Paper, paper, paper. We all have it, but some of us keep it in piles on the desk, the countertop, the floor, and the kitchen table. Purging paper takes time and it can take a long time. Never fear, I’ll show you what to do.
This Half Hour Organizing Project is all about those piles of paper! Ready, set, go!
Today on the Hampton Roads Show I show you how to not only set up, but also organize a home office. I said it a few days ago and I said it again today, a pile is not a file system!
1.Use a dresser for storage or decorative containers that stack. Use as much vertical wall space as you can, especially is the space is small.
2. Hanging files work best; get a file cabinet or desk top containers.
Every office needs at least one hanging file area. Most need a 2-drawer filing cabinet.
3. Use 3 ring binders to organize different areas of business
4. Set up stations-
5. Make a place for every paper!
Originally posted as part of the Live Better Friday series, I was reminded these past few weeks that these principles and practices never get old and can never get talked about enough!
Today I wanna talk about paper. Did the feeling of doom just settle over you as you look at your stacks of mail and randomness? Fear not, a solution is near, but you may not like what I’m gonna say.
What I will share with you goes for both home and your business, especially if you work from home! Treat your home office like you would any office space. Just because you might work from home doesn’t mean you can wing it.
To start, you need to keep VERY FEW papers. This includes bills, receipts, articles, newspapers, magazines, & notes. And don’t even get me started on the kids papers. That’s a whole ‘nother topic! In our digital age, almost anything you need to look at can be pulled up from a website. Plus, with a home scanner you can scan your way into digital bliss. Scan it, file it, and throw the hard copy away!
So, what you do decide to keep, you need a place to put it. A pile is not a file system! If you want to keep papers, make a hanging file system and label each file with the topic. I think in broad categories, like insurance. In this file I will have insurance policies for the house, the car, the _______. If you like it teased out more specifically, fine, but don’t over complicate it and get all caught up in the labeling. Just create a file so you have a place to stick the paper.
I beg you to consider a digital file system and use something like the Neat Receipt scanner by the Neat Co. It can change your life. No lie. 
Ok, now go get some coffee and sit here for a while. I want to talk mail with you. I will not bore you the details of creating a mail system right now, but I want you to start dealing with the mail. What I mean by that is I want you to start OPENING the mail everyday, throwing junk out, and have a specific place you put your bills to pay and important papers you need.
Get yourself a shredder and a small trashcan. From today forward, when you get the mail, deal with it. If you don’t have time to deal with it today, then leave it in the mailbox. Getting the mail from the mailbox and putting it in a pile is complicating your life! Stop doing it. (just in case you’re wondering, yes, I am feeling a little Nanny 911 today. Some intervention needs to happen here!)
If you keep lots of papers it usually for one of two reasons: 1)You are afraid you can’t or won’t be able to find this information anywhere else ever again and therefore you MUST keep the paper! OR 2)You love information and it makes you feel safe and secure knowing that you have the information:) Either way, the papers will start to take on a life of their own and you will start drowning in them.
So today, I am asking you to take a look around and decide which pile to start tackling. What can you throw out right away? What changes can you make to start taming the paper beast? Don’t even make me come over and do it for you! You won’t like me for it!!
And just in case you needed a little guideline, here is an article (digital of course, and DO NOT print it off!!!!) on how long you should keep papers.
I’ve talked about being prepared for emergencies before in other posts, but this Half Hour Organizing Project happened when we recently cleaned out our garage and I realized that we did not have all of our hurricane supplies in one place. They were in various places throughout the garage and even the attic! Not great when the lights go out and a storm is barreling down on your home.
I live on the East Coast and while hurricane season doesn’t officially start until June 1st, I wanted to get my new hurricane and emergency container ready now. Hurricane Preparedness Week actually runs May 26th-June 1st, so hey, you’ll be ahead of the curve! Wherever you live, it’s a good idea to have a container with basic emergency storm supplies. Here is a quick list:
Flashlights and/or lanterns
Batteries
Landline phone (not cordless)
Candles and matches
Water
Shortwave radio
This is a reprise of a post from last year, but because I am speaking next week to a group of professional women on the topic of, “Can I Have it All?”, I’ve had the task of delegation on my mind.
Over the years of working, between working full-time to owning a business, I have learned to delegate those tasks that are not MY best and highest use of me. Yes, there are things and tasks that I do best and things and tasks that others do better than me. Those things, which I value the most and do the best, I cannot delegate. The rest, well, either it doesn’t get done or it gets done by someone else.
There is a great article this month in Working Mother magazine called Get Rid of Messy House Guilt. It really does give great advice, starting with the notion of letting the standard of perfection go. Amen sisters.
But I’d like to stir the pot a little with another notion…that of delegation. I have long spoken to women, especially those of us who work any measure outside the home, about delegating. This isn’t the same as giving your kids chores to do. That should be a no-brainier. They should have chores and they should get rewards for doing them. But sometimes when I ask my kids to do something extra, they will say “what do I get for doing that”? Excuse me? You get to live here. And eat. And sleep in a bed. That’s what you get.
Sorry, I digress. Back to delegation. Here are the questions I pose to every group of women when I am speaking with them about How to Get it All Done, housework being one of them.
1. What am I doing that other people could or should be doing?
2. What am I doing that is really a way to hide from doing the things I don’t like doing?
3. What am I doing that I know I need to STOP doing?
Who else could clean your house? Maybe you can’t afford a house cleaner, but think about how you can delegate some of it, or all of it. Swap, trade, barter?
What are you doing for the people in your house that they could really do themselves? What do you hate doing?
I share this story often. I loathe two things…1) pairing socks from the dryer and 2) shredding papers. One day a magic thought happened and I decided to pay my small people to do these tasks. $1 for pairing socks in a giant basket I put them in and $5 for shredding (they were about 9 when I started this). They were thrilled and guess what? I was relieved.
Sometimes you tinker around the house doing things to avoid the “elephant in the room” and sometimes we do it to use the excuse of “I’m so busy, I couldn’t possibly__________(fill in the blank)”.
Even though I really like to clean (I know, I’m a freak of nature), I pay a house cleaner to clean twice a month. She does a terrific surface job but I still need to vacuum, pick up, manage the kitchen everyday, etc. But I never have to worry if the bathrooms will get cleaned, if the sheets will get changed, if the furniture will ever get dusted. It’s worth every penny. I will stop eating out and color my own hair before I let her go. It’s worth it that much to me.
So, answer the questions above honestly and get back to me.
The number one question I still get is,“how long do I need to keep paperwork?” And recently, it’s getting asked more then ever! Even in this digital age folks are all up in arms about what’s important to keep and for how long to keep it. With almost every single document available to us online, either to print or view, I still see people keeping way too much paperwork.
Here’s what I know for sure-people (not you, of course) are keeping papers that they never look at again, but somehow keeping them feels like a soft warm blanket on a cold night. All safe and secure and cozy in knowing that they are there, “just in case.”
I did this Organize Your Life segment over a year ago on The Hampton Roads Show, but every single thing I said still applies. Please, from the bottom of my heart, get rid of the majority of your paperwork!
According to CreditCards.com and Consumer Reports, we need to keep very little paperwork. Here are a few guidelines and what you do keep & a tip about maintaining it.
Don’t Need to Keep or One Month Only:
Keep ONE year:
Keep 7 Years:
Keep Until Updated or Changed:
Never Toss:*
*all of these documents should be in a fire safe or safety deposit box
Tips to Maintain Paperwork!
Tin foil, plastic wrap, food storage bags…we all have them in our kitchen and they can be hard to organize and find a place to store them!
This Half Hour Organizing Project will give you some tips on how to organize them and make your kitchen user friendly! Be sure to check out all my Half Hour Projects here on the blog or on You Tube.
We have all things sitting around our home that we aren’t using or don’t know what to do with. This segment of Organize Your Life from 2011 shows you how to re-purpose 7 things you might already own and make them useful in organizing your home.
Before throwing something out, see how you might use it in a different way to keep the clutter controlled.
1. Cardboard paper towel tube-
· Pull cords through to organize multiple cords
· Dispense plastic bags through
· Filler for packing items to mail
2. Napkin Holder-
· Organize bills
3. Dish drying rack-
· Make a craft corral
· Homework area
· Fitness gear drying station
4. Wine bottle rack-
· Magazine holder
· Craft paper station
5. Muffin tray-
· Jewelry organizer
· Hold Desk supplies
· Buttons and other small things
6. CD jewel case-
· Hold a recipe while cooking
· Place card holder. Slip in a photo and/or name of each person and place at the dinner table
7. Plastic baggies-
· Endless uses to organize just about anything!
I have never done a Wordless Wednesday post, but since I have done so many different organizing projects lately, I thought it would be fun to just view to photos of them.
I {well, me and my team} have organized everything from whole houses to just a pantry over the last few weeks. These are real houses with real people living in them. Organizing is much more about function and systems then just making things look pretty. All these spaces put function first and beauty second, but most of the time those two co-exist!
Enjoy the photos!
Using under the bed for storage is a great solution for seasonal clothing, extra pillows and bedding, and other things that just need to be stored.
In this video I’ll show you how to use a soft sided under the bed storage container and a storage bag, both purchased at Walmart. These are great for fabrics because they are breathable and flexible. Use plastic containers for things like books, memorabilia, or toys.
Source: picmonkey.com via Amy on Pinterest
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