitely great progress. No shame there, my friend, especially with all of the “new” you had last year.
Thank you for hosting the planner giveaway!
I’ll definitely be trying out the quiz want to get into planning.
I’ve got to get better at implementing a healthy rhythm! I have 3 kiddos with #4 on the way this fall. I’m excited to try these new ideas!
“Order brings peace,” Augustine.
Thank you for takin your time to help all of us others with journeying through the homeschool world, I’m new to homeschooling. This will be our first year and I’m so blessed to have found your group on Facebook
I am considering home schooling for my grandsons.
I’m so excited that I’ve come across this site. Lots of very interesting topics to read on and think about.
My family thrives on a daily plan/monthly calendar! Each day I’ll list out our to do for the day and my kids help check things off. I love being organized, it’s how I function best!
I am horrible as being organized when it comes to homeschooling. Something I need to get better at.
I’m very curious to see where I will fall on this quiz. I love to be organized but really struggle with it at times and this may be just what i need! Thank you!
As a new homeschooler I am very excited to try the products. We live through planners
Homeschool mom of 5– been homeschooling for 5 years but this is still so helpful!
I never feel as though my work is done. I never feel as though I can rest. But it is so important in order for me to be the best mom I can be.
This should prove real interesting as to what my personality type is
Organization is my thing!! This website is like candy for me
I love organizing! These tips really ease my way into organizing my kids homeschool schedule
Amazing blog with great ideas and tips that will definitely help me plan a more organized year for my sons’ 9th grade year of homeschool.
These are greatttt tips! Thank you so much for posting this!
Great info!!!
These are great suggestions!
Organization has been my greatest down fall. I feel like I come up with a plan but then don’t stick to it. This was some really good info!
Interesting! I took the quiz.
It will be interesting to see what the quiz says. I will try later as it keeps freezing on me. But finding that good balance for everyone, every season is a good thing to do.
These are all such great suggestions! I’m such an organization nut, so bring my twins home was exciting but also nerve wracking as I was wanting to make sure they not only got caught up because they were so behind but also thrived in a well organized learning environment.
I need to do better with chore charts, for sure. Thanks for the reminder!
A calendar would really help me because I’m a visual person.
All great suggestions
Definitely needed the reminder about rest & never thought of actually scheduling rest. So smart!
We use a calendar with colored pens. Each color represents a specific genre that way it’s easy to tell what we have. BINS galore. we purchase dollar store bins and organize everything that way. We have a family calendar where I try to use the exact same color as the paper calendar for the events.
I often have problems with planning. We are self-employed and travel often and unplanned. Thank you for all the guidance!
Just found this site and am already obsessed with it can’t wait to dine in deeper in all of the groups/pages
Organization is definitely not my strong suit.
I need to work on the Resting category!
I love having a planner to organize my week/month. It’s so essential to productive families to be well organized and to reach it to the kiddos as well! Love these!
I find this very helpful. I’m in a season of needing structure and organization. Without it, the anxiety I feel is unmanageable! So I appreciate all the tips and tricks of organizing.
I agree! She’s got amazing tips!!!!
Really looking forward to trying this style for our homeschooling this year. Last year felt so disorganized. It looks simple, fun, to the point and SO helpful! Thanks for all these tips!
Thank you for sharing and the info. I can’t wait to homeschool and hopefully try out one of your planners. I am a first time homeschooler, due to my son’s personal needs and focus. Hoping this will all make it go smoothly
This speaks to me on so many levels. Organization has always been a passion of mine and being able to bring it into my son’s life has been fun to watch
Such great tips! Thank you!
I like to think that I’m an organized person but lately things have become pretty chaotic. Time to get back to organization! Thanks for this post!
I finally found a chore chart that works great for our family….just need to start using it again haha!
As a new homeschooling mom, I’ve been on the hunt for ways to create the smoothest day possible despite the rollercoaster days. So excited to discover and learn along with my children how to create a flow that is structured but also flexible with the spontaneity of life opportunities.
Great tips, thank you for sharing, I love filling out my planner.
Great information! Thank you for sharing!
Definitely going to do some digging around here. Organization is my downfall and my autistic son needs better routine.
Organization is one of my flaws! I need a good book to help me stay on track
Thanks for all the helpful information!
I need to stay on top of the organization with 6 children! Planning is key!
I try to stay organized and have tried so many methods and planners and they always fall to the wayside. We have a towing business and life is chaotic at best and difficult to plan
This is so helpful
It’s easy to think you can wing it because you’ve been a multitasking mama for years right? It’s so much harder when the rollercoaster of life throws in those loop-d-loops! I love the idea of the chore task schedulers, I’ve done this for my kids, why haven’t I done it for me? I’m also really here to say that asking for help goes such a long way…for my family asking gives them the opportunity to help me because otherwise they just think “oh she’s got it and would rather it be done her way” and don’t offer to help so I get annoyed. What a crazy way to live and I’ve been doing it for years without even realizing it. None of us mean any harm but it’s amazing what a simple ask can do for the betterment of a family bond even!
I’m a wannabe perfectionist. I want things to be perfect, but since I don’t know where to start, I don’t start at all!
I so very much identify with this!!!!
Oh my GOODNESS, do I need to get more organized! I homeschool 3, unschool 1, babysit, am a homemaker, and I feel like I am juggling a billion tasks at once in my brain!
A good chore system can make all the difference!
Great article definitely gave me some tips!
Being fairly new to homeschooling, resources like this that are not only easy to use and effective, but are also visually appealing, help immensely!!
Yes organizing and planning are definitely my downfall! These are great tips as I generally am a go with the flow procrastinator who then gets super overwhelmed!!! Love this!
This is so helpful!
I absolutely love how this was articulated. My husband is Type A and I’m quite opposite! There were some good suggestions we already use but some others that we might adopt to help set us in the right direction.
Just getting started and I feel so lost. These tips are a life saver right now.
I love the quickness of the quiz! It really helped me see what I am like organizational wise as well as it made me think of my family’s style. I also love that it’s ok to schedule in rest!!! That new my mind. I was brought up thinking that rest= lazy.
Interesting!!! My first year homeschooling
I love the resources and products offered here. They are essential for homeschooling!
Third year homeschooling
I need to take the quiz
As someone with chronic fatigue I have difficulty getting all my chores done and staying on task. I appreciate good tips and helpful info.
I feel like I’m that person who keeps it all in her head and is spontaneous with tasks but I always find myself stressing and having anxiety about it because there’s always that one or two things I forget to get done. I really need pointers on how to manage daily tasks better. I’m excited to try out your planners!