Megan recently confessed on our podcast that she can be messy and that it makes her feel stressed when her spaces are overwhelmed with stuff. I can certainly understand. I wouldn’t consider myself messy but I would say that I can be highly disorganized and that too makes me feel like my life is more hectic than necessary. So today we’re sharing a few things you can do to get your shit together right now. Believe me, we’re taking our own advice. This post has been updated for 2022.
Clean Out Your Purse
I am that shopper that is always frantically looking for her credit card when it’s time to pay. While digging through old receipts, dirty, loose change, crumpled up face masks, I nervously stall by saying I just used my card hoping the cashier can relate and then, in the nick of time, I pull it out like I just found Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket.
Get your shit together right now by dumping out the contents of your purse. Trash all your receipts unless, of course, you need to keep one for some reason and if that’s so put it away nicely in your wallet. Collect all your hair ties, lip balms, gum, anything small and stash them in a zippered pouch. Collect any and all credit and debit cards, cash and change and put them back into your wallet. And finally, put your keys in a designated pocket of your handbag.
Take this task further by organizing your wallet. Again, dump all unnecessary receipts, put all of your cash away nicely, empty out the coin purse so you’re not carrying so much loose change around and get your cards and ID in a place you can always find them.
Purchase Disposable Face Masks
So maybe we haven’t fully adapted to grabbing a face mask before we leave the house. I personally hang a few clean ones from one of the knobs in my car. But, it’s inevitable that one of us usually forgets to grab a mask as we head out the door and we’re half way down the street or, even worse, at our destination without a mask for everyone.
Get your shit together right now and buy yourself a couple of boxes of disposable masks. I realize they aren’t economical or environmentally friendly but consider them for emergencies when someone doesn’t have one on them. Stash a box in the glove compartment of each car, throw a few in your kid’s backpack, and keep a couple in your purse.
Buy face masks here: 100 3-ply black face masks ($15.99) or 50 3-ply face masks in various colors ($12.99)
Make All Your Doctor Appointments in One Sitting
I absolutely hate making phone calls. Even worse, I can’t stand calling for a doctor appointment. As a former cancer patient, it’s probably important that I keep up with regular doctor visits.
Get your shit together right now by pulling up your digital calendar or grabbing your paper planner and get all your doctor and dentist appointments on the schedule for the year. With limited in-office visits available, appointments might be pushed out for weeks or months at a time.
As you move forward through the year, you’ll have your appointments already scheduled and you will be able to work around those dates rather than trying to find an appointment time to work with your busy schedule.
Take Stock on Your Prescriptions
This might be a niche task but if you’ve ever grabbed your prescription medication and realized you have only one pill left without the option of a refill before you’re supposed to take the next dose, well that’s not a great situation to be in.
Get your shit together right now and take stock on all your prescription medications. Check to see how many refills are left, how much you have on hand, and when you’re next eligible to reorder. If you receive meds by mail order, update your credit card and make sure the auto-refill option is set.
Get Your Car Organized
The one space I’m pretty good at keeping neat is my car. I’m pretty routine about cleaning out trash and keeping clutter out of my vehicle. But, God forbid, I ever get pulled over for a traffic violations because I’m not sure I’d have all the necessary paperwork handy to show a police officer. Or, even worse, after a car accident.
Get your shit together right now and locate your vehicle’s registration paperwork and proof of insurance. I’m going to invest in an inexpensive, reusable plastic envelope to store these things in. I’ll nestle it right next to my box of disposable face masks in my glove compartment.
Buy an expansion envelope here: 5×10 inch, plastic envelope, various colors, with velcro closure (5/$10.50)
Open Your Mail, Daily
I am the absolute worst at opening our mail. Remember the days when you used to be so excited about getting the mail? Now, it’s all bills and junk so I’m in no hurry to open it up. With that said, I’m notorious at paying penalties on late payments. This is because I will let incoming mail sit for days, sometimes weeks, before opening it.
Get your shit together right now by opening any unopened mail. Recycle all the junk mail, shred any mail with personal information and get your bills organized by their respective due dates.
Level up by requesting an e-bill and set up online banking.
Find All Your Automatic Payments
With PayPal, Venmo, and almost every credit or debit card on-file, I’ve got money being automatically paid to all kinds of places each month. Subscriptions and memberships to things I either don’t want, don’t need or don’t attend. I’m embarrassed to say that I’m not great at keeping a budget, so I have no idea how much money I’m throwing away each month.
Get your shit together right now by printing off a monthly statement for each credit and debit card. Highlight each automatic withdrawal and monthly charge and get to work at canceling every unwanted membership or subscription that is no longer serving you.
There are apps that will do this work for you but they aren’t free. Read about those services here.
Stock Up on Supplies
I never would have imagined the panic of not being able to find and purchase things like paper towels and toilet paper. Remember when we couldn’t find a box of pasta or a bag of bread flour? If the pandemic taught me anything, it is to be prepared.
Get your shit together right now by taking stock of the paper goods and dry groceries you have on hand. This is as easy as checking your pantry before your next shopping trip. If you need them, grab them. Don’t be an asshole and hoard items but be prepared because you never know when they’ll be a run on Charmin again.
