Guest post from Lisa of Warrior Mama and Organize 365:
I have always been an organized person. In college I typed and color-coded my notes for school. My 20’s were very organized and went just according to plan…
1994 – I graduated and started teaching
1995 – I got married
1996 – We purchased our first home
1997 – I started a home-based business on top of my full-time teaching career
1999 – I quit teaching and worked full-time from home
2000 – We had our first baby
2001 – We had another baby!
But by 2002, I was overwhelmed with babies, their medical needs, my booming home business, and LIFE!
Fast forward a decade.
Just as I find in many of the homes I organize, my paper was out of control even though there were good organizational systems underneath.
I would have never believed that one day I too would need organizational help. However, a decade of “pile it and file it” led to mini paper mountains everywhere.
Something had to change…
I started with old tax files and slowly purged through each paper area of my life: taxes, manuals, important documents, etc.
I made quick and steady progress until I hit the daily paper clutter — the coupons, bills and school notes on the kitchen counter, directories that seem to multiply overnight, school calendars, items you are saving to scrapbook someday, etc.
That daily paper is NOT clutter, but if you file it, you’ll forget it.
So what can you do?
It took me 6 months of refining my systems to come up with a solution that has worked for me and my clients.
My active papers are now divided in 3 places: a weekly basket, a counter top filing system, and a drawer filing system.
My new e-book, 10 Steps to Organized Paper, walks you step-by-step through tackling your past piles of archived paper, and guides you through a tailored active-paper organization sequence that will have your daily papers organized and OFF your kitchen counters… for good!
If you struggle with paper clutter and are dreading the end of the school year when ALL that additional paper clutter enters your home, don’t wait…
…download your copy today for only $5!
Lisa is a Cincinnati mom who blogs at Warrior Mama “Helping busy moms…Manage All Mama’s Assets”. Lisa also shares her organizational tips on her blog Organize365: Helping Busy Mama’s organize their busy lives.
24-HOUR GIVEAWAY!
This giveaway is now closed… the 5 winners will receive an email from me.
Today, FIVE lucky Simple Organized Living readers will win a copy of 10 Steps to Organized Paper.
How to Enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post. Where is your biggest pile of paper clutter?
If you are reading this in your email or feed reader, please visit the actual blog post to enter. Email entries, Facebook comments, and Twitter messages will NOT be counted.
Prizes:
(5) 10 Steps to Organized Paper eBook as described above
This giveaway ends at 9:00 am on Wednesday, 5/23/2012 and is open to US residents, 18 years or older. I will use And the Winner Is to select the winning comments at random. Winners will be notified by email and noted at the top of this post. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize or I will choose a new winner. Please see my full disclosure policy and contact me with any questions you have. Good luck!
Janis S says
I REALLY need this book. I have piles of paper clutter all over the house, on the kitchen island, my desk, living room table, on top of the file cabinet (which is filled) – bills, medical paperwork, newspapers. I try to file things away and put them in their proper place, but I don’t seem to be able to catch up.
Juliet L. says
My dining room table (which is our only eating table) and my kitchen counter collect the most paper. This book sounds wonderful!!
Cammy@Serentipity says
I’m struggling with paper clutter in my home office. I clear it; it comes back. Obviously, something isn’t working. 🙂
Blanca says
The kitchen is cluttered with paperwork, magazines, bills & kids schoolwork. It’s a mess. I need help.
Laura says
My beautiful new kitchen granite counter top that you cannot see sometimes because it is covered in paper that I need to “take care of soon” but not that very minute!
Sarah says
We have paper scattered throughout. A pile here a pile there……
Brooke W. says
My biggest piles of paper clutter are… (this is so bad, and VERY embarrassing!), but in our Master Bedroom, on my side of the bed (furthest from the door, so somewhat “hidden”) on the floor! Yes, paper piles on the floor… and organized in …. oh wait, they aren’t organized… just piled high.
My reasoning for the “Master Bedroom-my side of the bed- “hidden” “, is b/c if anyone walks by our bedroom door:
A. They can’t see it, unless they were to actually enter the disaster
B. Our two preschool age kiddos aren’t allowed beyond “Daddy’s” side of the bed, b/c it’s “all messy”… :/
Eeeeek! I need help… maybe a start would be going through each piece of paper… maybe…
Jenny C. says
Sounds crazy, but clutter piles up around the perimeter of the rooms – it’s from too many failed attempts to clear clutter off the table, etc. I would love to win!
Kim T. says
Most of my paper clutter starts on my kitchen counter, then some will get transferred to the desk and table. It gets out of control very easily and quickly!
Karen M. says
Most definitely my office! All mail, receipts, magazines, invoices, everything gets dumped there! I’ve been attempting to tackle the paper clutter and just purchased an awesome bookcase with cute file boxes – it’s a first step!
Krissy says
My kitchen counter catches all of the papers that come home from school at the end of the day, and mail that needs to be dealt with by someone in the family other than me. It all can pile up pretty quickly.
Shannon H says
My biggest paper piles are on my desk–they’ve completely taken over, I’d love to win!
Cherie says
We have a few bad spots – the table by the front door where we drop mail, keys, etc.; the dining room table; and my husband’s entire office (but at least I can close the door).
Shelly says
Our pile of paper grows on the counter in the kitchen and eventually moves to our office. In my business life I am an e-filing devotee and my desk is very neat and organized. Every January I vow to convert our personal paperwork to e-filing but have not yet been successful at making the conversion.
Melinda T says
My biggest pile of paper are those written or drawn by my girls and also my oldest’s school work! I can’t bare to throw it away, but know that I can’t keep them all either!
Rene' says
The kitchen counter is the major disaster area. But as that pile gets bigger, it moves to another counter pile, then to the kitchen table, then to a kitchen chair or two, sometimes into the pantry, and if company is coming, it goes to the floor of my closet or somewhere on the bedroom floor.
Pathetic, I know. This, I believe, is an extension of my unorganized brain.
Thrifty Military Mommy says
My desk is right there where the front door is. When you walk in the first thing you’ll see is my desk, which means that it is the catch all for mail and papers (among other things). It doesn’t take long (maybe a couple of days) before my paper clutter becomes a mountain of paper work and other things. Then it’ll take me hours to get it back under control. It’s an endless cycle of piled high paper work and then hours of fixing it. I’d love to have that ebook!!!
Diane H says
My kitchen table or my bed. My kitchen table is the repository as I walk in the door and drop everything and because I do everything upstairs in my bedroom, (read, work on my laptop, pay bills, soduko, etc.) when I’m ready to go to bed, everything gets moved to other side of my bed that I don’t sleep on.
Tammy says
I have out of control paper clutter that is transferred from a mess on the counter to a bigger mess into the office.
Dana says
My husbands “to be filed” pile for his business. He thinks that he has a system, but that pile just keeps on growing.
Monica says
Receipts and bank statements! Once it took me two YEARS to find the courage to face them. The receipts were all blank as they were printed in thermal paper. I had to throw it all away and forget about checking our bank account. As if having checked it after two years would matter…
Thanks and cheers!
Allison says
The kitchen table catches the daily pile of papers, but the pile on my desk is bigger, and it gets the remnants from the kitchen table when I clean that up. It’s waiting until I can find the time to organize it and I never seem to find that time.
Deb says
I would have to say I have two or three very big piles. My biggest pile would be on my kitchen countertop. It doesn’t take long for the clutter to end up on every counter, table and desk. I would love the extra help from the book
Crystal H says
My paper clutter is piled up in my bedroom where I can shut the door before company comes over 🙂
Renee says
My biggest clutter area of paper, is the kitchen it is where I keep the computer and I go through the bills. We are working on making a home office that should be done this summer so this would be a great way to start the office orgazied and keep it that way.
Renee says
I would love to win this. I am so unorganized, with papers, with everything to be honest with you. Right now we are doing renovations on our home, not major ones. But trying to make our home a better, warm, home for our family. We have two little girls ages 4 and 2 and a son due in August. Thank you for all your tips. They have helped our family more than I can explain.
Danielle says
My biggest paper clutter seems to be in either my classroom or my office at home. I’ve just started my teaching career on top of entering into a great (although time consuming) relationship.
I love organizing and can’t wait for summer to arrive so I can purge…we are having a garage sale this weekend and I’m cleaning out a lot of stuff…paper is next. We were also just gifted a great shredder by my grandma so I’m ready to shred and purge the paper!
The weekly coupons also get out of hand…and I’ve gotten a solution…just haven’t had time to implement it quite yet….I’ve got to get through the report cards and end of year chaos first!
Allison says
ugh! my hotspot is the bar in my kitchen. It has about 4 piles on it that are NEVER clear. I would love to figure out a good system so that the bar can be cleared -either to have nothing on it or have space for plants & beautiful things.
Tanya V. says
Sometimes my counters or where ever I lay it. After a while I just pick up the enitre pile and shove it some place.
It is terrible! I could really use help with paper organization.
Thank you for the opportunity to win this!
Monica says
My kitchen basket and my desk.
Trina W. says
My biggest areas are my desk and the kitchen bar! I usually move things from the bar to the desk and end up with a huge pile with no plan as to where it should go next.
Kathi says
Too many piles on the desk in my kitchen
Melissa B says
Paper, paper everywhere. Especially in the “to be filed” pile(s) and the “maybe will use this”
piles in the kitchen and near my desk. Would like to see what her book suggests, as I cannot take it much longer!
Julie R says
My desk stays a horrible mess.
Carmen says
My biggest “pile” would probably be old magazine articles and recipes I had hoped at one time to scan into the computer. Last year I went through and sorted one box and through out 98% of it.
Renee says
There are several spots throughout the house of paper clutter, but the kitchen counter seems to be where the biggest clutter is. It’s just too easy to walk in the door and set the papers down on the closest counter. The problem is that is gets left there and piles up.
Peitra says
My biggest paper clutter is in baskets- usually on the kitchen table!
Laurie says
My biggest pile of paper clutter is on my kitchen table which has become my to do box.
Lisa says
On my little kitchen desk, right between my phone and my computer.
Laura K says
My never-ending pile of paper clutter is the island in our kitchen. It would be so nice to clear it off and actually use the island for dinner prep!