I found a new website where I am posting some articles on decluttering. The site is called eHow.com. There are all kinds of articles on different subjects that can help you learn how to doing something.
Please check out my article, How to Divide and Conquer Paper Clutter. I plan on adding lots of articles in the near future and will let you know when I do.
Thanks
Janice
New Article on Paper Clutter Read More »
I wrote a tip newsletter today about coupon clutter. I am posting it here so you can see the system that I use. If you have another system or suggestions please let me know in the comment section.
Do you have an envelope or drawer full of coupons for groceries, restaurants, and other merchandise? Can you find the coupon you want when you need it? Coupons can save you a lot of money but only if you use them.
Coupons will become clutter very quickly unless you have a system set up to organize them. Here is a simple system I use. I have three different colored pocket folders and a small portable coupon caddy.
1. In the first folder I keep the current week’s grocery ads and local store ads I may want to shop at that week.
2. In the second folder I keep restaurant coupons and menus for our favorite places.
3. In the third folder I keep all the other coupons for the local stores such as Macy’s, Lowes, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. These are not the weekly ads but coupons I have received in the mail with longer expiration dates.
4. I file the grocery item coupons in the coupon caddy as soon as I cut them out. I relabeled the pockets to fit my needs.
To keep the coupons and ads current I purge the old ones from the first folder (grocery ads) on a weekly basis. The other folders and the coupon caddy usually get purged of expired coupons about once a month or when they start getting too full.
The above system is easy to use and maintain. Take a few minutes to set it up and save money with those coupons instead of letting them become clutter.
Janice
Do you have a file folder filled with cut out articles and/or recipes tucked away in a drawer or box? When was the last time you looked into this file folder?
Last night I continued my paper decluttering project for January. The files in my file drawer were getting so tight I could hardly fit another piece of paper in them. It was time to purge! After dinner I pulled out a couple of file folders from the back of the drawer. I sat down on the couch and while watching TV went through them.
The first file had a bunch of catalogs from a book club I no longer belong to. They weren’t too old but needed to be filed in the recycling bin. The other file folder had some recipes and articles I had cut out from magazines. After going through the recipes I only found one I wanted to try. The articles all seemed a little outdated. Since they were torn out of magazines some of the pages had the date of the issue on them. Do you think articles from 1992 are a little old?
That’s right. I have kept this file folder for over 16 years and didn’t bother to look at it. I guess those articles really weren’t so important to keep. I wonder how many other outdated articles are hiding in file folders. I think I will be pulling one folder out each night and decluttering them.
It felt real good last night to put those old papers into the recycling bin.
Janice
Paper Clutter to the Recycling Bin Read More »
Today is “Clean off Your Desk Day“. It is always easier to work at a clean desk than one that is cluttered up with papers, pens, coffee mugs, water bottles, and lots of other misc. items. As I am typing this I can see I have a little work to do with my desk. I will set a timer for 15 minutes and clean it up.
With January being “National Get Organized Month” I have decided it was time to go through my bookcases and declutter some books and notebooks. I don’t have any more room on the shelves so books and papers are starting to stack up on the floor. Time to reorganize.
I decided to add a new bookcase. I had room to move a small, three shelf one to another area and put a new five shelf one in its old place. This will give me more room to put the books and notebooks. Sometimes we have to change things to make them work more efficiently for us.
Once I get the new bookshelf built (hopefully by tonight) I will put everything on the shelves. It won’t be organized just yet but I will take care of that later. I will go through one shelf at a time and get rid of any books I don’t need. This way will be better than trying to tackle the whole mess at once. It’s too easy to get overwhelmed.
Time to go clean off my desk!
Janice
“Clean Off Your Desk Day” Read More »
Each year I put my receipts in a file folder I keep in my file cabinet. If I need the receipt for anything that is broken or I’m just curious how old something is I can look for it in the file.
By the end of the year all these receipts can take up way too much drawer space so it becomes necessary to declutter them. January is a good time to sit down and go through the file and clear it out. It’s easy to do while watching TV in the evenings. It feels so good to throw away all those small pieces of paper I don’t need anymore.
The question comes in as to which ones to keep and which can be thrown away or shredded. Last night as I went through the file I kept only the receipts of items that may be under warranty or I may need for business or tax purposes. Usually I file the business or tax receipts in their respective files but occasionally they get in the general receipt file. All those receipts for clothes, shoes, or misc. items that were put on the charge cards will be shredded unless they fit the categories above. I will keep the receipts for the items that are only a couple of months old. I can declutter them later in the year.
I have a few receipts that ended up in the general file that should be stapled or tape to the warranty or instruction sheet. I will need to take care of those. I have separate file folders for different types of items such as kitchen appliances, small electronics, computers, household appliances, etc. Keeping the receipts with corresponding papers makes it easy to know if it is still under warranty when something goes wrong.
I found this site that handles receipts a little differently than I do. Her way requires more discipline to handle the files monthly. I would probably not remember or find the time to do it that way. Everyone needs to find out what works best for them. So check out the site to see other ways of how to handle those multiplying receipts.
http://jdorganizer.blogspot.com/2008/06/how-to-handle-receipts-one-persons.html
Janice
Decluttering Receipts Read More »
