Another tip. Greeting cards that you hate to part with, stick it in a book and used for a bookmark. When you pick up that book, it will be nice to find that card.
Smart & sweet idea!! ... I highly dislike throwing them away. When they are just the right size i holepunch and use them for dividers in all my different planners.
Tfs .. i dont have a problem with important papers, my paper clutter comes from my notes to myself and lists of all kinds. THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! .. My biggest issue is i adore all types of paper, binders, planners, spiral notebooks, bound journaling books. I write in all of them then cant remember where i wrote down such & such.
That’s me I have notes and lists everywhere. Most of which are repeats. Just now started one book in which to maintain ALL my notes and to do’s and use Post-it’s as dividers and labels. My old notes have been gathered into one large folder. When I have time to go through and transfer those notes to my current book I will but so much of that which hasn’t been done over the last two years is likely not worth doing.
When I buy an appliance, I staple the receipt to the inside of the cover of the instruction book. Then all instruction books are kept in a document display book in the pantry. One book for kitchen gear, one for household/outdoors.
@@lisareed5669 i do not live in an urban area. I have limited (expensive) metered data allowance so it seems sensible to keep the copy that comes with the appliance.
It’s my nemesis too. I wish I had a file bin as small as hers. I have a small cabinet and a chest full of paper plus kids art and school work. I keep saying I will do it later and then I do other things and then it becomes a monster I hide from!😬
I found a useful way to get rid of paper cutter. Just put water in a bucket or your sink half way with water and a tiny amount of soap, place any documents in the water that you want to get rid of. Most of the writing will vanish. Squeeze & put in the trash.
For choice artwork, I use a three ring binder with top loading page protectors. I slip the artwork into the page protectors.... I sometimes have to trim down the pages.
Be sure to put the date (at least the year) and name on those sentimental items. You will be glad you did. You think you’ll remember but life interferes and we forget.
You are so right. Don't forget to do that on any photos, too. Does anyone keep physical photos anymore? More and more they are in my phone and downloaded into the computer. Don't forget to keep a list of passwords, so, they can be found, just in case.
OMGosh this is so true! .. recently my sister unloaded the dozen boxes of photos & albums on me from our Mothers side of family. . .then last week my stepkids sent me a couple of heavy boxes of photos i had to leave behind due to a family emergency. Now i have all these photos that have no name no date no location .. nothing nada .. so what do i do with them? ... If only i (and my Mom) had been more careful about recording all that 😪
My room clutter is clothes and paper clutter. Trying to finally get to the root of my organizational problem and find a routine and base organization layout that works for me.
Well done! Sounds like you had a satisfying anti procrastination day. I have a history of saving too many medical invoices and records, and then becoming too overwhelmed to make use of the information. In hindsight, I wish I had kept a simple log of dates, ailments, medications, treatments/therapies and surgeries. When I was in the middle of it, I thought I would never forget which year I had which knee replaced. At 62, it all blends together and it would be nice to have a medical highlights log I could print out every time I go see a new doctor. You are absolutely right about not duplicating information that is available on line. So often, the invoices I receive are out of date because the insurance company is reviewing the same bill at the same time. Comparing dates on piles of paper makes me cry. The only sane method of paying my balance is to look at the current status online. Easy peasy if I can pay online too. I like to keep paper investment documents so I can analyze fees vs. performance. I have not had an easy time locating the fee information online and I like to circle/highlight/hand-written-note paper versions. This winter i need to scan all my home improvement receipts for insurance purposes. So far. I have put every hardware store, furniture, appliance, artwork and contractor receipt in a bin so I do not miss anything. When it gets cold outside, I will set up an assembly line to scan everything all the paper. I will put the receipt scans, photographs and table adding costs on a jump drive to be put in my bank-vault-safety-deposit -box. Then I can take a printout of the table with me to the insurance company so I can prove a real replacement value to be insured. And, heaven forbid, if something happens to my home, the documents are safe at the bank and I will be able to recover enough insurance to rebuild and replace. My mother told me to keep original property tax receipts in the bank vault. My mother always distrusted government agencies. I also keep property titles (car and home), birth certificates and passports in the bank vault. I am undecided if I will scan old photos and download backups of my electronic pictures/videos for the bank vault. It seems like when tornado victims are interviewed, they always mention being able replace everything except their photos. BTW my heart goes out to all the fire-affected families in California. Wow, that was so much more than I intended when I started. I hope this keeps me accountable and I can celebrate her when I take all the replacement insurance documents to the secure shredder. I love this community! 🧺🧺🧺👍
YaY YOU, Steph! It's a process. I don't have trouble parting with paper but my beloved is SURE he will need whatever gets tossed. Sigh. You have to feel good about all the growth you have experienced since you started the FlyLady program! You brighten my days, girl! Thank you!
Agreed. I tried to do the same with my clutter, but I'm an utter failure. I'm sporadic & close the door to my rooms until I'm emotionally ready to cope. Some bring back too many painful recollections. I could be a minimalist & be very satisfied with the new me. Thanks for sharing your ideas. 🙂
First thing I let go of is an all-or-nothing approach. Then if I can force myself to declutter one item I can usually declutter 5 more without pain or resistance. I once heard Bette Middler describe this in an interview. She said if she could make herself get past the inertia of getting up and out of her chair, she could accomplish anything. On the other hand, the Fly Lady use of a timer reminds me to not let momentum burn out my enthusiasm so I won't avoid doing a little each day. Balance. 🧺🧺🧺👍
I really appreciate this. I never thought of going back through my filing cabinet. Plus I really appreciate that you stressed not decluttering other people's things.
Please guys don't get rid of study, work, career, stuff stuff. Eg Bank statements are not "all online"... Most banks only allow you to download the last 12mths of statements. If you want older stuff you have to contact the bank and request them, and pay a rediculous amount to get them... Just keep the stuff and file, box and put in your attic or basement... I have needed everything from the last 30years for my divorce (now age 48yrs)... Eg Stuff from college jobs 30 yrs ago.. Which they use to calculate your retirement funds which are part of divorce... And even if you aren't divorcing you will need it when you get to retirement age for the calculation!... If I had to try and find, and get copies of all this stuff... It would take months and cost huge amounts of money to get hold of it all.. So don't bin this stuff.. File and store it all out of main living space. I have all mine boxed in the attic. Look at "do it On a dime" you tube channel for kids stuff... She has great ideas... I thought I would make scrapbooks etc.. But with 2 kids, job, house and as a single mum.. It was unrealistic... Now I have done it like suggested on "do it on a dime"... Fantastic! All kids stuff now in order. Each kids has 1plastic box for objects eg.. Craft stuff and 2 plastic hang-file boxes which contain 20 hang files, one file per year age 0 to 20 (if needed). In one file box is also a clip folder with all their certificates. ... I put any pictures, special art work, invites, photos, cards etc in these files.. When they leave home they can take these 3 boxes.. And then decide themselves what thay want to keep... But it is ordered and only 3 boxes. I have a small box I throw the stuff in when it comes in the house and when that box is full.. I take it and sort it into their file boxes.
Good timing. I just pulled 3 bankers boxes out of the closet to look for a document and they are FULL of papers I don't need. I was just going to put them back but I guess now I have to go through them!
I'm convinced that when the lights go out, paper reproduces. How do I once again have an overflowing tray of paper on my desk??? The end of the year is a great time to get rid of my unnecessary paper. Thanks for the inspiration! xo
My mom kept nothing. I only have 1 or 2 pictures of myself. She just threw pictures in a box. She did not care about us at all. It makes me sad. When I graduated from high school, I won awards, and a scholarship. But my parents did not care and I could not go. Luckily I got to go to college later in life, and got another scholarship, which I got to use.
I would keep old insurance policies. Not sure about Canada but in Australia you have up to 7 years to make a claim. Eg we had changed providers for insurance and recently we have someone knock on our door to inspect our roof for hail. Our roof had hail damaged( can't see with the visible eye) . We had a major hail storm about 4 years ago and the insurance company is replacing our whole roof.
kids art suggestion..... get the app ArtKive saves a digital copy organized by year/grade etc. If I recall correctly ( my girls are teens now) you can even create a book eventually with those precious art memories. Also date and put kiddos age,future you will be grateful you did that, LOL
One of the things my mom did when we were kids is ask us to help decide which work to keep. The kiddos know what is important to them, usually based on how much work or heart they put into it. That helps steer you away from results-based rewards too... if you only seem to appreciate work that "looks" good, in the child's mind it could seem to invalidate the effort that goes into work that may not have come out quite so well. Hope that makes sense :)
I use a porta file for each year and just put a label with the year on it. So I put away things in their letter section, example insurance under I, mortgage under M, etc. Then when it's 8 years old I dump it and burn it all in the fire pit or a person could bring it I to shred. So this way I can find d things more easily if I need them and papers don't take over! For day to day I use a Sunday basket system that is featured on Organize365 with free podcasts explaining how to use it. For kids art I have a stack that I've saved of my favorites, but I really like the scrap book idea and might set that up too. Thanks for your great videos!
So glad to see you! Was just thinking about you earlier today! Glad you are doing well. Nice job on the paper. I finally figured out that I wasn’t a vertical filing person. I like flat stacks. So my new system that is perfect is using those 3 drawer sterilite storage bins. ( each tray fits a ream of paper). Incoming papers are sorted as soon as I hit the door in my drop zone. One drawer for things to keep for this tax year like medical /insurance bills, and expenses/receipts for my rental property that will be used on tax returns. One drawer is a “ needs action “ bin which is gone thru and cleared weekly. (Something to pay or an rsvp or reviewing my list of cards that need sent). I pay everything auto-deduct from my bank accounts and have all digital statements. Mostly just a random dentist or doctor bill who haven’t gone digital yet. I downloaded all statements to my pc once a year in December so I have them in the event I need to research things in future. All store ads and coupon things go into a drop bin that is cleared every couple of days. Coupons or flyers go into a clear plastic job pocket (9x12”) that goes to the car. I pretty much do errands and shop en route home from long commute so I always have with me. Some days I will take that into work to flip thru sales during my lunch hour. I unsubscribed from everything. No magazines. (Free now with amazon prime on my ipad). No big catalogs. I used to be so overwelmed w paper I was drowning in it. 3 rd drawer keeps special incoming cards or anything sweet that I want to refer back to. At end of year I parse out everything again and keep only key docs along w taxes in kraft envelope (9x12) and put the year in big letters. Sealed and stored flat in one plastic tote in garage. The 3 drawer bin is about 10” tall by 11” front to back and about 9” wide. Everything in place. Drawers easily remove so I can go thru them. I also have a major rule that no paper goes into kitchen or living room. And instead stays right in the entry way. I have a cabinet w a drop down front that I sit at to take care of mail. It has pens, paper, envelopes, stamps in small basket inside. Anything out going gets dropped into my “work bag” immediately. Finally happy camper about all the paper in my life. Online banking and digital age has definitely been my life preserver. Anyhoo take care! Thanks again! Hugs! Em
You inspire me! You are my favorite RU-vidr. I love your honesty, practical advice and bravery in showing “the before decluttering/fly lady”. My home goes through stages of good and bad depending on what life is hurtling at us (lately it’s been a $&@?!storm). It gets out of control then I get it back under control, but never for long. Part of the reason is that my husband and my 9yo are slobs. I wind up spending lots of time cleaning up after them in order to clean. It gets overwhelming and depressing and will sometimes cause my inner beast to rage out loud. I watched one of your videos yesterday and was overwhelmed with the state of my home, but you motivated me and I cleaned and felt so happy. I never seem to completely get the paper clutter under control and create a decent system for organizing the essentials. Even if I tackle it for 15 minutes a few times a week it’s got to improve!!!! Thank you!!!!
Being ruthless is key. I need to do this with my walk in closet. I have gone thru it within the last 6 months, and got rid of a lot, but I know I can do better. tfs 💗
I’ve heard of using kids’ artwork as wrapping paper during the holidays. I’d also recommend giving them framed as gifts, or handing them out at a nursing home for the elderly, or a children’s hospital.
I've been decluttering paper all day. I have filled 2 laundry baskets full of trash! All the rest of the paper is currently in little stacks on the floor, sorted by type such as financial, medical, etc. Now I will go through each stack and purge even more. I'm glad I stopped long enough to watch your video. Yes, I'm going to be ruthless! I want to conquer this problem once and for all! Thanks for the helpful advice!
I go through my mail daily. Junk, such as store flyers I recycle, they can be found online. Mail from companies trying to sell me things I shred (if my name and address is on it). Coupons I keep in a vertical folder, on the wall, which I try to go through weekly. This process has helped me cut down on my paper clutter. I feel less overwhelmed! Hello form Cleveland, Ohio!
I have 1 paper binder per person in my family. It starts with important documents like birth certificate, passport, then medical, then contracts like kindergarden. As soon as I get a new paper I flip througt a binder and take out what I don't need
Thank you!! This is the video I needed. I try to keep the house tidy but the one thing that always piles up is paper. I will get around to tackling it soon (hopefully)!
Love the scrap book I had them for my older three kids because they got one from school every year with all their drawings and big good projects through the year and had plenty of room for home creations too 🥰
Thank you so much. You have given me so much inspection being a secret slob myself. I've only been working on it for a couple of weeks and I can't already see a difference. ❤️
The kids art work... I used to lay out everything then either take photos or what I ended up finally doing was video it! Of course I did keep the ones that were extra special. Thanks for the great tips😊
Thank you for this video Steph! I hate paper - I feel like I'm drowning in it! I'm going to implement my papers into plan and pay day too! Appreciate you! ❤️
Be very aware of CCRA (Canada Customs snd Revenue Agency) requirements for keeping income tax information as well in the event they audit you. They need to see paid bills, house taxes etc. The requirement to keep paperwork was 7 years.... so not sure if that’s still the case! And if I’m wrong... I stand to be corrected! 😁
Thanks Auntie! Those were part of what I kept in my 'ask Jared about this pile'.. but I had some stuff from like 2007.. probably good to toss at this point, lol
I do something similar with my kids' art. I use a 3 inch binder and i plan on giving it to them when they have their own kids. Or keep it forever but let them look at it... They have their art, some school lessons, and some photos of their little trinkets and baby toys, and other baby "memorabilia."
My filing system is a diaper box one for each year I've got it down to a big wipes box now instead of a diaper box all the things for the year go in and I quarterly or monthly go through and toss any papers that we no longer need by the end of the year usually it all fits into one manila folder I put the date on and toss it on the Shelf no hanging files no sorting it just all goes in by the year
Wow, thank you so much for this vlog. I'm in the process now and I sometimes tend to get stuck. Thanks again. You have beautiful kitchen as well. Love the blue and white.
We're guilty of keeping old home or car insurance policies,😂 I'll be adding this to the list of paper declutter and setting some time every week to reduce.
My mom gave me a similar scrapbook of my artwork . I looked at all the drawings and put it back in the closet, never really looked at it again. It was nice but not important to me. I enjoyed later artwork a lot more (from when I was arounf 14-18 years) but also those ended up in the closet after some quick glances. I just wanted to get that out there, it's not always worth keeping for 20 years
Good point! I think at this point I am probably keeping it more for me than her, if she wants it great, but I won't feel bad if she tosses it. I feel the same way when my parents give me stuff they have saved for the past 25 years.
I was glad that I was a "hoarder" of papers when I got a serious bill from my hospital (where I also worked) about ten years after I had been injured on the job. I couldn't even remember what it was about and they were threatening to garnish my wages. Well I went through all the old Bill's and papers until I found that they were trying to charge me for treatment that should have been covered by workers comp. If I hadn't kept those old medical statements to show them I would have been stuck with a very large bill. That's why you're lucky you live in Canada. Thanks for the video.
Thank you for this! I just dug out years worth of paper documents and just started going through it. I’ve wanted to keep a box for each of my kids and that helped me to start that. And I had no idea that you didn’t have to keep old statements and bills so I just got rid of bills from 2011! I can’t wait to get my office organized!
I'm not sure if bills / papers from 10 years ago are online. But very few things from then are important. You may want to keep some. Yes, so great now that these things are online!!
I do all of this already and STILL have clutter. But then, I’m 70. We have 5 kids and 13 grands. And my husband is a pack rat. I told him your first rule, “Don’t deal with other ppls stuff.”
Great video Steph! So inspiring to me. I have paper clutter in every single room of my house... no exaggeration! Love the idea about the kids art work. I have a little artist too and I’m so attached to everything, but I totally see what you’re saying. Saving this to watch again before tackling my paper clutter.
I really like that scrapbook idea! I've been trying to figure out how to "do" all the artwork because I don't want to chuck everything but...yeah...there's a lot. 😂
Definitely love the e-bill option for basically all bills, including medical. And at the end of the year you can download your payment history at the end of the year. I dont keep any manuals. And of course important documents are kept in a fire and flood proof pouch. And it holds my real jewelry too.
I've been binge watching your videos and just want to say thanks. They are so well done. I'm just starting on my FlyLady journey so just getting systems in place. Thanks for all the help and tips!
Insurance agent here 🙋🏻♀️ and I can tell you why you should hold onto an old policy. I started in on a several paragraph lesson, but decided to keep it simple and say if you really want to know some whys, just ask. My suggestion is to keep a scan of the policy forever. It looked like what you were holding was the Declarations section only (not the whole policy), in which case keep a scan of each year’s Declarations pages with the policy coverage forms in the same place. If the actual coverage forms are long gone you can ask your agent for them. Need I also remind everyone that they should read their policies? I mean, no one ever actually does, but it’s certainly less stressful trying to understand the coverage you are buying when you don’t have a claim vs figuring it out when you do.
Thank you. I will use your advice after I do my home improvements scans and pictures so I can meet with my insurance agent. I will be renovating one last bathroom and I want to have adequate replacement insurance. Per your advice, I will add insurance policy scans to receipt and photo records on a jump drive to be stored on a bank vault deposit box. Thank you. ❤🧺❤
When I first bought my paper shredder my son would lose his ever loving mind when I tried to shred anything. Now that I am done shredding the backlog he things it is a hilarious thing to shove paper in there now... Supervised obviously.
So brave to do this on camera!! I have a ridiculous amount of paper clutter, even though I go through it relatively often (ummm, okay, once a year...) Thanks for sharing your tips, this was super helpful and more than a little amusing! I love finding silly things like that stereo receipt - why do we keep stuff like that for so long?!?
Haha thank you Pahla! I think we stuff those things away 'just in case' and then forget about them long after they are needed.. it happens, and loose papers are sneaky !
Thanks for the great job on your video! It motivated me to clean up my office. I had old receipts and statements I didn'''t need to look at anymore! They went Bye Bye !
My side dresser is my paper clutter drawer. I took it all out and I have to address it. I have 3 phone address books and most of the addresses are now obsolete. I have to update and condense everything. There's other stuff mixed in with it. I sometimes get unsure about what to keep and what to discard. Paper clutter is my least favorite task but I will take care of it.
Yeah... I tried throwing away my daughter’s artwork that I didn’t think was worth keeping. Children should have a choice in what to toss also. So, I tossed her paintings in the garbage and she happened to see them and she comes up to me and said, “ mom! How could you?! Look at all these, they are beautiful 😞😞☹️😭. Anyway I felt terrible, she puts them in a binder now and I have her toss which ever she doesn’t want anymore when it gets too crazy😅
I went thru paper clutter when we were moving, very easy, had a bon fire! Only issue is what to do and how to find paper clutter here in the new place? Basically no papers other than mail. I burnt everytjing!! All sentimental papers and files also. Mine was extremely upsetting as all stuff including school & dr papers from son left also. He passed away so I technically didnt need it but it had his name on papers
I have slowly made head away with my paper clutter.. 5 recycling bags later and I am still going.. Once I finish I don’t want to let it get out of order again..
Ok off topic and I know this video is old but I HAVE to know how you got the courage to do that tile in your kitchen. I love it. I admire you for doing it, I just can't get through the fear of doing something that dramatic. Damn girl it looks stunning. I want that kind of bravery in my life. Paint..yes, tile...no guts.
Ahh thank you :) My friend went to Columbia, and the photos of peoples houses were so bright and fun and colourful, and I knew I wanted some of that in my life! I don't do neutrals or beige, or greige or grey lol!
I've got some files I need to work on. They are stuffed full. 😳 Cute idea for your daughter’s artwork. I have a basket I keep artwork in and I need to go through it to keep my favorites or the ones the three of my grandchildren like the best. They have slowed down making me things.😥
Paper clutters always my nemesis but it’s because I have found I always get screwed either in court or with government when they decided I needed to prove I had my kids with receipts for sports, school reports etc they made me go back 16 years… and they kept doing it 😭 now anything involving the kids I just can’t part with because copies or scans aren’t even valid and they wanted not court orders but random receipts! Got our mpp involved and they still keep doing it so frustrating.
Be sure to shred financial papers! And any with personal info, due to potential for identity theft. Online info is not accessible indefinitely. Scan or keep papers that might be needed for tax proofs, investments, etc. Keep medical papers for 7 yrs for tax proofs. Record dates of medical conditions and procedures in your files for you to know for your medical history, and that of your family members. Write kids' names, year, age on their artwork. It's so hard (or impossible) to remember later.
Ugh paper clutter! I've gone through most of my old paper clutter. My biggest issue now is the new incoming. I've tried a few organizing systems. I start off strong but then all of a sudden it doesn't make it in the filing bin... My current system is putting everything that needs to be kept in a drawer. At the end of the year I file what's important and needs to be saved. Organize and keep all the monthly bills and toss what I didn't really need to save. It seems to work, except when I need to go back and find something before the year is up 😕 I would love a different system that I could follow through with. Maybe the key is getting rid of my monthly bills after they are paid... Not sure why I feel the need to hang on to them. We keep the last year and current year.
Sabrina Tabor I have the same problem. FlyLady Marla says we don’t need to keep the monthly bills. Most of mine are online now. It’s the daily paper that takes over!
@@lindad100 I want to go paperless but so worried I'm going to miss one! Also I feel like I actually read my bills and make sure everything is accurate when it's on paper. Really want to take the leap though!
My bff's husband keeps all of the monthly utility bills for SEVEN YEARS! She's tried to get him to stop, their office is overrun with piles of crap that should be disposed of, but he is adamant that they have to be kept. Once the payments have posted there's no need to keep them and it's easy to view them online, but nope, he's convinced the utility companies are going to audit him one day! Never in my life have I heard of someone being audited by the electric company! 😂
I put our tax forms, documents in a binder. As we enter the current year we automatically discard the docs from 6 years ago (have to keep past 6 yrs), works well as the binder doesn’t hold a lot. I have done memory books for my daughter using photo albums . Don’t keep manuals for items any more. ❤️🇨🇦
This video was very helpful for me...limit to your allotted time. Yes, that prevents overwhelm & clutter chaos. By the way, cute airplane mugs-which brand? Cute kitchen layout & colors.
I tried throwing out my daughters artwork and she saw them in the trash and she was in awe ! She said " mom! What are you doing? these are not trash ! Look at these, they're beautiful . How could you ?! " 😩😩I was like yes I know it's beautiful. So there that lol 😆
When I was a teen my saving solution was to change the empty tissue box into a “random paper box” OnLy problem is I’m going through that now. Need to make those scrapbook systems and quit holding unto receipts for too long!! Your trash pile was my old doodle school papers. I cut all the art out and collaged it.
