A girlfriend of mine calls it "the most wonderful time of the year" -- and no, it's not the holidays! It's almost time to send the kids back to school! Which means an influx of paperwork flooding into our homes each day. What do you do with all the forms, flyers, pictures and various projects that make it to the kitchen counter? If you're anything like me, you create stacks that grow over time until they're an eyesore and your husband begs you to tame them! If that is the case, let me share with you some recent changes that have gone on in my home to clean the clutter:
One, said husband went out and bought me a square-shaped, plastic file box (about $9 from Wal-Mart), which you can easily decorate (another excuse to break out the crafting products) and takes up little space on your counter, desk or floor surface.
Two, I was offended at being called "messy" but quickly got over it and grabbed a marker to label the file folders the came inside the box. I've got three children, so each child got three distinct file areas: important paperwork, homework/tests, and projects. You can add other categories but these are great to start with.
Three, I tackled the stack! I devoted a small chunk of time to going through each piece and really keeping what papers were important and what special artwork I'd like to save for the kids (should they want to see their childhood artwork later in life) and what I want to keep for scrapbooking! And I am really proud of myself for letting go.
And I've pared down just in time for the new wave of documents and artwork coming home this school year. But now it won't end up in a stack (fingers crossed) and they'll get trimmed before they grow out of control. More on organizing photos and scrapbook supplies soon!
What a great idea! I may have to "borrow" it as we have the same problem. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete