When your everyday life starts feeling like you’re spending every moment trying to remember all.the.things and searching for information that you could swear you just looked at last week, it’s time to give your brain a rest. I’ve found that a great way to do this is by making lists… and hopefully this process can help you as well.
Here’s a breakdown of the most useful lists to make to organize your life. These lists can help you unload your brain, set priorities, manage your time better, and keep your home and personal goals in check. Sometimes they can even bring clarity to what feels overwhelming. Using lists is one of the most straightforward ways to start being organized without having to immediately learn a bunch of new, complicated systems.
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Honestly, this blog post is a BIG list of lists, and you may not need every one of them. I recommend starting with making 2-3 lists that will help you right away, whether that means just getting some of the mess out of your head OR saving you a bit of time and frustration every day with something like a simple to do list or meal plan ideas.
Also, especially at first, don’t get hung up on where to store these lists. If you’re a pen and paper person, make a list notebook or binder. If you love having everything in digital format, use a spreadsheet program with a separate tab for each list – or even the notes app on your phone.
That’s another reason to take this process at your own pace… you’ll want to figure out the best way YOU want to make and use these lists. I’ll give some suggestions in this post, but when you’re organizing your entire life, you have to make adjustments for what works for YOU.
Lists to Get Started: Clear Your Mind and Focus Your Energy
1. Brain dump list
Write down every task, worry, or idea cluttering your mind. Getting it all out on paper is the first step to organizing your life.
Writing a brain dump by hand can be powerful, but it can also take a long time and give you hand cramps if you’ve got a lot on your mind. I’ve found that brain-dumping into a spreadsheet is really satisfying, and then you can sort the list, make notes, and really WORK with it.
Want to practice? Click here to grab my free printable brain dump page.
2. Daily to do list
Take a few minutes every morning to plan your day by listing your must-do tasks. I do this by hand so I have my list in front of me at all times, but there are several options for making a daily to do list.
- Do your planning with a printable daily task list
- Use a daily planner
- Make a list in your notes app
- Try a printed tear-off notepad of daily planning pages
3. List of activities
I’m talking ALL.the.things… like the ENTIRE family’s doctor appointments, sports practices, social gatherings, vacations and getaways, haircuts, celebrations, etc. This is best kept on a calendar – either physical or digital – that everyone regularly sees and has access to for making updates.
4. Goal list
This could be one list, or maybe even several. Eventually, you’ll want to break down each of your big goals into manageable steps to stay motivated. But ONLY do this one at a time, no matter how long your goal list might be.
To get started, fill out a simple dreams and goals brainstorming page.
Recommended Resource: The Goal Journey Annual Goal Planner – This printable goal planner is designed to streamline your goal-setting process, allowing you to focus on one goal at a time and adapt as life evolves. Get the extra stuff out of your head, let go of the regrets and ‘should-dos,’ and start accomplishing the goals that really matter to YOU.
Daily, Weekly, Monthly Lists That Keep You On Track
5. Morning routine checklist
Helps you start the day on the right foot without overthinking. Having a routine written down makes it easier to stay consistent with habits that support your goals.
This is also a great tool to use if you have children!
6. Nightly gratitude list
Taking a moment to note a few things you’re grateful for on a regular basis can shift your mindset and help you sleep better.
7. Daily and weekly cleaning checklist
Breaks cleaning into manageable chunks so your home stays tidy without burnout. You can customize it to what works for your schedule and space.
8. Monthly to do list
This is a bigger-picture list that helps you organize projects, your calendar, and errands so they don’t sneak up on you.
Use these ideas as a start for what to include in your monthly list: 10 Productive Things To Do Every Month
Household Lists That Bring Order to Your Home
9. Household projects and chores list
We have a never-ending list of projects that need to happen around our home, from urgent fixes to dream decorating, updates, decluttering, and renovation ideas. Keeping this list on one page makes it easier to prioritize and choose the next task… plus it’s super-satisfying to cross them off as we finish each project.
10. Basic cleaning supply list
Keep track of what cleaning products you use and need so you’re never caught without essentials.
11. House products list
A handy list of home essentials that need restocking – perfect for shopping trips. You could make this even easier by using a service like Amazon’s Subscribe and Save to have these items automatically delivered on a schedule you choose.
12. Seasonal cleaning and maintenance checklist
Make this list so you don’t ‘forget’ about all of those deep cleaning and home maintenance tasks that fit the season, like window washing or changing HVAC filters.
Recommended Resource: The printable Essential Cleaning Planner helps you create a simple, realistic cleaning routine that fits your life, whether you’re tackling daily chores or seasonal deep cleans. With plenty of checklists and tips, it makes staying on top of cleaning and seasonal maintenance feel easier and more organized. Get your home clean and comfortable without overthinking!
Meal Planning and Kitchen Lists
I’m all about keeping life simple and not spending all of my time in the kitchen. If you feel the same way, then you’ll definitely want to get into the habit of making some lists to save time in this area of your life.
13. Meal ideas list
A go-to list of meal ideas to reduce decision fatigue, especially on busy days. I like to have a few different areas on this list, such as:
- Favorite meals, especially recipes that make leftovers for lunches or future dinners
- Quick meals: some that are real food meal ideas and some using slightly more processed options
- Simple food list for homemade snacks
Related: A Full Year Of Monthly Meal Plan Ideas For Easy Meal Planning
14. Monthly meal plan
I like to make a list every month of dinners we could make from the food we have on hand. This makes it really easy to fine-tune a meal plan every week. Here’s how to plan your own monthly menu.
15. Weekend food prep list
Spending just a bit of time on the weekend preparing food and ingredients for the week ahead feels like a life-saver when the busy-ness of the week really kicks in and there’s just no.time.
Try this simple quick food prep routine and adjust it to make your own food prep checklist.
16. Grocery list
Whether you circle items on a pre-printed list, use an app, or write things on a notepad as you need them, keeping a grocery list is extremely important to organizing the food area of your life. It will save extra trips to the grocery store (VERY important if you grocery shop for a month at a time!) or having to revamp your meal plans because you forgot that ONE thing you really needed.
Recommended Resource: If you’re struggling with meal planning, my Essential Meal Planning Printables are here to help you out. Whether you’re planning meals for a week or a month, these pages are designed to fit your lifestyle. Say goodbye to wasted food and hello to easy, stress-free meal planning!
Personal Growth and Self-Improvement Lists
17. Get your life together checklist
Getting your life in order is a process, and having a written list can help you stay a little more focused and on track. Think of it as a personal development plan. Check out this post about getting your life together for more ideas about what’s involved and a printable checklist.
18. Priorities in life list
This list clarifies what matters most to you so you can make decisions with confidence. You might think it’s a simple and obvious list, but you might be surprised at what thoughts and feelings come up as you’re making it… and how powerful it is for helping you make choices in the future.
19. Self-improvement habit checklist
Focus on specific areas like communication skills, health goals, or learning new things. Once you make a list for ideas for self-improvement, you can track those daily or weekly habits that support your growth and well-being.
20. Life accomplishments list
It might sound a little silly to include this as a list that helps to organize your life. But it serves a couple of purposes. This list helps you:
- Celebrate milestones and successes, no matter how small, to boost motivation.
- Have a record of accomplishments that you can use and tailor for purposes such as resumes, online biographies, etc.
Fun and Creative Lists
21. List of creative outlets
Keep track of hobbies or creative activities that help you unwind and recharge. Also include ideas for new things to try.
22. Life bucket list
I know, I know… this might seem a little overdone. But there’s a certain power in actually writing down those dreams and experiences you want to pursue, big or small.
If you’re not ready for a full-on life bucket list, maybe try seasonal bucket lists like these:
- 40 Simple Spring Bucket List Ideas For An Intentional Season {Free Printable}
- Realistic Fall Bucket List for Adults: 25 Simple Ways to Enjoy the Autumn Season {Free Printable}
23. Gift-giving list
This is a list where you can keep track of all the details for the people, events, and gift ideas for all of them.
Keeping It All Together: Life Maintenance Lists
These lists develop over time, and eventually you’ll want to keep them in something like a life binder or file. Having all of this information in one place is vital for an organized life, especially if something were to happen to you or whoever deals with all.the.things on a regular basis.
24. Family and pet information lists
This is a comprehensive list of EVERYTHING… full names, birthdates, past and current medications, doctors, broken bones, surgeries, allergies, major life events, etc.
25. List of passwords
It doesn’t matter if these are already stored on your devices. Life happens. Write them down or make a printable list – and actually print it out so you have a hard copy.
This is one list that you’ll definitely want to update on the regular. Be sure to include website addresses for online logins, security questions and answers, security phrases, date the password was last updated, etc.
26. Account balances / net worth
This is a list of accounts and personal property: all bank accounts, retirement and investment accounts, personal property values, debts, etc. What you really want is an at-a-glance view, so get them all showing in one place: paper, spreadsheet, or an app where you can make a list and easily update the totals. That can be monthly, quarterly – or annually for overall net worth.
Work-Related Organizational Lists
If you work for yourself or have a side hustle, it’s pretty difficult to be successful if you’re not at least a little bit organized. I use a LOT of lists for my business, but how many you make will vary. At the minimum, I recommend making these lists:
- Business information list: Legal records, website records, business plan, etc.
- Passwords and logins list: Just like in your personal life, this needs to be in a hard copy even if you already have them saved in digital format, and update it frequently.
- Financial information list: Incoming monies, outgoing expenses, bank accounts, etc. It’s best to have this in a spreadsheet or financial app, and updated every.single.month.
- Business goals and stats lists: You can’t grow if you don’t know where you’ve been and where you want to go. Write it all down, and track all.the.things.
- Daily to do list: This is pretty easy to combine with a personal to do list, but it’s important to plan your work and prioritize ONE thing on the list that MUST get done.
I use a combination of spreadsheets and the Goal Journey Annual Goal Planner for ALL of my business lists and tracking. It’s very easy to print out extra copies of the pages you want to use for business goals, planning, and tracking.
Final Thoughts…
Whew! I know, it probably seems like that’s a lot of lists to make to organize your life! The great thing is, you don’t have to make all of them this week, or even this month.
However, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, then these practical lists to make life easier are a surprisingly powerful way to start getting organized at home and in your daily routine. Pick a few lists to start with and see how they can help your days feel at least a bit more streamlined.
As much as possible, keep your lists in one place. It will be easier to remember to look at them and update them as necessary. You might even want to set reminders on your phone or in your physical calendar or planner for when to review and update your different lists.
Remember, the best lists are the ones you actually use, so tailor these ideas to what fits your life, and keep it simple. Soon, getting organized just might feel like a way to reclaim time, energy, and peace of mind as you Build Your Best Life.
You’ve got this!
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