You know when you have somewhere really important to go, and you can’t seem to find anything to wear? For me it’s usually because I have a pile of clothes in the hamper (which warrants the “is this clean?” smell check), my favorite shoes are still in the trunk from last week’s girls night, and I’m just wishing that I would’ve been responsible enough to put everything back where it belongs when I’m done.

(This is going to be a really awkward analogy if I’m the only woman who actually still does the smell test).

Anyhow, having a cluttered bedroom is much like having a cluttered blog life. Have you ever found the perfect stock photo for a future blog post, but had no idea where you saved it on your computer? Which of course left you with the task of opening a bunch of images just to see if it was the one you were looking for. I mean it’s kind of like the smell check…but for blogging.

Just like your personal life, your blogging life would run much more smoothly if you decluttered the mess and got organized.  Here are 5 things you should have to organize your blog life.

1. A filing system

Here’s an example of my current folder hierarchy:

• Blog Name (1)
• Year (2)
  • Blog Posts (word docs)
  • Blog Stock Pics (.jpgs)
  • Featured Images (.psd and .jpgs)
  • Resources (.jpgs and .pdfs)

2. A place to capture ideas

I use Microsoft OneNote. It’s like *crack for organized people. You can have different “notebooks,” then create different tabs to organize multiple projects, ideas, lists, calendars, and more. You can connect it to an account so you can access it from your phone, tablet or computer.

3. A weekly schedule

A weekly schedule can help you to create a routine for your blog. For example, if you wanted to blog three times a week, you could reserve Mondays for videos, Wednesdays for a free printable, and Fridays for tutorials — whatever works for you and your blog’s content. Having a schedule creates consistency on your blog so people (including you!) know what to expect.

4. An editorial calendar

An editorial calendar is kind of like having a meal plan for your blog. It helps to ensure that you’re not throwing together posts at the last minute and putting them on your blog just for the sake of having content for the week. Organize all your ideas, then lay them out on a calendar for the month. Even though I love jotting things down on paper, I currently use CoSchedule as online editorial and social media calendar. It keeps my blog content extremely organized. (More about CoSchedule here!)

5. A checklist for each blog post

Your checklist should include things like proofreading, finding a good image, sharing your post on social media, SEO keywords, and so on. Bonus! You can grab a printable for your blog checklist here!

*Disclaimer: I’ve never done crack. 😉

p.s. 13 Ways to Drive Traffic to Old Blog Posts + How I Organize and Plan Blog Posts