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Blog: Home Sweet Home!
 Magazines, Menus & Mail, OH MY!
Why do we allow these paper items to clog the energy in our homes? Put your foot down in 2008 and protest the paper war once and for all. How do you ask? Let's learn to LET IT GO!
Magazines ... stop holding on to outdated issues from 1998 - yes I know there are many of you out there with some laying around somewhere. Actually, start the New Year with a nice empty magazine rack or basket just for current 2008 issues only. Anything from last year or years before, put them in a recycle box. If you have time, quickly flip through the old issues and tear out articles you want to keep that you never had time to read. If you don't have time, acknowledge that your life is too busy for magazines and put them on the recycle curb. Some folks want to donate magazines to senior centers or libraries but to be honest, why would they really want your old outdated clutter too.
Menus ... takeout menus do NOT belong crammed in the kitchen junk drawers. Any kind of paper in general should NOT be stored flat in a drawer. Ideally, paper should be kept upright in a filing system for easy retrieval. You can either get a stand-up magazine container for menus and place in a kitchen corner on your countertop or inside the pantry, or a magnetic holder on the side of the fridge. You can also make a hanging file for menus in your file cabinet. Make sure you only have ONE of each menu. Everytime you place another takeout order, I promise you will get another one. Keep the nice clean copy that doesn't have spaghetti sauce all over it.
Mail ... just like brushing teeth everyday, get in the habit of sorting and purging your mail daily. It takes half the time and visual stress to do it daily rather than waiting for the weekend to tackle a mound of paper. Mail really only has 3 options ... garbage, file or take action. The junk mail and sales ads usually go to the "garbage" after you QUICKLY skim it for emergency coupons. Things to "file" are items like bank statements, medical statements, report cards or anything else that you need to keep for a while with no immediate action related to it. The "take action" items are bills to be paid, follow up calls to be made, things to buy, etc. These things need to stay in view in a designated area on your desk or kitchen corner where you will sit down and address the list of to do's.
If you struggle to decide what to do with paper, ask yourself ... Do I REALLY need to keep this? Can I find it again on the internet if I need it later? When will I ever get the time to actually go to this store? Is this coupon making me buy something I wouldn't normally use? Be open and honest with yourself. The biggest thing to remember is ... LESS IS MORE! You will get more done when there is less visual paper distraction taking over your home. Now go forth and schedule your next paper purge party :)
posted on: 1/12/2008 10:00:00 AM by Lauriann Davies Stepp
category: Homes
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Home Sweet Home!
by Lauriann Davies Stepp
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About Lauriann:
Lauriann Davies Stepp has been Atlanta's Clutterologist since 2001. She offers home and office professional organizing services to help her clients bring back the balance and harmony in their lives using Feng Shui basics.
Lauriann's Website:
www.CLUTTEROLOGIST.com
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1-877-251-8435
www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
