How to Organize Your Life to Save Money and Stress

Wondering how to organize your life so you can save money and limit stress? Follow these tried and true tips to get your mom life organized and build better habits.

Life can feel overwhelming sometimes. And I’m not even talking about the news and current events.

Just every day life can feel like a lot, especially when you’re a mom juggling home, family, and all the things that go with it. It’s too easy to let things slip.

A bill goes unpaid. A necessary item of sports clothing doesn’t get washed. The kids’ homework gets lost. 

By themselves these are little things, but they can be costly and stressful.

Truly, when you organize your life, you can save money. When you don’t, you might lose more than a few bucks.

Knowing how to organize your life and actually doing it are two different things, so don’t overwhelm yourself at the start. It’s tempting to want to fix all the things from the get-go, some areas will take more time than others. 

What needs to be organized?

While life is a pretty big category, for our organizing purposes, let’s break it down into Finances, Home Management, and Time. Money, stuff, and minutes are in some ways the big rocks of life.

The first step is to consider what’s most critical. Think about your time, money, and stuff. Which one of these things is causing you the most stress? 

Consider these areas where you can organize your life, save money, and feel a little more with-it. Choose one for your first organization project and then move on to another as time allows. If you’re not sure, do this self-assessment as it can point you in the right direction.

Slow and steady wins the race!

Organize your finances.

Money makes the world go round. You don’t have to have the most to win, but you do need to manage what you have well. Good money management will help you reach your financial goals.

Budget

Unless you have an unlimited income, then you’re going to need to have some kind of budget. I find that a zero-based budget is key to paying down debt and saving toward important financial goals.

When Bryan and I got out of debt, an organized budget, including a grocery budget and regular money meetings to facilitate communication and keep us on the same page were key. Consider working these things into your days.

Wallet

Do you know where your important cards are? Is it easy to find your insurance card when they ask for it at the doctor? Can you find everything you need within a few seconds of opening your wallet?

If you said no to any of those, consider cleaning out your wallet and purse this week. You will be surprised what you find. (Or don’t find. Be sure to add these purse essentials!)

While you’re at it, check the balances on gift cards and make a plan to use them up. That’s money right there and every little bit helps.

In this digital age, it might be time to learn how to use the digital wallet on your phone if you haven’t already. Understand how it works so that you can make life easier. 

Fun fact: you can add Amazon return codes and grocery store loyalty cards to your Apple wallet to save you time. Some states even let you add your driver’s license!

A small thing like an organized wallet, whether physical or digital, can make your daily tasks and errands easier.

Taxes

Tax season rolls around at the same time every year. Like death and Christmas, you can count on it. 

Do we really need to be thinking about it now? Yes! 

Do you know where are all the receipts are and have you inputted them in your records? Do you get stressed out every March because you procrastinated? Are your files in order? Do you know where your important documents are?

Think through your tax filing process and consider now how you can revamp it next year. The tax man never fails to commeth, so plan now so you can save yourself some stress and maybe some money, too.

If you’re a business owner, now is a great time to check in with your CPA to see where you stand and if there are any investments or purchases you can make to offset your tax.

Organize your home.

Home is where your people are. And while it doesn’t really need to be pinteresting, it does need to serve you. Managing meals, clothing, and all the stuff of home life is important!

Food

Your kitchen is probably the most used room of the house — and the one where a substantial emergency fund is stored. Yes, emergency fund. You’ve probably got more food in the house than you think.

Getting your kitchen organized can save you both time and money.

It’s easy to keep buying more groceries when we’re bored or need inspiration. It also makes it easy to hoard extras. By organizing your kitchen you will know better what you have and what not to buy more of. You’ll find it easier to do a pantry challenge or use things up before they go to waste.

Does your current mode of meal planning and meal prep work for you? If not, try out some new things to see what works for you.

Ready for a redo when it comes to groceries, meal planning, and cooking? Join us for the Big Redo on Good Cheap Eats in January!

Clothes

Those sale texts from Old Navy are beckoning, aren’t they? Do you really need what they are offering? Possibly not. 

Take a gander at your closet as well as your kids’ clothing storage. Do you need to do a wardrobe makeover?

Ditch the things that don’t fit or don’t work for you. Donate things that the kids have outgrown. Know what you have so you won’t overbuy and so that you’ll be ready to hit the shops when you see that killer sale.

Have you seen the lady on Instagram who urges you to clean rather than shop? She’s right. You don’t need more stuff. Taking good care of what you own will help you appreciate it more.

While you’re considering your wardrobe, think about your laundry system. Is it working for you? Since you need clean clothes on a regular basis, having good laundry management will pay off big time. 

And remember you can delegate tasks, like laundry to the family. Yep, kids can do laundry!

Other stuff

I heard a mom at a homeschool conference once say that all we need is food and clean underwear. Yes, this is the bare minimum for survival mode. What about the other stuff?

Good home management is key to an organized life. No, you won’t transform it over night, but with steady effort, you’ll find systems that work for you.

Doing a home reset can help clear the cobwebs, both physically and mentally. If you haven’t done it recently, I 10/10 recommend, as well as building a system for chores to do around the house.

Teaching your children to be good housemates is part of the deal in parenting.

Organize Your Time

Every day is a bank account. Not in money, of course, but in hours. 

We each get to decide how we’re going to spend them. We can waste them or we can be productive, either for our own well-being or that of someone else.

Daily Routines

When we organize our days, we are able to make the most of the minutes we have. We can do great things when we give every hour a purpose, even if it’s to rest or play with our kids during our free time.

Don’t have free time? Then it may be that you need to revisit your daily task list and see what you specific things you can eliminate, automate, or delegate.

This post-it note to-do list system could be just the thing to get you on an even keel. Think about your daily routine and how to maximize your time. A morning routine is good for the kids, too.

Calendar 

Do you have a calendar system that works for you? Learning to create an ideal week was key for me.

I love planners, and my Print and Go Planner is my brain on paper. It helps me figure out my goals and do my future thinking well. 

Future Planning

While you may not be able to plan out your entire year, you can think big picture about the things that are important to you. By bringing them top of mind, your subsconscious will start looking for ways to make those dreams and goals a reality.

I would love to know what you do to organize your life. How does organizing save YOU money and stress?

More Good Ideas for Organizing

This post was originally published on August 13, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.