Organization Tips {Paperwork}
January 12, 2012 by Aimee • 35 Comments
Isn’t it total CRAZINESS how quickly papers accumulate?!?! I mean seriously you can clean through a stack of papers reaching from your desk to the ceiling and five minutes later it reappears. How that happens, I have NO idea, but I have found that having a place for EVERYTHING helps me keep my sanity! I think daily systems are so helpful in keeping me from becoming totally overwhelmed! Once papers are stacked high, I totally avoid them and that becomes an awful cycle! There are so many ideas to share over the years my sweet friends, but for today, I thought I’d deal with something that is SUPER daily…come rain or sleet….PAPERS!
Similar to Martha Stewart’s bedroom hope chest idea, I have kept my files in my coffee table chest for years. It totally works and is aesthetically, so much prettier than an old metal file cabinet! I love her addition of cork board to the lid and a cutlery holder to organize office supplies!
SNAIL MAIL! As much as I try to steer away from paper bills and such, they just keep coming! I’m afraid the old ‘save the trees’ campaign failed miserably! And it doesn’t help that Stud and I enjoy magazines! I think we have four-six that we subscribe to…at $2 for an annual subscription it’s a bit hard to resist! How they afford to send me 12+ copies for that price, I have no idea, but I like it!
When the mail arrives, I always open EVERY item right away!!! Putting it off, sadly never makes it go away. I sort the mail into three piles: junk mail {this includes all the envelopes}, magazines, and the important stuff!
The junk mail and ALL the envelopes are very short lived here. {IMMEDIATELY, they’re destined for the trash/recycling bin/shredder.} I do offer the important stuff a little shelf life in a basket I have next to my desk. Between homeschooling, church papers, kid’s art work and all the daily mail, it’s not a priority to make sure each bill is paid and each item is filed the day it arrives. But, the alternative of papers stacking up on my desk quickly becomes real stressful. I’ve found having a limited sized drop spot helps me out! I purposely chose a smallish basket so that a months time doesn’t pass with papers still accumulating, but I do need a week’s worth of space because sometimes a day goes by before I even have the chance to blink my eye!
Total tangent, but my sweet boys are definitely LOVING my new rug. They’re constantly playing play-mobile and pushing cars around…the coffee table is the parking garage I guess!
I purchased this coffee table a few years back from Pier One. I like it because it allows for lots of room for room for the kids and me to spread out on the floor and read or play games. It’s also an obvious favorite spot for the boys to play with their little toys that hurt so badly when you step on them!!! Confession: I do vacuum up little toys I find on the ground, all of them except for legos because they cost so much per item I can’t afford that method of cleanup with them!
The other clutter in our house is definitely magazines!!! I love them and don’t like to ditch them very often because truthfully, it just takes a while for me to actually find a moment to sit with a cup of tea and enjoy them!!! When I do find the time, it’s usually in our front room, so that’s where I store them!!!
I searched CraigsList for a week and stumbled upon what I totally was in search of…LOVE it when that happens. As soon as I saw it listed and for $50, I picked up the phone, grabbed my keys and handed them to Stud {I couldn’t carry it on my own} and he brought it home to me as fast as he could. Love him!!! Thankfully it was a Saturday and it just all came together like that! It’s one of my favorite furniture pieces in the house. I LOVE sitting on my white sofa and draping my legs over the leather ottoman and totally chilling!!! I also am LOVING that my old living room rug has found a perfect home in this room! It’s a better scale for the room just like the blue rug is a better scale for that room!!! Oh I love it when everything is proportionate!!!
And not too surprising to you I’m sure, yes, it opens and keeps all my magazines out of eye sight for those prized moments when the house is still and quiet and I feel like dreaming!!! We get an wide assortment of magazines and when I do find time to enjoy them, I rip out the recipes I want to try and enter those into a document I keep on my computer and I take pictures with my camera of the project ideas that I love and I label it according to the magazine for safe keeps, then I toss that magazine in the trash {or pass it onto a friend} so I can make a bit of room for the next magazines that will arrive shortly!
And here’s a little closer view so you can see some of the magazines we receive: Instyle, Martha Stewart Living, ESPN, Better Homes and Garden, I have a few Real Simples, Highlight Magazine…hmm, I don’t know. Seems like there are a few others also. Which magazines do you subscribe to or are you totally over that now that you have Pinterest!? I don’t keep this organized. To me there’s just no point. Only Stud and I open it and we’re both totally fine with the magazines being in total disarray! The boys put their own pajamas and underwear away and those drawers are in total disarray, but I’m okay with that because they’re the only ones who open those drawers and they’re fine with it!!! I LOVE organization LOTS when it helps, but I’m not one to mess with it just to mess with it! Twenty-four hours just isn’t enough!
Want to know one other little secret?!? Know where I put my sweet hubby’s mail and “stuff”… I placed a basket in the trunk of his car long ago…and when I just don’t know what to with something that is his…that’s where it goes!
Organization totally makes me breath slower and smile lots more!!!
Still love your new area rug!!
I hate all the paper I have to deal with. So insane!! It is hysterical that you store your mags!! Beats my system- randomly strewn throughout the house.
Great tips…but seriously, I could get lost in that ottoman! I love magazines!
Allyson
http://cupcakescandycanes.blogspot.com
Because I usually go through the garage to get my mail, once I come back in I’m already sorting through it. The trash goes right into the recycling before I even get in the house! I keep the bills in their envelopes and write the date due on the outside. Then I put them right in my bill paying area in date order right away. The only thing I’ve been keeping out {to force me to do something about it} is postcards from doctors and dentists. Since we just moved here a few months ago, we will need to find new providers. I only have a few magazine subscriptions and they go right on my coffee table for me to look at.
With tax stuff starting up, I have to make a side area to place all this stuff so I have it together for the accountant. That’s the only thing that will be out of the norm paper wise.
I have no tips for you… I just leave my mail in the mail box for almost a week and then go through it in one shot! HA! {hugs}
E & Allyson, Isn’t it ridiculous how behind I am on those magazines!?!? I hear the violins playing! LOL!
Kathy, I LOVE that you toss it before you come in! And now the envelope saving is finally making sense, I should have asked long ago I suppose!!! LOL!
Paper is my evil nemesis! I so totally fail at my “system”; that must mean I need a new one!
I miss Cottage Living, though Southern Living has improved in the last few years. I have about 4000 back issues of Taste of Home to keep me busy!
Tiffany AND Ginger! You both must be SUPER fun!!! I think those that don’t get slowed down by paper don’t let much worry them!! That’s totally my Little B and she’s TONS of FUN!!!
Kim, Oh my goodness I love your storage solution! Love those bins LOTS!!! Very fun to have a link to share!!!
XO, Aimee
Okay, off to prepare for my class tomorrow! Wink Wink! You will be there, right!!! Hope you’re studied up on the parts of a camera because there will be a test!!! LOL!
I can’t believe that amount of credit card applications we get daily. My husband and I get at least one a day. We each get the same ones addressed separately to each of us. It’s insane. Most of the mail we get is trash. We are also magazine lovers and they quickly take over our house if I don’t get them under control quickly! Love the idea of the basket! I am sure it keeps the paper piles down!
love that ottoman!! when i get the mail, i take it straight out to the kitchen counter next to the trash can and go through it. trash goes into the trash can and bills go back into envelope and onto the desk to be paid. we have one of those small envelope sorters on the desk. we get maybe 2 or 3 bills in paper form and one of those is a quarterly bill, so not too many envelopes end up on the desk during the month. my nemesis is the coupons that come in the mail. i can’t throw them out, but i always put off going through them until i have a massive pile of them and by that time half of them are expired!
I hate how the mail piles up too. We have a similar system . . . now if I could only employ a fairy to take care of those bills . . .
Great inspiration
Ouch my message deleted. will return, lol
I am definitely going to be looking for a leather ottoman on Craig’s List! My DH has said a firm ‘NO’ to a leather couch and love seat, which I’ve wanted for ages (but it’s because he’s convinced that the cats would shred it). BUT, an ottoman? And if I can find it for a good price? We’ll see how it goes. And maybe if the cats leave the ottoman alone… Who knows!
♥
Great Craigslist find! That’s definitely the kind of thing you have to jump on quickly… I’ve been looking for a piece just like that too. Mail is probably my biggest clutter issue… I’ve cut it back a bit lately by ridding myself of some of my typically piling spots- but I am yet to develop a great system where I have a place for everything… Thanks for sharing your system- I love your new rug too!
I want one of those ottomans in place of my coffee table. Our living room is small. I need to search Craigs List. It’s the only way I will afford one. Saw one I love the other day but it was $798. About $750 more than I could afford.
Snail mail is tough to keep up with. I have a magazine addiction, too.
Ruth
my daughter ordered one online from Target for about $100
You’re such a smartie pants! I really need to implement a better mail sorting strategy at my house. I love your coffee table! Love!
Where did u get your rug? Love it too!
Aimee,
When I was at my organized best we lived in Wyoming. I had my entire year mapped out as to what task to do what day. This was all written down on my calendar in the kitchen. Because housework repeats itself, I figured out that I could get by every ten days before that chore had to be done again. So if bathroom day was on the 1st of the month then it didn’t have to be done again until the 11th. Having only one child and a husband whose work would take him away every week for three – four days helped spread those chores out. I had a daily routine; stuff that had to be done on a daily basis in order to keep from getting buried – dishes, vacuum main areas, laundry to the hamper, feed pets and make beds. This kept the house basically tidy and I didn’t feel overwhelmed by having a lot of housework to do in any one day. Once the task of the day was done then it was free time for me!!! Some household running things however were needed done only once a month such as washing windows and cleaning out the car. I included filing paperwork in this Once a Month list. The mail was gathered daily and sorted into junk, bills, etc. The portion of the bill that gets returned was removed and set in a place to wait for payday. The rest of the statement was put in a basket on the desk to wait for Filing Day. I set the first of every month as the day to file these papers. One month’s stack at a time didn’t take very long to staple and put away. The basket was then ready for that months bills. My daughter attended elementary school so of course I wasn’t interrupted but when she was younger I waited to do this until naptime. If you have any questions or want any further information feel free to contact me anytime. My life right now is a major mess and I’m trying to get back the way things were; one step at a time works so much better for me than trying to do it all at once. Hope you enjoyed reading my “book”.
Maureen
Very cute ideas. I have a trunk that I think I can make into a file holder too. I put all my important mail into a cute mail slot that sits on my desk until it is time to pay the bills again. Then it gets filed away.
Debbie
I need to get an ottoman like that and I love your basket/filing system! AMAZING!!
Taming the paper monkey is never easy. Thanks for some great tips.
Great tips! I have issues with it too!
I am on your same program! I get rid of the mail as soon as it comes.. I finally got rid of my basket type tables full of toys..b/c my boys are getting so big now! I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can!
Such great tips! And I love the ottoman!
Great tips – we have a trashcan right by our mailbox which helps so much! junk mail doesn’t even come into the home!!
I think you have a great system that works for you. I’ve cancelled most of my magazine subscriptions, but I agree it’s hard when they’re so cheap. When I finish them, I take them to my former school so my friend can read them. Then she saves them for class projects. I hated throwing them away. I have an ottoman like yours but it’s filled with our granddaughter’s toys!
I just discovered your blog, and I love it. I also love that you use so many exclamation points!!! It makes each sentence jump off the screen and into my heart. You’re beautifully passionate!!!
I definitely need something like this. We fall victim to the overflowing pile of bill/insurance EOBs/magazines/junk/EVERYTHING in a wicker basket on our kitchen cabinet. Maayyybbeeee I’m heading over to craigslist.
Great post. Thanks for the tips.
I now use Pinterest to “save” my inspiration pages from magazines. I scan & upload them and toss the paper in recycling.
Pinterest is a great tool to “tame the paper monkey” & probably saved me from eventually dying among magazine piles in a “hoarder’s house”.
Tight squeeze to my magazine hoarder friend!!! I’m hearing many keep a bin by the door as they come in for mail trash…so smart! That would be a handy tip for keeping the car clean too! Hmm!!! Thanks for leaving me an inspiring sweet note!!!
XO, Aimee
I’ve never found anyone who understood my need to save magazine “inspiration” — until now!
I’m very grateful for Pinterest: now I tear out pages of interest & scan them to upload on pinterest — keeps my paper storage to a minimum. And I won’t end up with a “hoarder house” of magazines (I could easily end up that way – magazine love is my guilty secret).
tried to read Kim’s post about organizing, but couldn’t find it at that address. Please check the address and repost the correct one? Or is there a trick to finding it?
Mimi, I just went to look for Kim’s post, but it seems that she doesn’t have that post available on her blog anymore. Such a bummer! XO, Aimee