5 Easy Tips To Organize Your Life And Save You Money

 

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This past week we have been creating a budget.  As women, we are always looking for ways to save our families money.  Sometimes, just being organized can save us money.  Here are 5 easy tips to organize your life and save you money.

•  Create a mail station!

Each day in your mail box you receive bills, credit card offers, fliers, newspapers, magazines, coupons and phone books.  When you walk into your home with this mail what happens to it?  If you are like many of us, the mail gets put down when life happens as you walk in the door and can be forgotten about until later on.

One way to save money by organizing your life is to create a mail station.  A mail station is simply an area where your mail has a home until you have time to deal with it.  It can be an organizer on the wall, a cupboard, a file, or a desk drawer.  It is a place where you can put incoming and outgoing mail, your mailing supplies like stamps and keep yourself organized.

Creating a mail station can save you money!  By having your bills organized by due date and having all the bills together that need to be paid, your mail will have a home where you will be without the stress of lost time trying to find the bill and possible late fees.

Here are some examples of mail organizing systems that can be found on Amazon.com.  These are just a few examples, please remember that the best mail station is one that will work for you and that you will use!

• Organize your pantry

In our recent 14 Day No Spending Challenge, I was amazed at how many meals I could make just by really digging into my pantry and planning meals from the ingredients that were already inside of it.  By organizing your pantry, you will know exactly what food is inside.  This can save you at the store in 2 ways.  The first was just discussed by making meals from what you already have purchased therefore cutting your grocery spending on buying more food.  The second is by being aware of what is inside your pantry, you will not buy extra food that you already  have when you are shopping.  When I decluttered my pantry in our 31 Days Of Decluttering In December, I found 8 cans of Pam cooking spray.  Is it essential that I have 8 cans of cooking spray in my pantry, absolutely not!

• Organize your children’s clothes

When you organize your children’s clothes, you will know exactly what each child has, what they need, and what they have an abundance of.  I have learned with having 5 children that the more streamlined their closet is, the easier it is on me.  It is also helpful when you organize your kids clothes to keep an inventory of what clothing still fits and separate out what does not.  You will save money (and time) by not washing and rewashing clothing that has been tried on and discarded because it is too small, you will not be purchasing items you do not need and you can sell what the children have outgrown or have multiples of.  When I went through my son’s drawer I found 5 pairs of long johns in one size.  There is no need for us to have that many so I was able to get rid of a few pairs and clean up his drawer.  Donating the gently-used clothing can qualify you for tax deductions at places such as Goodwill which will also save you money later on  when you do your taxes.  Check with your accountant for details on tax deductions and donations.

• Organize your refrigerator and make a meal plan while you do it.

By organizing your refrigerator you will save money in a few ways.  You will save on fresh produce and milk by using it up before it goes bad.  You will also save on not buying items that you don’t need at the store that you already  have at home.  If you make a meal plan while organizing your fridge, you will save on using food you already have, instead of having to run to the store when you impulsively decide to make spaghetti and realize you are out of noodles.

• Organize your money

Many of us find loose change around our house, in our pockets, a spare dollar here and there and don’t have a proper place to keep it.  By having a money jar, piggy bank, or money box, each time you find money, you need to put it into the money jar.  This will keep your cash together, it won’t get lost, and you will end up with a more organized home.  We have a jar where we throw our spare change and last summer there was $92 in it we used for spending money on our summer vacation.  Even though this wasn’t a lot of money, it was enough for a meal for our family and some fun small trinkets for the kids.

What is your best tip for organizing your life to save money?

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If you want to learn more about budgeting here are a few links to check out!

 

• Day 1 The Introduction

• Day 2 Income

• Day 3 Monthly Cash Flow Plan- 4 Walls

• Day 4 Finishing Monthly Cash Flow Plan

• Day 5 Irregular Budgeting