Paper Monsters

I’m getting a good handle on most of the stuff that I’ve been sorting through. About half the items are toys or other assorted things of Emma’s which she doesn’t seem to miss- so those things will be easy to give away. And now that she’s 8, the toy clutter is waning and will be done altogether within a few years. So while I’m going to deal with those items, I don’t find toys to be the overwhelming issue they once were.

So while I’m going to be usher out a major clutter cause someday soon, I can’t say the same for paper clutter. Even though our world is becoming more paperless, I don’t think it’ll be gone for good soon. I’ve gotten rid of lots of paper since the beginning of the year. If I piled all the bundles I recycled, they’d be as taller than me. And this is very strange, but the fact that I’ve gotten rid of so much paper seems to make the remaining paper more prominent even though the opposite should be true.

night-office-shirt-mail

Photo credit: Pexels

Even though we’ve gotten good at quickly putting junk mail into the recycle box, it seems like papers find their way onto every flat surface in the house. School papers. Vet bills. Receipts. Lists from three weeks ago. User manuals. While I’ve been pretty proficient with going through papers and recycling them, the leftover papers which need to be filed are a problem. I always wonder about things like pay stubs so I end up referring back to this info.

Ironically, in my earlier, messier life I had a designated spot for owner’s manuals. The prior owners left us  the ones for the appliances, which almost made me forgive them for the hideous sponge paint and the large hidden crack in the living room wall. Since we moved in ten years ago, we’ve replaced every appliance except for the washing machine, so I got rid of the old manuals. But I have no idea where any of the current ones are. A few weeks ago we got a leaf blower as a gift and purchased a new lightweight vacuum, and both user guides keep popping up. I’ll put them with the ones for the appliances- when I find them.

My mom gave me a desktop scanner, which I haven’t set up yet because I have a small fear of gadgets. But I’ll do it soon because I think it will help, especially with receipts. Most of those go right into the trash but sometimes I need to keep them, but have no filing system.

I’m hoping to get some time this weekend to do some filing and scanning. Happy Halloween!

EmHalloween

My cute little witch.

 

 


10 Responses to Paper Monsters

  1. I used to keep the manuals. Now as long as I take a photo on my phone of the front cover of the manual (so I know the model number) I just google it! Everything is online. And -such a cute witch!!!

  2. We did this a couple months ago – Compiled our important papers and scanned away! They are now digitally stored and it’s easier to access them. Freed up a lot of space, too!

  3. We are similar to Katie. When we get a new appliance with a manual, we look up the manual online. We then save it to a spot on our computer (folder is named manuals). The physical copy is they recycled. If the manual is not online, we remove the other languages and either save hard copy or scan.

  4. I agree with the above comments. Taking a picture with your phone, or scanning them will free up so much space, and reduce so much clutter at the same time! It’s a win win ;)!

  5. I have a great filing system that has helped me so much and will pass it on to you and anyone else that can benefit from it. If you go to http://www.sortitout.net and click on her (Marsha Sims, owner and sweetheart of a person) system for filing papers. I think it is the best I have come across. Of course it is like anything else, you have to keep on top of her filing system or it tends to grow back…ha…but it is the best, give it a try, I’m sure you will find it very helpful as I did..Good luck with your paper journey.

  6. I’ve just read your journey to date up to this point and I really relate. I have been trying to do the same although you have been much more successful than I. I look forward to following along for the rest of your time here. Thank you for sharing with us. You’ve given me some much needed motivation!

  7. We keep a “house binder” which contains all info on the house, including blueprints, appliance manuals (after removing foreign language versions), paint colors, etc. It really comes in handy. Had one for our old house too. When we put it on the market, we had it sitting out for showings. I think the buyers really appreciated it.

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