Do you ever feel like you’re constantly running in circles, trying to keep up with your home, meals, laundry, and paperwork? Does the thought of “systems” make you cringe, like it’s just another overwhelming thing to figure out? The truth is systems are the easiest and fastest way to create sustainable progress in your life. And the best part. You don’t have to do it all at once. Small steps are the way to big changes.
In my digital course, From Chaos to Calm: Cultivate Home and Life One Space and Step at a Time, I walk you through simple, easy-to-follow systems that can transform your daily routines.
Here are some systems that will help you regain control and bring more peace into your home and life. Pick one, then work with it for awhile. When you’re ready add another system and then another and another. Don’t rush the process but enjoy the results you get from creating a calm home because of the systems you implement.
Meal Planning Systems: Save Time and Money
If you’ve ever thought that meal planning is too time-consuming, think again. It actually saves you time each week. Instead of standing in front of the fridge at 5 PM wondering what to cook, a meal system takes the stress out of dinner. I always found deciding what to make harder than making the meal. Then when I would think of something I realized I was missing some items so I was back to deciding what to make.
Here’s a simple approach:
Assign food themes to each day. For example:
Monday: Mexican (tacos, burritos, enchiladas)
Tuesday: Italian/Chinese (spaghetti, stir fry, baked pasta)
Wednesday: Soups or crockpot meals (chicken noodle, gnocchi soup, stew)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Family favorites (burgers, BBQ, fun meals)
Saturday: Pizza night
Sunday: Family dinner (pot roast, chicken, mashed potatoes)
Once you set up a rotating meal plan, grocery shopping becomes easier because you already know what ingredients you need. Plus, this flexible system allows you to swap meals as needed, making dinnertime stress free. Let’s be honest it’s never going to be completely stress free just more stress free than before you created a system. Check out this pantry organization course to help your meal planning system. When you have an organized pantry you can easily make your grocery list then you’re on your way to finding more time in your day.
Pro tip: Keep a simple meal calendar in a drawer so family members can check what’s for dinner. My kids always wanted to know before they left for school. Now that my kids are adults they still want to know what we’re having when they’re coming over for dinner.
Paper Organization System: Stop the Paper Clutter
Between mail, school papers, and important documents, paper clutter can quickly pile up. Having a simple system can keep your home organized and stress-free.
Try this:
Daily Sort: When mail or school papers come in, immediately sort them into categories: Keep, Action Needed, and Recycle.
Kids’ Artwork & School Papers: Not every piece or art needs to be saved. Keep a few special ones and toss the rest. Just make sure you have a designated spot for the ones you save, like a box or binder. You can even take a picture of the art, digitally saving the memories.
Digital Option: Take photos of important papers and organize them in digital folders.
By tackling paper clutter as it comes in, you’ll never have overwhelming stacks of papers piling up again. We live in a ‘less’ paper world with emails and online stuff. Staying on top of your inbox will save the digital clutter.
That might be a day or weekly junking / organizing of emails. OR you might wait a month and trash it all. I think there are two types of people in the world. Those with a managed email and those with 25 897 unopened emails. Neither is right or wrong but do the one that works best for you.
Cleaning System: Small Steps for Big Impact
Keeping a clean home doesn’t mean spending hours scrubbing, nobody wants to do that. A simple system can make all the difference.
Decide what works best for you:
By Task: Clean all bathrooms at once, wipe down door handles throughout the house, or vacuum every room in one go.
By Room: Focus on one space at a time, deep-cleaning top to bottom.
Family Involvement: Get everyone involved with age-appropriate tasks. Even young kids can help, cleaning up, putting toys away or putting clothes into drawers.
Consistency is key. Even if your home isn’t spotless, maintaining a cleaning system prevents overwhelming messes from building up. Remember it is easier to clean a declutter and edited home than to clean a home stuffed with stuff.
Need help editing and decluttering, look no farther, get some help here.
Laundry System: Find What Works for Your Family
Laundry can be a never ending chore, have you experienced laundry mountain? Having a system in place will make it manageable and stop laundry mountain before it starts.
Some ideas:
Assign Laundry Days: Each child has a designated laundry day.
Sort by Type: Have separate days for clothes, towels, and sheets.
Family Involvement: Teach kids to do their own laundry, but offer help as needed.
One of my sons would bring up his whole hamper, while the other just grabbed what was on the floor. It drove me nuts at the time, but looking back, I realize it wasn’t worth the stress. The key is to find a system that works for your family and let go of the small stuff. As kids grow and needs change so will your laundry system.
Make Systems Work for You
Remember, systems aren’t about perfection. They’re about making life easier, more efficient, and more enjoyable. You don’t have to implement everything at once—start small, celebrate your progress, and add more as you go.
If you’re ready to finally create lasting change in your home and life, my course From Chaos to Calm: Cultivate Home and Life One Space and Step at a Time is the perfect next step. It’s designed to help you implement these systems in a way that works for YOU.
