God is a God of Order

When Kelly and I interviewed Debbie Pendell she made a statement that has really stuck with me.  God is a God of order.  1 Corinthians 14:40 tell us "Let all things be done decently and in order."  The phrase here I think is "all things."  Not just our homes, not just our Bible study time, not just our prayer time, not just our homeschooling times, but at all times in all situations. And of course, we should keep order in our blogs too. How can we stay organized and keep things in order on our blog?  Here are some tips that I think might help.

1. Create a blogging schedule - In Open Office Writer I created a very simple document with 7 columns, one for each day of the week.  I then created a row for each of my blogs.  I then printed out several copies of the table I had made.  Each week I fill in the blanks for each day according to each blog about what I will post about that day.  By doing this I know what I am going to be writing about and I don't send all of my time brainstorming a topic the day of.  Of course, things happen and inspiration may strike and throw you off your schedule very once and while, but that is ok.
2. Clean up your sidebar - Does having a ton of buttons or ads on your site make your blog look cluttered and orderly?  If it is important for you to support your bloggy friends by displaying their buttons and/or badges try creating a friend page and listing the buttons there instead of your sidebar.  If you only have one sidebar and it is becoming too cluttered, try changing to a theme with 2 sidebars.  The less cluttered your sidebar looks the more professional it will look and easier to read and navigate.
3. Keep your plugins and Wordpress installation up-to-date - Obviously this does not apply to those who are using Blogger, but if you are using the Wordpress blogging platform, make sure you keep up-to-date on plugin updates and Wordpress installation updates.  Not updating Wordpress or a plugin can create security problems and eventually lead to larger problems.
4. If you review products and/or host giveaways create a spreadsheet - Creating a spreadsheet to keep track of product reviews and giveaways will help save you time.  It will help you to stay on top of the things that need to be done and remind you to pick giveaway winners when needed.  Product reviews can spiral out of control quickly so it is important to create a system to keep up with them all before you even get started.

How about you?  Do you have any tips on how to keep your blog organized and in order?

Remember Proverbs 16:3 tell us, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established."