Get Organized – Simply and Inexpensively

Many people rely on an expensive planner to organize their life. For some, this is the perfect solution. For others of us, it is too much. It’s too fancy, it has too many sections, it is time-consuming, and it’s too expensive. I plan to attempt to pull you over to the super simple and super inexpensive index card side. Give me a chance, I hope you will be pleasantly surprised. And you will save a lot of money over the next few years by trying it because there is no need to buy a new one every year.

I started using the index card system years ago and found it to be perfect for me. For an unknown reason, I stopped it and did nothing. I felt I was struggling to keep on top of things, so I tried out a planner. It wasn’t helping me enough. I tried using the different sections and ended up forgetting about them. So I’m back to my index cards. Super simple. Super inexpensive. I’m so excited. I hope you will be, too.

Let’s get started

As I said this is a very inexpensive system. You may have everything you need in your house already. You will need 3 x 5 index cards, preferably different colors, but plain white ones are fine. I prefer ruled ones since my handwriting is not very good. (Be prepared, you will be viewing my handwriting soon.) Also, you will want a card box to hold them. The one I use is plastic with round edges, instead of the metal kind with sharp corners.

And it’s best to have tabbed dividers for the different months of the year and a set numbered 1-31 cards for the days of the month. Colored markers will make your cards more interesting, but a pencil and pen will work just as well. I would suggest buying these items at your local Dollar Tree, Target, Walmart, or an office supply store.

You will use this system for your errands, house cleaning, fun activities, appointments, daily to-do list, and everything else you can think of. If you need something in addition to the cards, you can use a simple planner for additional items. But if you stick with me, I think you will find you don’t need it.

Setting things up is simple

You will want to add the names of the month to your dividers. If you are starting with January, you will put all your numbered dividers behind January. Place Febuary – December behind them.

Next, you will want to complete as many index cards as you can. Do not be concerned about forgetting something, it can be added later. The reason for the colored cards is to keep cards organized by how often you will be completing the task. As an example, you may end up with seven items that you do only once a month. Decide which color you would like them to be. For our example let’s pick pink. In the left top corner of your card write “Monthly.” In the body of the card, you will write the task. We will make this one “wash car exterior.” I did include an Every Other Month (EOM) card in this photo.

Special items to note

When applicable you may want to include the date you did the activity. I tend to write this in pencil on the card to defrost the freezer or replace the furnace filters, mainly on things I do semi-annual or less often. Note the furnace filter sizes or refrigerator water filter size on the card to save yourself time. I will also put the amount of time required behind the task if I know it. That way I don’t start a task when I don’t have enough time available to finish it.

You will also want cards for daily (can all be on one card) weekly, semi-monthly, annually, and maybe every six months. I have a list of items, at the end of this post, for which you may want to make a card. The frequency is a suggestion. Maybe you only vacuum weekly or wash sheets every other week. You may do laundry more often or grocery shop less often. Create the cards the way you do things, based on the size of your family and home.

Adding your cards for the month

Keep in mind that all cards will not be filed in January. Something that you may want to do every six months may need to be put in March and September, depending on when you last did it. I’ve shown some Seasonal (Annual) cards to the left. These can include decorating the house for Christmas, decorating the Christmas tree, and hanging Christmas lights for the house/yard. If you hire someone to put up your outside lights, simplify your life by noting the phone number on the card for use next year. My Christmas “green” cards spread from late November when I order Christmas cards, to early January when everything at my house is put away. Just for fun, I cut up green colored paper for my Christmas 3×5 cards.

You will file weekly cards on the day you want to do the task. Monthly cards could be filed on the first, fifteenth, twenty-second, etc. depending on when you plan to do it. I pay my bills on the first of the month so that is where I put the card. You may pay them twice a month, therefore you could need two cards. Any appointments will be put on the day of the appointment. However, if you feel more comfortable you can put them on the day before as a reminder. You would move the appointment card to the next day, in the evening when you forward any cards you did not accomplish.

Special cards

With the white cards, I make one for each month which lists the birthdays for the month. For example, my mom’s birthday is February 21, so she is the bottom person on my February list. My grandson Caleb is the day before her. I also create a card that says “check birthdays for next month” so that I don’t get caught off guard with a birthday on the 1st of the month and no card in the house. I file that on the 20th of the previous month. See my sample above in the pink cards.

And I make a weekly card that I keep in the front of my card file. I use this to list the regular things I try to do each week. These are more fun things, not necessarily work. On the left, I write each day of the week. On the right, I put things like quilting, reading, knitting, baking bread or cookies to freeze, Bible Study lesson, etc. These are the things I’d like to accomplish on those days, or maybe the only thing I will be doing that day. At the bottom I include some suggestions of what to do if I’m watching T.V. This can include organizing photos for photo albums, knit, clear out some emails, page through a magazine. You are more than welcome to just enjoy the T.V. program. I tend to try to accomplish little things when I can.

Using your new organization system

Each day you will view the cards for the day. If it helps you can lay them out on the counter to refer back to occasionally. At the end of the day, you can look ahead to see what is scheduled for tomorrow. If you have extra time, maybe pull one of the cards for the next day and do it early. Or if at the end of the day, things happened that pulled you away and you didn’t finish your cards, you can move them to the section for the next day or a day that will work better for you.

I also cut up scrap paper size 3 x 5 for one-time cards. They are flimsy but for one-time use, they work great. I use them for things like doctor appointments, events I have been invited to attend, and other things that happen once. Once those commitments are complete you can toss them. (Or recycle them.)

That should be everything you need to know. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything clarified. And remember that this is your system and you can alter it as you desire to make it work for you. Are you going to give it a try? Please let me know how it worked for you by leaving a comment below. Best wishes for a more organized you!

Suggestions for your cards:

Daily: Dishes/load dishwasher, exercise, clean the kitchen sink, devotions, make beds, etc.

Weekly: Clean bathrooms, wash sheets, vacuum, Bible study, plan meals for the week, grocery shop, dust, laundry, iron, clean kitchen counters, mow the lawn, clip kids’ fingernails/toenails, empty trash cans, wash all vinyl/wood floors, etc.

Every 2 weeks: Pay bills, Play Tennis, cut off dead flowers in the yard (roses, marigolds, geraniums, etc.), analyze budget vs spent, weed the yard, etc.

Monthly: Wash the exterior of the car, clean the interior of the car, reconcile bank accounts, reconcile credit card statements, clean microwave inside and out, etc. Plus a special card that says “20th” in the top left corner and says “check dates to remember for next month.”

Every other month: Wash all window sills in the house, vacuum under furniture, clean cobwebs in house, verify all receipts saved for taxes, clean toaster, canisters, and other misc on the kitchen counter, bring in cans/bottles/etc. for recycling, etc.

Semi-annual: Clean windows and screens outside, clean inside of windows, clean mini blinds/shutters, and wash curtains. Dentist appointment(s), and replace furnace filters (write the sizes on your card so you don’t have to look them up each time.) Update clocks for the time change, clean all cupboard doors in the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room. Sort through closet and dresser to put away winter clothes in the summer and summer clothes in the winter. Wash rugs at entry doors, in the bathroom(s), and the kitchen. Clean lamps and ceiling fans. Clean the oven, defrost the freezer, clean inside of the refrigerator, vacuum furniture, clean the refrigerator coils, etc.

Annual: Replace windshield wiper blades, clean china hutch, and bookcases. Empty the kitchen cupboards and clean the shelves. Transplant plants to larger pots, etc.

Occasional/Annual: Christmas baking, order Christmas cards, Christmas cards mailed, decorate the house for Christmas, decorate the Christmas tree, put Christmas decorations up outside, undecorate the house for Christmas, undecorate the Christmas tree, and pack away Christmas decorations from outside. Pick up a gift for John’s birthday, order the cake for Tina’s party, return library books, babysit neighbor’s kids from 2-4, pick up taxes from the accountant, doctor appointments, clean fireplace, etc.

Every other year: Clean garage. Have a garage sale?

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