- Hi guys, welcome back to my channel.
In today's video,
I'm going to be sharing with you my best tips
and hacks on how I organize my life as a busy mom.
I haven't made an organizational video like this in ages,
so I thought it was about time that I share with you
a few new things that I'm doing
as well as remind you of the few
of my favorite tips that actually keep me organized.
And I'm also thrilled
to be working with Google Assistant today.
They asked me if I would be interested
in making a video with them,
and I jumped at the chance
because I use Google Assistant so much
that my one-year-old son
actually walks around the house saying, "Google."
- Hey, Google!
- If you don't know what Google Assistant is,
it is a completely free app
that you can download on your phone.
And whether you have an iPhone or an Android,
doesn't matter.
You can download on either of those.
And it works across your phone,
your Google Home, or your Google Mini.
So, you can use it across all of them the same way.
All you have to say to it is, okay Google,
and then what you want it to do,
and you can actually make Google do so much for you.
I set reminders, manage my schedule, set timers.
I entertain the kids with it.
I ask it the weather every morning.
You can do so, so much with it.
So, in today's video,
I'm going to show you how I use it
and how it really helps me to stay organized as well.
And one other thing I really love
about using Google Assistant
is that I don't actually have to stop
and write anything down.
Most of the time, I have a bag in one hand,
I have a baby in one hand,
and then I'll think about something I want to remember.
Well, I can just quickly tell Google
what I want to remember or what I want it to do,
and it can do it for me.
So, a massive plus for me
is that I don't have to write anything down.
And as a mom of three,
that is actually really, really good
because if I don't write something down
or if I don't make a note of it,
now that I have three kids,
like, baby brain is a real thing and I just forget it.
So, for me, to be able to say,
okay Google, remind me to call the doctors later,
or whatever it is, is a real plus.
But anyway, with all that said, let's get into my tips.
So, my first tip that helps me to keep on top of housework
is speed cleaning and speed decluttering.
Now, you've probably heard me
talk a lot about speed cleaning
on this channel in the past.
I love to set a timer for 10 minutes
and just see how much I can clean
in a room in just 10 minutes.
Set the alarm for 10 minutes.
- [Google Assistant] Right, your alarm's set for 7:42 p.m.
- But more recently, I have got into speed decluttering
because our house is pretty tidy,
but we have too much stuff and we need to minimalize it.
So now, I'll set a timer for five minutes,
maybe 15 minutes, however much time I have,
and see how much I can get organized in that time.
And you'll be amazed how much you can get done.
I was putting off clearing out our snack drawer for ages
and it only took me five minutes to clean.
Tip number two is to go virtual
when it comes to your family calendar.
Now, I know this one will be hard for some people.
I, myself, used to love buying pretty planners.
But, once you go virtual, you will not go back.
It makes such a difference.
I don't always have my planner on me,
but I always have my phone on me.
So, watch this.
Okay Google, add something to my calendar for tomorrow.
- [Google Assistant] At what time?
- 2:00 p.m.
- [Google Assistant] What's the title?
- Sports day.
- [Google Assistant] Okay, do you want to save this?
- Yes.
- [Google Assistant] Saving event.
- Done. And watch this.
Okay Google, remind me every Monday that Caleb has swimming.
- [Google Assistant] Okay, do you want to save this?
- Yes.
- [Google Assistant] Saving reminder.
- Done.
The next tip that helps me to organize my life
and keep me on track and just keep me motivated and focused
is to set myself goals and plan for the future.
And the way that I do this is to vision board.
It just keeps in my mind what I actually want,
what it's all for,
why I'm getting out of bed in the morning,
and just helps me to reach my goals.
And I don't do it in the traditional sense
of sticking things onto a board
and looking at it all the time.
I do it on my phone and on my laptop.
So, I basically create a collage on my laptop
and I have that as the backdrop on my laptop.
So, you can just choose whatever you want.
Anything you want in the world.
A car or a holiday.
The way you wanna look or the kids you wanna have.
Literally anything.
And I know this might sound a bit hippy dippy,
but I think it really works.
My next tip is to online shop
and to keep a running list of what you need.
Now that I have three children
and my youngest is nearly two years old,
it's very difficult for me to go to the supermarket.
So, what I do on a Sunday night
is sit down with a cup of tea in front of the TV
and order the food that we need.
And it just comes the next day.
I can sit in the comfort of my home
and it saves me time, money, and calories by doing this.
And I also keep a running list.
So, I would just shout out things that I need
when I'm in the fridge looking for things.
If I notice we've run out of anything,
I would just shout it out to Google
and it will add it to my shopping list.
Okay Google, add milk and cheese to the shopping list.
- [Google Assistant] Alright, I've added milk
and cheese to your shopping list.
- Okay Google, add fourth birthday card
to the shopping list.
- [Google Assistant] Sure, I've added fourth birthday card
to your shopping list.
- The only thing about using this list
is the boys have seen that I add things to this list,
and they have taken to adding toys, Pokemon cards,
football cards, all kinds of things to the list.
- Hey, Google.
Add one hundred trillion sweets to my shopping list.
- [Google Assistant] Alright, I've added
one hundred trillion sweets to your shopping list.
- Wait! (son laughing)
My next tip is to set routines.
And if you follow my channel for awhile,
you will know I love a good routine.
I have a morning routine, an evening routine,
a cleaning routine.
We are creatures of habit as humans,
and once you start doing something as part of a routine,
you will want to do it again and again.
So, set yourself a little morning cleaning routine.
Set yourself an evening cleaning routine.
And if you don't know where to start,
I will link my routine videos down below
so you can check them out.
My next tip will make you feel so organized
if you can get into the habit of doing this every night.
And that is, to get everything ready the night before.
Get uniforms laid out,
get what your baby's gonna wear laid out,
get what you're gonna wear laid out,
get bags packed, get your bag cleared out and packed,
and snacks, and everything.
Just get as much as you can ready the night before.
Okay Google, what's the weather tomorrow?
- [Google Assistant] Tomorrow in Brentwood,
it'll be cloudy with a high of 24, and a low of 13.
- Getting everything ready the night before
will take you about five minutes,
versus 15 to 20 minutes of running around being crazy,
trying to find everything the next morning.
So, it is well worth doing.
My next tip is to meal plan
and, more recently, meal prep as well.
So, all I do on a Sunday night
is I will plan out what we're gonna eat for the next week.
I have a little chalkboard in our kitchen
which I write it all on,
and I can just work out what we're gonna have.
Sometimes we'll swap days around,
or sometimes we can change it up a bit.
But pretty much, I know what's going on.
Everyone can see what we're having,
and then I can kind of avoid the whole
what's for dinner question.
And, more recently,
because I've been trying to watch my weight,
I have been meal prepping.
So, all I do is I will meal prep my lunches.
So, I'll just cook up some chicken and some peppers,
or maybe a fajita mix.
Put that all together,
and then that will feed me for a good few days.
And then I find I'm reaching for that
'cause it's quick and easy, 'cause it's already made,
rather than having junk food
or things that are not as good for me.
When it comes to paperwork,
the best thing to do is just deal with it
as soon as it comes through the door.
Go through your paperwork every day.
Put anything in the junk that needs to go there.
And then I have a tray on my desk
of things that actually need to be actioned.
So, if the boys come home with a letter from school
of something I need to pay for,
something I need to book,
that goes in that tray
and that means that I have to do something with it.
Next up, I wanted to show you something really simple,
but I found these uniform labels that are brilliant.
They are stick-on uniform labels,
and I thought, it's that time of year,
so definitely worth showing you.
You don't have to sew these or iron these on.
They are just really sticky,
and you can just put them throughout
your children's new school uniform.
And you can wash it as normal.
They don't come out.
I've been using them for about a year.
You can also put them on your children's Tupperware
and it's brilliant.
They go through the dishwasher
and they don't even come off.
So, it is definitely worth getting yourself
some stick-on uniform labels.
And my final tip is to set up your bills
to be paid by direct debit if you haven't already.
And also, set up regular payments for savings if you can.
So, for us, we are now saving for each of the boys.
We're thinking that that might go up to university
or a car or whatever they wanna spend it on in the future.
But rather than have to remember every month
that I need to put that into their account,
I have now set up regular payments.
So, on the first of every month,
that money just leaves my account
and it goes to each of theirs,
and I don't even have to think about it.
Right, so that is it for my tips.
I really hope you enjoyed it,
and please comment below any of the ways
that you organize your life
because I would love to hear them.
And thank you so much to Google Assistant
for working with me on this video.
I have loved using it for the past year.
And I think the more you use it,
the more confident you get with it,
and you realize how much it can actually do for you.
I love that when I'm out and about with the buggy,
if something pops into my head,
I can just say, "Okay Google,"
add that to my notes or add that to my list,
and it just really helps me not forget anything.
So, I encourage you to try it out and download.
It is, like, the ultimate mom hack.
And that link is in the description, as I said.
And I wanted to end this video by showing you
how I also use this to entertain the kids
by playing animal trivia.
So, yes, I hope you enjoy it
and I'll see you in a bit.
Okay Google, play animal trivia.
- [Google Assistant] Frigatebirds can stay
in the air for months at a time.
False or true?
(Google Assistant beeping)
- True?
- True.
- [Google Assistant] Superior brain power!
Question number two.
Affenpinschers means little monkey dog in German.
True or false?
(Google Assistant beeping)
- True?
- [Google Assistant] You're clever, that's right.
This cute kind of dog is nine to 12 inches tall
and totally adorable.