taming paper clutter

What to keep, what to toss.....I'm drowning in paper clutter!! I save EVERYTHING!! It's this time of year, after all the holiday shopping, and all those receipts, that I feel the need to really sort through all the paperwork that has piled up and hasn't found a home.

A few years ago, I actually finally found the solution for filing all those receipts and important papers in one spot. Remember this......

This old bench is the forever home for all that pesky paperwork...plus, it's pretty and functional.

I found a drop-in filing system that fit inside perfectly........

There is even room to hold the paper shredder. I love, love, love that everything is now in one spot, no scouring the house looking for a receipt and no cluttered drawers and baskets full of unorganized papers.

But, while I had my long-term filing system in place, I needed something to keep my bill paying stuff, current receipts, and monthly budget in. I've been wanting a "command center" or mobile "bill paying station", something similar to ideas I had pinned. (picture sources for the following pics: Pinterest)










Seems simple enough, a basket or bin and some folders. So, last fall, I found the perfect holder at Target online for like $20 and bought some pretty Sugar Paper folders too, now I just needed to start sorting and filing.....fast forward 3 months later...and ta-da......my new bill paying/filing command center.......

I keep current paperwork, bills to-pay, and receipts from the past 1-2 months, which I'll later add to my filing bench. It also holds my planner (Sugar Paper) and calculator, pens, etc. I picked up those fun polka-dotted clothespins in the Target $$ spot. :O)

Paper clutter challenge ---- check!

My goal is to keep on top of my filing and only store receipts here or in the bench....you won't find a receipt anywhere else in my house (now maybe I'll be able to put my hands on them when I need something!!!).

top ten & pin it tuesday: saving $$

It's that time again....a new year....a fresh start at planning, organizing, getting healthy, and of course, getting your finances in order!

Here are 10 ways to save $$ in 2015:

One of my favorites is the 52 Week Money Challenge....here's how it works:

 

 

Week #1 = $1
 

Week #2 = $2

Week #3 = $3

.....and so on and so on until at the end of 52 weeks,

you will have saved $1378.

 

Some people suggest doing it in reverse, starting with the highest deposit amount of $52 and ending the year with $1.

 

Or you can break it down into equal monthly amounts:

 

Save this way with this 12 month challenge!

 

Of course, you can set your own personal goal to fit your budget too.

 

save money in a plastic bottle- makes it harder to "borrow" from!

the $5 savings plan....save EVERY $5 bill that comes into your possession this year.

a little Christmas cash

(July-December)

I like this idea too.....start with 1 penny on day 1 and end with $3.65 on day 365.

Savings=$667.95

 

 

An empty soda/water bottle filled with dimes=$100

 

Last year, I only got about half-way through the 52 week challenge, but hopefully this year, we'll save the entire amount.

 

I would like to try a couple more of these ideas and maybe make them designated funds {Christmas, Vacation, Emergency, etc.).

 

January just seems like the perfect time to get started!

So here goes.....let's start saving!!

 

52 Weeks of Organizing: Spice Cabinet

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #9:  Organize Your Spices
I have organized my spices time and time again. I've moved them to different cabinets, I've used a spice rack, a Lazy Susan....{I've always hated that word, I mean why Susan? why not Jane or Mary? I mean, of all the girls names (or boys names for that matter),  why does it have to be Susan that is lazy???}LOL. Anyhow, I've tried several ways to organize my spices and baking stuff, but they always end up a cluttered mess. I do like the cabinet I've kept them in for the past year or so, but I needed to come up with a better way to organize them.....that Lazy Susan just had to go! So, I pulled everything out of the cabinet and culled through it, tossing a few old bottles, and making a list of things I needed.

Then I remembered an idea I had seen on another blog or Pinterest maybe, keep the spice bottles in a bin that can be pulled out for easy access. I had already labeled the tops of the spice bottles {I found the perfect labels on ebay awhile back}, so this idea turned out great!

I added a shelf to the cabinet as well and began to put everything back in. I use the middle shelf for spices/baking products, the top shelf for plastic storage containers/lids, and the bottom shelf for wallet, checkbook, extra checks, cash/coins, and the 2 red crocks hold keys. Oh, and my container of mints!

That's much better......I'm getting organized, one project at a time!

52 Weeks of Organizing: Make-Up

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #8: Make-Up Organization
I'm cleaning and organizing the bathroom this week, and the thing that needed organizing the most was my make-up! I've always kept it in a big make-up bag, and it always frustrates me, having to dig through it all to find something. I also had so much make-up that I never use and some of which just needed tossing. I recently bought some new Mary Kay make-up, so I culled through everything yesterday and reorganized in a 3-drawer caddy that Mom gave me. I pulled out my handy-dandy label maker{I told you how much I love my label maker didn't I?}, and sorted by FACE/EYES/LIPS. I put it on a shelf nearby, so now I can access my make-up easily. Here are a few pictures of the process:

After I went through all of my make-up and stored it away neatly, I worked on the other products in the bathroom. I filled a bin with Peter & Nathan's stuff, and another bin with ziploc bags labeled Skin Care, Hands & Feet, Travel Size Items, etc., which will make finding things much easier. I'm slowly but surely getting things organized....one project at a time!

52 Weeks of Organizing: Teen Boy's Room

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #7: Teen Boy's Room
Moving on with the Spring cleaning, this week I'm working in Nathan's room. He keeps a pretty neat room, but oh boy, does his closet get cluttered! He is a HUGE sports fan, and has way too many jerseys, shoes, coats, hats, books, games, gadgets, cards, you name it, it's in his closet. The before picture looks awful....I guess it was worse than I thought:

you can't find anything in this messy closet!

I took everything out and began sorting. Before, I have kept all of his clothes in his closet, but I decided to free up some space and pack away his winter coats and shirts{in our nice, clean, organized attic}. This left plenty of room for his gazillion many jerseys and warm weather clothes. I took out his dresser, since he has 2 closet length shelves and a bookcase for bins to store everything right in his closet. I added the wire shelf dividers awhile back and they work great for stacking clothes by type. I even added labels!

the shelf just above the rod is divided into sections by wire dividers: b-ball shorts/pants, jeans, t-shirts, and misc. shirts

on one side of the closet hang all of his jerseys/nice shirts/sweatshirts

on the other side his bookcase holds socks/pj pants/underware/t-shirts/magazines/a bin full of cords, etc.
there are also hooks for backpacks, belts, and some sports gear

after: an organized closet!

There is higher shelf over top of the one holding clothes. It holds: books, a few storage boxes w/ keepsakes, football cards, and other less often used items. I'm trying to replace all of the mix matched bins throughout the house. I'll be picking up bins for Nathan's room or I just might order them from the containerstore.com

I really like this one room per week cleaning method that I've started this year. I don't feel the pressure to get it done on a deadline and I'm not as worn out from cleaning non-stop like I usually am. Once I complete Nathan's room, I'll have 3 super clean & organized rooms down......I love the feeling of knowing that I have a place for everything, that I can actually find something when I need it.

The funeral is today, so I've only got an hour or so to spare, but that's okay, I can get alot accomplished in an hour!  

52 Weeks of Organizing: Craft/ Scrapbook Supplies

LET'S GET ORGANIZED!!!
Week #6: Organizing craft/ scrapbook supplies

I'm really on a roll with this organizing thing. It may have a little to do with the fact that in 4 short weeks I'll be back to work....yikes!!!! so now I have a deadline to get it done. I'm cleaning a bit differently this Spring, and it seems to be working great. On Monday, I pick a designated room to work in the entire week. I may have a few hours to spare on some of the days, or may have only a few minutes on other days, either way, I spend some time in that room each day. I normally tear the entire house up as I try to clean a room. I am very poky, but thorough, so the house can look a wreck for weeks until the Spring cleaning is complete. Cleaning this way allows me to keep the rest of the house looking nice, and I'm able to fit in other life stuff as well, and the room I'm working in doesn't look like a bomb went off. This week I'm cleaning the craft room/office/den. Check out the posts I did last fall of the entire room re-do, it turned out great. I love this room! It is now my favorite place in the house!! I have kept it pretty clean and tidy through the winter months, but the dresser that holds my craft/scrapbook supplies had become a mess!!!!!!!!! With my supplies so unorganized, it has kept me from completing any scrapbook pages this winter {I know, I know...excuses, excuses!!}...Well, as of today, it has now been organized, so I guess I should get busy scrapping! Here is the dresser, pretty, yet functional:

Here are some before/after pictures:

 before: two of the smaller top drawers....junky! 

after: this one holds stickers-and they are filed according to category..awesome!

after: the drawer next to it holds ribbon, glue, binder rings, hole punch

before: the other two smaller top drawers before....again...messy!

after: this drawer holds my label maker {did I tell you how much I love my label maker?} and it also holds candles.
I'm sure I'll be buying lots of pillar candles for my seasonal mantels! The other small drawer is empty...for now!

before: this drawer was full of banner flags, stickers, notebooks, etc. I moved the flags to the storage cube in front of the sofa, and organized the rest of it.

before

after: the drawer now holds only seasonal items/stuff for craft projects. Notice the cute eggs I bought at Hobby Lobby...you'll see them soon!

before: a hodge-podge of stuff

after: scrapping supplies only

after: this drawer stayed the same, as did the one next to it: albums and totes only

after: this drawer now holds the glue gun, stapler, scissors, notebooks, binder supplies

before: my paper was a mess!

after: this drawer now holds scrap-pack paper, letters, borders, & embellishments

The dresser holds almost all of my craft/scrapbook supplies. I do keep my larger sheets of paper in the file binder shown below. I file by color and it makes finding the right paper for my pages much easier!

I keep the binder file in my newspaper basket along with a couple of my most recent 12x12 albums.

I often wonder why it takes me so long when it comes to getting organized. I love the feeling of knowing where everything is. I have so much catch up on, but at least now I can actually find things!!