(This was an article I had written up, to be used in a blog that I write for, occasionally, but it isn't needed, so I thought I'd post it here, instead.)
One thing that is a nasty Clutter Creator in the home: paper. Paperwork of varying sorts - magazines, coupons, other mail, mixed with family paperwork - can be a major source of mess. When piles of papers are covering the table(s), desk(s) or counter(s), the task to organize them can seem overwhelming, which can lead to frustration over such a daunting task. Often, because it’s such a mess, they are just left there, which only causes them to grow (and which causes the frustration to grow, too).
Having an easy system to organize your mail and other paperwork is one important key to keeping the home organized. I have had girlfriends ask for help with organizing their home, and oftentimes I find that the lead cause of clutter and disorganization is paper-related.
Everyone has a system that will work best for them, but here’s what works best for me and our family. First off, I really don’t read magazines, so when I get them, I put them in the front seat of my van right away, and often drop them off at the library, onto the “free to take home” table. If your library does not have one of these, then put them right into the recycling bin. I check my mail on the way up my driveway, and whatever is junk mail/stuff I won’t use does not even make it into the house. I toss it into my recycling pile in the garage, which goes out each week. If it does make it into the house, I leave it all somewhere that is in the way, so that I look through it as soon as possible and get it out of the way. If I keep a magazine and put it in my living room or bedroom, I really try to read it and not let it sit there for months...if it sits there un-read for too long, then out of the house it goes.
For the stuff I will use/keep, here is my simple system: I have a hanging file system of four hanging files in my kitchen, above my white-board. The files are labeled – one for receipts, one for recipes, one labeled, “urgent” and one that is blank/unlabeled, for miscellaneous items.
Any mail I open that needs immediate attention (as in, when I have time) goes into the “Urgent” file. That includes coupons I want to use soon, forms I need to fill out, things I need to check up on, and bills that need to be paid. When those things are taken care of, I move them to the “Receipts” file, (or shred them). When that Receipts file gets full, I move the contents upstairs to my file box. I also keep a separate, easy to access folder for anything I will need for tax returns. The receipt/form goes from the Receipts file right upstairs, out of view, either into my file box or into my tax return folder. This makes tax season much simpler, too!
The blank file is what I use to store papers that I want to keep handy, like free admission coupons or event information, or a manual for a new appliance that I’m not sure how to use. The Recipes file is where I store those paper-copied recipes that I use often, and I do empty that out every now and then.
The main “ingredient” to this organizing medley is the recycling bin. Probably 90% of the things I get in the mail go into the trash/recycling. There have been many, many catalogs that I’ve received that I really wanted to keep, but I knew that I didn’t have the time or the money in the budget to peruse or buy, so I have tossed them right out, without even opening the cover. Doing this every day makes it so that my counters, desks and tables stay paper-pile-free. It’s amazing what a recycling bin and four hanging files can do.
I am a note-taker and list-maker. I make lists every single day, multiple times a day for me and for my family members. They are reminders of things I need to do, or need someone else to do, or reminders of what time we have to leave to get somewhere! I can’t deal with a cluttered house or a cluttered brain, so I have found that a way to combat both is to use a whiteboard. It is our family’s “central station” of sorts. Anything we run out of, or are low on– milk, toothpaste, toilet paper, printer paper – all gets jotted down on the whiteboard as a running list for the next time one of us goes to the store. Anything I need to remember to do each day, from taking the trash out, to calling the vet to get the dog’s allergy injection refills, to reminding me what I have to prep for company, and so much more, all get written on that board. And after each task is finished, it gets erased. I also use paper notebooks to keep other notes, but if you want to cut down on paper note-taking, try a whiteboard. I couldn’t run our home without ours! I also have a section with a few magnets to hold those invites or coupons or tickets that I don’t want to leave at home, that day, that is next to the whiteboard.
There are lots of other areas of organization that need work to create an organized home atmosphere, but if the clutter-creator of paper can be properly managed with a system that works well then the home is well on its way to being an organized one. Less paper piles = less stress = happier Mom. If you haven’t become besties with your recycling bin yet, it’s the New Year, so maybe a goal can be to fill that bin up often with that unnecessary Clutter Creator of paper.
