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!
barbara says
My desk is my paper clutter catcher…
Rebecca Markley says
my counter….and then someone helps me clean it up and ….ack! where did they go? If I PUT papers somewhere, I totally lose track of them. HELP!
Beatriz says
I have a room that I once attempted to convert into an office/exercise room. I say attempted because it morphed into a catch-all for the whole house! I find it so stressful to even walk by the room because I hear the room calling to be organized once more! I definitely need help!
Lynne says
My biggest pile is a stack of financial statements in my office. I have stacks of paper everywhere though – all categorized! hahaha – recipies, parenting tips, crafts for my kid, professional articles….you get the picture!
Stephanie says
On my desks – both at work and home. I don’t seem to be able to stay on top of either!
Nancy Presley says
I need help with paper clutter. My biggest pile is in my third room – consumes the whole room. We have lived in our house for 15 years and I can’t use the room due to a BIG PILE OF PAPERS. My husband and son have both said the room will never be used due to the papers. I really need help. Thanks!!!
Leone says
My biggest pile of clutter is our monthly bill/mail pile perched on our cute little desk near the kitchen. So sad.
Hayden Davis says
my biggest pile of paper clutter is in my bedroom beside my desk/office space area…bills, mail, letters from my daughters school, etc etc.
Grace says
The biggest visible pile is sitting on the floor next to my desk. I have several boxes filled with papers stuffed in my closet.
Tammy N says
The kitchen counter!
Melissa Qualls says
My piles of paper are on any horizontal surface available! Help!!!!!!!
Tricia Andersen says
The worst that never goes away for more than a few hours is my counter top in my office area. But there is also one on the kitchen counter, one on top of the microwave, one on the dinning room hutch, and one on my desk in my bedroom yes they are everywhere. This would be great.
Amie says
My kitchen counters and kitchen table. I can never keep it under control!
Alix says
In a giant pile on the kitchen counter. I’m just horrible!
Angie Duncan says
My kitchen. It’s the mail!
Joanna De Leon says
My computer desk has the biggest pile of paper!
Beth says
My office is the paper collection center!
Chris says
Any horizontal, bare space is, sadly, fair game!
Jan says
On the “as-you”, which is the ledge to our lower level. (as you go down, take something along)
Hana says
Definitely the desk! So many things just end up there, meaning to be filed, but they just get stacked and re-stacked.
Mary says
extra table
Chris Hollman says
Kitchen ‘desk’ buried – I thought about removing the desk – but if it wasn’t dumped there it would be somewhere else!
Michelle says
The kitchen island, and anywhere I have couponing going on. I can’t seem to stay on top of the couponing paper….
Sheryl says
There are so many piles I can’t count. And how do I know when it’s old enough to pitch? Taxes, old insurance papers, etc. I never know when to shred!
KT says
oh, if only there were only 1! On the kitchen table, on the living room dresser, ON TOP of our filing box specifically deigned to hold all our important papers………is there any hope for us..?!
Melissa Q says
WHERE is mine? Well, it’s right here beside me… on the desk next to my laptop.
AND it’s in the drawer right below me… the top drawer of that desk
AND it’s on top of the printer… that’s next to the desk
AND…. (you get the idea)
Tricia B says
I have a drawer in my desk and when it is full, I need to deal with it.
Anne says
Kitchen! – try as I might (daily!!!) it still appears and reappears and lingers…….agh!
tricia says
Our biggest pile is on top of the dishwasher. It’s a portable, so the entire pile of paper clutter moves over to the sink every night while the dishes wash and then back in the corner the next morning!
Stephanie says
my home office…that’s where i put ALL our paper clutter!!! yuck!
Thia May says
I’m a FB fan of yours. My biggest clutter of papers is in two places – on top of my hard drive (that computer is where I pay bills) and on top of my desk. I’m getting better, but I’m not there yet. I finally shredded tax statements from 2001. Because apparently I need 11 year old paperwork. NOT! I’m still working out my filing system and trying to be green (getting online bills instead of paper ones, going to websites to opt out of catalogs from companies that I will never purchase stuff from, etc.), but there are those papers that I do need to keep. What to do? Still working that out.
Rebecca says
My worst paper clutter is all of the papers that come home from school on a daily basis. Be it teacher’s notes, art projects and graded assignments, they seem to take over. The mundane papers I throw away, but the special projects that I want to keep just end up in a random box. I want to save them for my children, but don’t have a better place to put them. They are all too big to be put in a scrapbook (of which I am NOT gifted in). My M-I-L also needs help BADLY. She has a paper trail that spans DECADES. For some reason, she can’t seem to part with old tax forms, receipts and such. We are moving into a new home soon and I want to be able to start fresh.
Sherry says
My home office!
Tina says
I have two spots: on the floor next to the couch and on my desk. They never seem to disappear.
Ann says
KITCHEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Amy says
My desk is DEFINITELY my biggest problem area!
Nancy says
My biggest piles of paper clutter are in the boxes where I’ve stashed them to deal with later. But the boxes are starting to pile up … I could use the help of a good system.
Amanda says
My biggest paper disaster is def our home office! old bills in a pile to be shredded, files of old taxes, other papers that just need to be filed or pitched!
Michelle H. says
Definitely on my counter! Especially now that I have one in school, I have more paper piles than ever!
Georgette says
Our mail (we get so much between junk mail, bills, medical etc…)ends up on the counter, I have been trying to go through it as soon as we get it and because we don’t have a Filing Cabinet(yet) we seperate the paperwork into clear plastic bags and write on Masking tape what is in that bag. We have boxes of mail for that filing cabinet when we do get one
Thank-You for all your advice on here.
Hope you have a Great Day!:)