Is your world cluttered with mounds of paper? Do not worry. These 7 organization tips will help you take control of the multitude of papers consuming your home.
1) Sort, download and send mail as soon as it appears. Do not allow junk mail to accumulate. Read it. Download it. Cut it. Immediately discard ANY messages / documents that do not require attention.
2) Determine the place in your kitchen (or other area in your home where you sort / process mail) for the wastebasket. This should not be a fantasy. You could use an old waste basket, a bathtub, a small laundry basket. I keep a large plastic container especially for recycling paper in the cabinet under my postal sorting. This convenient location makes it easy to drop unsolicited email on the spot.
3) Create a system for filing important documents. Using a portable storage box is an ideal solution if you cannot afford a filing cabinet. In addition, it is easily and easily transported. To get started, buy hanging files, file folders, and a carrying case. If you do not have a label, create labels for each record. The most important aspect of this system is the creation of an Excel spreadsheet with all the file names in the folder in alphabetical order. You can easily add / remove headers as your application system grows and inevitably changes.
4) Recipes and cookbooks. Do this once a week to spend 30 minutes sorting out the recipe and cookbooks. Create a binder to accommodate the recipes you want to keep. Plastic liners or something similar are ideal for storing recipe cards neatly organized and classified.
5) Create a counting station near the computer. If you usually pay bills on your laptop and do not have an installed workstation, purchase an accordion file for bills, checks, pens, stamps, address labels, paper clips.
6) No one likes a dirty refrigerator. Do not allow the front doors of the refrigerator to be erratic. Use the side (s) to display relevant information (emergency numbers, calendar, upcoming events, multiple shots, minimum image). Show the illustration and other important documents on the inside of the cabinet doors that you frequently visit. Thus, they are not "hidden from sight, out of mind." Save all the photos you want to display in the photo album.
7) Children's artwork can be a major cause of confusion in my kitchen! I like beautiful pictures and drawings that my children love, but cannot keep them all. Sort and quietly recycle any works that do not "stand." Create a binder for everyone else and switch multiple times. Buy a bulletin board for display in the children's area or bonus room. Or, if you have space on the wall, use tape or wire to display artwork and hang with clothespins or other decorative clips.
Broken? Take one baby step today to clutter up your paper world. Get your space back!
