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5 Tips to Organize Your Paper Clutter

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5 Tips to Organize Your Paper Clutter @ AVirtuousWoman.org

5 Tips to Organize Your Paper Clutter

Have you ever felt stuck when it comes to getting organized? Even more stuck when it comes to your paper piles? Using creative solutions will help you to create a shift in your thinking. Get creative with your organizing and you will see noticeable changes in your space. Make the decision to do something different using these five creative tips to help organize your paper clutter.

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1. Stop paper at the door. The best way to combat the problem of never ending paper flow is to keep them from creeping into your home or office. An example of this is to sort your mail right after you receive it. You may have to bring it inside to shred or recycle, but you could also create a small station right outside your door as you enter. This would work well if you have an attached garage. By placing a small trash/recycle can outside the door, you are eliminating your paper before you even enter, and are only bringing in what you need to keep and what needs to be shredded. If you have space for a shredder in the garage, you can place one there too.

This may sound extreme, but think of the frustration you have over the piles of papers that are brought into the house. By having a couple different places to easily catch the mail and incoming paper, the less you work have inside the home.

2. Use a timer. This can be any kind of timer whether it’s on your phone, the stove, an egg timer, or an hourglass. By using a timer and setting it for at least 10-minutes for each session, you will get a big chunk of sorting completed. It also is a short enough time period that you won’t feel overwhelmed. Make a game out of it like “beat the clock.” If you have children helping you to sort, they will love to make a game out of it too!

3. Have a set system for sorting. This can be for old papers and new papers. I recommend that you get a system in place for all the new papers and mail coming into the house first, and then tackle the existing piles. If you already have stopped your papers at the door and you are consistent, you are more than half way there! Now you need a system to not only sort what has stacked up in the past, but also decide where the papers will go for storage. Creating a simple system will ensure that you will stick with it. The more complicated, the less likely you will continue with the system you set in place.

4. Create beautiful homes for your papers. You may have a regular filing cabinet for papers that need to be stored long-term, like your taxes, doctor’s papers, and homeowner’s papers. But for items that you need easier access to on a regular basis, I recommend using a creative way to keep the papers handy but organized. Whether it’s decorative file folders, vertical stacking file slots, clever wall hanging pockets, or wall mounted file slots, you can create a great system that isn’t hidden and easily accessible for you to get your papers where they belong. For many placing papers in a big filing cabinet can mean “out of sight, out of mind.”

By having an alternative way to visibly store your papers in a beautiful way, will make it easier to keep your papers organized and your space pretty. Most of us love to be in an area that inspires us! Pinterest is a wonderful way to get creative ideas before you go out and shop for products. I always recommend brainstorming ideas first, shopping from items around your home, and then deciding if you need anything from a store.

5. Be consistent by having accountability! This is the only way that you will be able to stay on top of your paper. You know how you are best motivated and how you are awesome at procrastinating. With that in mind, what would keep you on track? Having a friend come over while you tackle your piles? Treating yourself after you complete a specific number of 10-minute sessions? One-way to help motivate and keep your space organized is to take “before and after” photos. I have seen clients hang up their “after” photos to remind them of the work they have done. Recycle day gets me motivated to get my papers out the door knowing the truck comes in the morning!

Be consistent with the paper sessions and schedule them when you know you have focus. Having a friend that needs the same support can help to keep the paper sessions consistent while holding each other accountable. Have fun with it!

By using these simple tips and applying them one at a time, you will see your piles become smaller and smaller. What is the first area you are going to tackle? Let us know below how awesome you are going to feel conquering your paper piles!

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Angela-head

Being a wife, mother, and business owner, Angela, The Unclutter Angel, knows how important it is to be organized in the home, especially when it comes to the kitchen and meal preparation.  Our lives can be busy between working and family activities. Being the “Kitchen Specialist”, Angela understands it is important to have solutions that are easy, economical, and healthy can make the heart of the home, the kitchen, a wonderful place to be. Angela has written a number of books on home organization with her new release on cabinet and closet organization. You can find her books on her Amazon author page. You can also find her here: Unclutter Angel | Pinterest | Instagram

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18 Comments

  1. I am a paper junkie, piles everywhere and trying to get a handle on it. I'm throwing out a whole box full this week of stuff I've saved - old calendars I thought I'd recycle, but haven't ... receipts, etc. Thanks for making this topic a little less overwhelming. Visiting from Create with Joy http://linorstore.com/aquamarine-march-birthstone/
  2. Stopping by via Nifty Thrifty Sunday. I myself needed to read this. I love paper and no matter how many electronic apps and computers I have, I still default to writing. However, this leaves me not only the normal paper of everyday life, but my created "paper" mess. Thanks for all the ideas. It is so easy to overwhelmed and procrastinate.
  3. Great advice! It can be so hard to keep paper organized.. it piles up so fast! It's about time to rework my system again, so I'll be referencing this for tips. Thanks for sharing!
  4. I love the idea of using a timer - this will definitely help me so not to feel so overwhelmed when trying to get through my paper clutter! Great suggestion. Stopping by from Lou Lou Girls Fabulous Party
  5. I was just reorganizing my paper and trying to tackle it and my biggest problem is dealing with it as it comes in the door. I usually just dump it in a pile and sort later. Great tips! Also pinned it for future reference. I found this post through Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop.
  6. Oh how I need these tips! Paper clutter has taken over my entire house. I love the timer idea. That would help me stay focused for a period without feeling so overwhelmed.
  7. Great post, I am working on organizing my office this weekend, so it was very timely. Paper clutter is one of the more difficult tasks for me. Thanks for the great tips. :)
  8. These are great tips for anyone trying to get all of their papers organized! I'm constantly battling the stack of papers in my office. I love your tip about creating beautiful homes for papers. I feel like if I have a really nice looking filing cabinet, I'm always more eager to get my papers filed away and keep them organized.
  9. I need to get a little more organized at my job. I have so many papers from clients that a lot of times, I forget to organize it. It is a little easier to store and organize the carbonless paper because the copy is always what I keep in the folder. I will have to look at getting a file cabinet so I don't have to worry about clutter.
  10. You are my saver Melissa. I have been facing issues related to paper clutter from long time. There has been times when these gave a nightmare. But these tips your provided, specifically the one related to hanging mail was definitely cherry on the cake. Thanks for sharing such beautiful articles. Please do keep sharing :)
  11. Great tip about not bringing the paper in , in the first place! When I stop by my recycle bin, on the way in with the mail, it's a sense of accomplishment to see how much I have dumped in that blue bin!

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