Good afternoon readers! I am currently bedridden with the flu and haven't had much time for crafting or home organization, but I have had a lot of time to think about my projects and what still needs to be organized. With this is mind, I have decided to post a new weekly series with organizational tips that can easily be completed during the week or a few hours over the weekend. I will try to keep each week's tips focused on a different area in your home or craft space. This week I am focusing on paper cutter, this can be papers in your office or your catch all table in the entryway.
I don't know about you, but my family and I get a large amount of magazines, some we are subscribed to and others just seem to appear without asking, as well as catalogues, especially around the holidays and seasonal changes. I am not interested enough in each magazine or catalogue, nor do I have the time, to look through each magazine thoroughly, which means that the magazines end up stacking up places for a time when I do want to look at them. This wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have a constant stream of magazines and catalogues coming into my house, which is where tip #1 comes in: Choose a date each month and sort through all of your magazines and catalogues. Keep the pages you want, these can be organized in a binder, and recycle the rest. If you like to keep images for craft projects then take the time to cut images out of the magazines and store these images with your stickers and other embellishments. As for catalogues, if there is an item you wish to purchase or a style you like then I once again suggest clipping these images or pages and storing them away. For items you wish to purchase, but do not intend to purchase immediately, I suggest storing these pages or images in a dream book, again this can be binder, which you can reference later when you have the funds or space to purchase the item. I recommend recording the exact name, product number or ID, the catalogue, price, and date of publication for the ad for easier referencing later. For styles that you admire or might want to replicate organize these images in a look book, once again this can be a binder, that you can easily go back to and reference later. My only exception to this rule is pattern magazines, magazines where the entire magazine is necessary to keep. For these magazines I suggest storing separately, either with your printed patterns or in a magazine holder on your bookshelf.
Magazines and catalogues seem to be the most problematic source of paper clutter for me, but there are many other sources including junk mail, bills, account statements, and charity newsletters. Tip #2: Open and sort your mail every day. If you don't have the time then make a commitment to sort your mail once a week. For many people this is obvious, but for other people this is a daily challenge they face. I personally open my mail everyday, but I can relate to coming home and not wanting to open, let alone look at, my mail, especially when the mail is mainly bills or junk. I open my junk mail first, take out any paper with my information for the shred bag, and then toss the rest. Of course, I always recommend recycling unwanted paper. I open any bills next and file the papers in a desktop organizer, where I can easily access the information when it comes time for me to pay my bills. The same is done for account statements, except that I file these papers in a more permanent organizational system. I usually enjoy reading, or at least browsing, newsletters sent me by charities and so I have the option of reading the newsletters etc. then or I can choose to recycle the papers. If there is a donation I want to make then I file it away in the same desktop organizer where I filed my bills. Now, my greatest piece of advice is to switch to paperless options wherever you can. This has tremendously cut down the amount of papers I receive each day.
My final tip for cutting down paper clutter has to do with your shredding. Tip #3: Ditch the shred bag or pile and instead shred your papers as needed. Doing this everyday, assuming it is needed everyday, prevents unnecessary paper clutter and prevents unnecessary stress over a massive shred pile. It might take you time to get caught up on your shredding, but I promise you it is worth it. Not to mention spending a few minutes a day shredding is so much better for your health than hoarding the papers until you're overwhelmed. Bonus tip: If you have the resources then I suggest a mail station with storage on top for sorting and storage underneath for a shredder.
I hope these tips have proved helpful to you and if you want to see any pictures of my organization leave a comment below.
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