Good Morning! I think we should start by getting rid of clutter and getting a little more organized before we start on our design tips. You never know, I might just go back and forth.
First, lets start with de-cluttering. We will start with throwing 5 miscellaneous things away each day. Try to do this for a week straight. It may be a wrapper, a sticker, a pen cap, a bendaroo, a scrap of paper, it doesn't matter what you throw as long as you throw your 5 things each day for a week. Where you find your items to throw also varies. Maybe it is the garage, your kids room, your scrapbook room, your laundry room, or even your junk drawer. It doesn't matter where you find your 5 things, just find them. Just think, after 7 days you will have gotten 35 things out of your house!
If you are a list maker like I am, then put it right on your "to-do" list. #1 - throw 5 things. If you are really brave and depending on your situation, if you are a pack rat, if you have kids, if you are not a tidy person, whatever your situation may be, you could throw more than 5 things. I personnally do 15 things and I try to do it on a daily basis. Between 2 kids with wrappers, stickers, bendaroos, and beads, I usually have no problem finding 15 things. How many items you throw, is totally up to you. If you have problems with throwing things out, I suggest you start with 5. Like I said, if you have a daily "to-do" list write it on top as number one on your daily list.
Once you have thrown 5 things for 7 days straight, try finding 7 things for the next 7 days, if you are always picking up and throwing things away, everyday you will have less clutter than the day before.
Now, lets discuss the paper clutter! We have so much paper in our lives, for trying to go green, there sure is a lot of paper that is thrust upon us on a daily basis. Junk mail, regular mail, newspapers, flyers, school work, school art work, crafts, bills, invitations, you name it.
Because of the amount of paper that people come accross in their daily lives we have to start small or it can get overwhelming.
First, start by sorting your papers, including mail, into 3 smaller piles.
1 - Recycle/shred
2 - complete/paid/to be filed
3 -to be paid/needs attention
Once you have your piles;
Deal with pile #1 first. Either recycle or shred these items. Now they are out of your way. (hint: these could count as your five things in the de-cluttering exercise)
Next, pile #2 - spend just 15 minutes filing pile #2. You may not finish, but spending 15 minutes gives you the satisfaction of reducing your pile, and it is a short enough time period to not be overwhelmed.
Next, pile #3 - spend whatever time you need to, and take care of your bills, doctor appts, etc. What ever it is that is in this pile. Maybe you don't have enough time to complete them all, but just leave them right under your to do list. Then when you get a free minute, you will be reminded of them. You could be making a call while you unload the dishwasher. You could be making the bed while you are on hold with the phone company, etc. etc.
Spend just a few minutes, say 15 minutes, shreding or filing, every 3-4 days and your paper piles will remain at a manageable level. One thing I personally do is I open my mail right away. This makes me recycle the junk mail and I address any issues right away, if it is a #2 pile piece, it goes into my "to be filed" bin, which is in my office, I try to spend 20 - 30 minutes a week on my "to be filed bin" - that way it is always at a manageable level but it isn't in plain site on my kitchen counter. There might be kids stuff to keep, magazine articles to file, bill receipts, gas receipts, you name it. I put anything that needs to be filed away in my bin and I deal with it on a weekly basis. (by the way, I almost always have stuff in my bin, that is just the way it is!)
I would say, you have enough homework to do! Go ahead and get started with your decluttering and let me know how it goes.
We'll talk soon. Have a great Friday and a great rest of the weekend too. My family is celebrating my daughters 5th birthday tomorrow. So we will be busy busy this weekend. Have a good one.
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