Getting rid of the paper clutter

Clutter and organization. They are the two forces battling for our attention, our space and our time. Each wanted to be in control. Each fights the other. By stopping clutter before it even gets in the door, we can help organization win the epic struggle. The biggest player on the clutter team? Paper: junk mail, newspapers, fliers. Save a tree and check out these tips to ensure that organization wins. Every time.

1. Junk mail fills our mailboxes daily. Some estimates say over 15 pounds worth a month. That’s just crazy. If you are in a rush and just dump the mail in a pile on the table in the front hall or your kitchen counter, it can overtake you in a matter of days. Fight back. Take your mailbox back. Most fliers have contact phone numbers for people interested in advertising. Call them and request to be taken off the list. Leave a note for your mail carrier and ask then not to deliver the grocery fliers on your day.

2. Pay online. Set aside an evening to switch your accounts to online bill pay. You not only eliminate the paper bills coming in but also the need to send some of your own out. Plus, you save on that stamp each and every month.

3. Call your bank and any investment companies you use and request that they switch to paperless billing. It’s simple, really. They will just send you an email each month instead and you can access it online, at your leisure.

4. Cancel your newspaper service. This includes taking the time to call those freebie newspapers that end up under your bushes. If you don’t read them, cancel them.

5. While you’re outside, digging newspapers out of your begonias, tape a sign to your front door. Nothing too obnoxious, just a small, typed note that requests no fliers be left. Maybe “No Soliciting”. It really is nice not to have to grab all those pizza fliers off the front door and to no longer be interrupted by a nervous teen selling who-knows-what during the big game on Saturday.

6. Catalogs. Personally, I love them. Unfortunately, they add to the clutter in my mailbox, then they pile up on the kitchen counter until I move them to my office, where they sit, collecting dust. Forever. You can do one of two things. Contact catalogchoice.org and ask them to make it stop. One quick sign up and *poof*. No more junk. Or, if you cannot live without your catalog (who me?), try to take a nice 20 minute break and rip out all the pages that interest you. Set them in a folder, nice, neat and out of the way. Wait a week. Pull the folder out and look again. If you still love it, put it in a plastic sleeve and into a 3 ring binder to save for inspiration. If not, toss it. A few pages torn out is better than a bunch of glossy catalogs sliding around on your desk.

7. Magazines, while not technically junk mail, can definitely add to the clutter. You can invest in those storage sleeves from retailers like The Container Store, try the 3 ring binder technique above or you can cancel altogether. Did you know magazines can be delivered digitally? It’s a great excuse to buy that Kindle you’ve been eyeing, right?!

Organising the little things

Sometimes it is easier to start on a little project and then work your way around the room to get to the monster project. Or, maybe slowly work on bits and pieces of that monster project over time, breaking everything down into more manageable chunks. Manageable chunks are good. Overwhelmed homeowners are not.
The easiest way to do this is to take a small job and plan it to perfection. And, then actual implement it. Here are a few examples.





1. Spice cabinet or drawer: First of all, spices do not last that long, less than a year. If you can’t remember when you actually bought it or the last time you used it, toss it. Another test is the smell. If you can’t smell it, toss it. Clean out the drawer, especially the spilled vanilla. Try and group like spices together. Sweet ones, ones you use more frequently than others. Alphabetize it, if you want. Aaah! Doesn’t that feel better. Baby steps. You spent all of 10 minutes getting that drawer or cupboard to shine. Good job.

2. Another easy project should be your craft area. Obviously, this will be fun for you but separate out each “type” of craft paraphernalia and group together. All the pens in one spot, the markers in another and the scissors last. You could even get everything out that you need for your next project. In fact, if your project is scrapbooking, you need to get to work. The less time you wait to crop the better, Those stacks of pictures are only adding to your clutter and disorganization.

3. Those dog gone computer cords are always tangled and exposed to little hands. Head over to your favorite organizational store and get the right gear to tie up all those loose ends. You can separate cords behind the desk as well as label them for easy identification later on. You can also run a protective cover up or down the wall. You can even paint it to match your wall color, now that’s impressive.

4. Another great place to start small on your organizational journey is to pack up your child’s out of season clothes. Going through the drawers can bring back a lot of memories but take this opportunity to learn something about yourself. How fast can you sort, purge and pack? How fast can you get the next tub of saved clothes and sort for the wash and the new drawer space? Actually, pulling out all the items that our older children wore is always fun. You can pack away what is too small or out of season, or you can donate it to a friend or a shelter. They always appreciate the extra effort.

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What to clean if you only have 15 minutes

OK – Panic time. The fill-in-the-blank called and they will be knocking on your front door in 15 minutes from now.  You fix your hair, get the kids to wipe the chocolate off their faces and send them to straighten their rooms.

Then, you turn around to survey the damage in the rest of the house. Yikes! Like your mother always says, it looks a bomb has hit your home.

You’ve got approximately 14 minutes left. What do you attack first to get the most bang for your cleaning buck?

1. Pick stuff off the floor. It always makes such a difference to actually “see” the carpet. If you are lucky enough to have a dedicated playroom for the kids’ toys, close the door. Easy. If not, keep an extra laundry basket handy and just fill it up. Don’t bother sorting, just scoop up all the toys and “stuff” and move on. If your vacuum is easy to use, run it quickly. If it is a pain to find it and deal with the cord, forget about it.

2. Head into the kitchen. If you have piles of dirty dishes everywhere, you have two choices. You could try to load the dishwasher. It might, however, be easier to rinse everything quickly, fill the sink with soapy water and pile it all in. Don’t worry about actually washing them. Let your company think they interrupted you. Give the counters a once over with the sponge or a wipe so nothing sticky is left for your guests to discover. Done.

Cleaning made easy

3. Times ticking down. Run over to the bathroom. Nothing is more embarrassing than having someone ask to use your bathroom when you just know it is gross. Toss all the toys in the tub and close the curtain. Get everything off the counter and into a drawer. Grab a bleach wipe and wipe down the counter, the faucet, the sink and the toilet. Grab a wipe made just for mirrors and get that toothpaste spray that you have been purposely ignoring off the mirror. If you can, clean the toilet bowl as well. Be sure there is toilet paper.

4. Just a minute or two left. Straighten the cushions on the sofa. Toss the throws the way the magazine stylists do instead of having piling them up like a pillow. Corral all the stuff in the shoe pile and hang up the coats.

30 days to a cleaner home

That’s it. 

That’s all you’ve got time for but this little list should make everything more presentable. Whether you are a neat freak or on the messy side, we all have days where we get caught off-guard. It happens. The point to remember is that you only need to give the “illusion” of clean. No one is going to open your closets or drawers. No one is going to peak behind closed doors. At least, I hope not.

Get more tips like these in 30 Days to an Organized Home
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