PAPER ORGANIZATION
Fortunately, there are many tried and true methods for keeping track and/or getting rid of all that paper. Here are some tips to help you get started with a daily routine that will streamline and make your paper management more efficient:
1. Mail - We all get it, sometimes mounds of it, every day. The first step in dealing with the sheer volume of paper that comes through the mail is to just stand next to the trash can (or recycle bin) and dump, right then and there, all of the mail you know you won't need to keep. Getting rid of it right away reduces the physical pile and helps you to manage what you know you need to read/review/keep.
Separate the bills and set them aside. This is typically your most important mail, as you don't want to neglect a bill or let a payment date slide. It would be most helpful to have a place reserved for your bills - an inbox or container, or even a spot in your desk where you know they are. NOT FUN: looking for a bill you know you have to pay and you have no idea where it is. BEST BET: Pay as many bills as you can online, through auto pay features that many utilities and companies offer. You don't even have to worry about the due date, since the autopayment feature does it automatically for you. For bills that you want to have flexibility in paying, try using your bank's online bill payment feature and manage your payments through that.
Make a stack of magazines, news flyers, catalogs and/or coupon mailers, AND GO THROUGH IT AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Having these things pile up around the house just adds to clutter and that overwhelming feeling that you will never get through it all! Instead of keeping magazines for months, throw away any magazine that isn't the current month's. Go through your magazines at least once a month and cut out any interesting articles, decorating ideas, travel ideas, etc. and save them to specific notebooks. You can have a travel notebook, gardening notebook, decorating notebook, FHE ideas notebook, recipe notebook, whatever you like! Put the articles into plastic sleeve protectors and you have instant references and favorite ideas all in one place. These can be a great resource and it's all organized and categorized. Martha Stewart for Staples makes a great line of reference notebooks with labels. You can also get cute notebooks from Target or Wal-Mart and make your own labels. FUN!!
2. Childrens' artwork/schoolwork - This is where is can get a little emotional. We want to keep everything, but we know we can't. So, how to choose? Here are some suggestions from Better Homes and Gardens (January, 2013):
Label It: Take 30 seconds every day to look at the work your child brings home and mark the date (and name if you have more than one child). Try to decide then and there whether it is worth keeping - quizzes, routine homework, and the like will add to your paper clutter stack if you try to keep it all. Save special projects, artwork, writings and stories, and maybe an especially triumphant test.
Designate a Space: Find a place for intermediate storage - up to 12 months. Baskets or large plastic containers (one per child) stowed on a closet shelf work as holding tanks until you can permanently store.
Do an Annual Review: Designate a time, such as the end of the school year or calendar year, to deal with what has accumulated. When you look at a year's worth of paper, it becomes clear what you want to save and what you can let go of.
3. Miscellaneous paper - Receipts for large/expensive items, tax information, medical records, investment information, warranties, etc. should be saved and kept where you can get your hands on them if and when you need to. For these kinds of paper needs a filing system is optimal. Whether it be in a filing cabinet or file boxes, or accordion-style paper keepers, an organized system for keeping track of important records is essential. File any such papers and documents as soon as you can so that you can access it when you need to (especially handy for when tax time comes around).
4. Receipts - Save your receipts! If you need to return an item, it's great to have that receipt accessible. Keeping them in an envelope, plastic baggie (quart size storage bags are awesome for this) or in a little stack in your desk is a whole lot easier to manage than wracking your brain to guess where it is (or if it exists at all).
5. Flyers, dry cleaning tickets, business cards - School play? Relief Society activity you don't want to miss? Dry cleaning to pick up? The name and phone number of the handyman your neighbor recommended? Use a bulletin board! You can put one up on the back of a door - especially if it's not too big - using 3M picture hangers...no need for a nail! You can also find smaller pieces of cork board and attach them to the inside of a cabinet (again, the 3M picture hangers are great for this) and you have your needed info close by and at the ready!
EMAIL ORGANIZATION
I once caught a glimpse of a friend's email Inbox...over 1,500 messages! Yikes! It can be difficult to address issues, respond to requests, or follow up on email store offerings, if your inbox is crammed full to the gills.
Here are some ideas for keeping your Inbox organized and clutter-free:
1. Sort all email into folders - e.g., "Things to do", "Travel Plans", "Friends and Family", "Church", etc.
2. Respond to requests right away, and if you need more time, just leave it in your Inbox until you can get to it. For most of us, 10-20 Inbox messages at any given time should be sufficient. I like to keep shipping notifications in my Inbox until the item is delivered, then I delete the message.
3. Use your email's "Search" feature - if you absolutely need to find a message and can't seem to find it, try using the Search feature. Some people manage their entire email using this system.
Do you have any organizing ideas you'd like to share? We'd love to hear them!
Here is a link to a system you might like to try:
http://delightfulorder.blogspot.com/2013/01/january-challenge-organizing-papers.html?m=1
And another great idea:
http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/record-keeping/systems-managing-your-mail-10000001019739/page2.html
Take a look at these darling, creative and inspirational ideas:
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