Starting today, I’m going to be devoting Tuesdays for the next few weeks to discussing tried and true organization strategies. It’s my hope that these strategies will help you and your family to become more productive, and will create an overall more peaceful environment.

Also, I’m talking about these strategies because, when it comes to schedules and paper organization, I excel. When it comes to home organization, I need some definite work. My goal is to try out new strategies for home organization, and excitedly come back to tell you about the excellent ones that worked best for me. Essentially, we’ll all be getting better organized together!

Before we jump into home organization next week, I wanted to share a strategy that’s made a big difference for my husband and I over the past few months. Every Sunday, we take the time to discuss all of the facets of our upcoming week. Occasionally, this looks like a couple hours away, discussing over a meal without any distractions. Most of the time, it just looks like a conversation in the car or on the couch. Whenever it will work, we prioritize to make it happen in some capacity.

We always talk about four different things:

• Appointments, plans with friends, any “outside of the ordinary” events or to-dos;
• Meals; specifically, when to plan on the three of us eating dinner together at home;
• Any coordination related to child care;
• How we can pray for each other in the upcoming week.

Just pausing to talk through those simple things have done great things for our organization as a family, and for our relationship as well. Talking through reminders about the week ahead keeps you from the last-minute stress of forgotten tasks. Discussing when we’ll all be home for dinner helps us better manage the money we spend on food. Knowing when we are going to need help with Trippe keeps us from scrambling at the last minute to find a sitter. Finally, seeking out how we can pray for each other each week grows us closer.

I highly recommend sitting down with your spouse and using Sunday afternoons/evenings as a time to look ahead and coordinate the upcoming week. Even if you are single, this is a great practice to get yourself organized and ready for optimized productivity.

I look forward to growing in organization together in the upcoming weeks!