Paper, Paper Everywhere!
Of course we all know that de-cluttering is the first step towards a cleaner home, but it is difficult when more junk comes in the house every day. With two kids in school, I found that paper was one of the most common clutter offenders in my home. School papers and kids’ artwork, flyers, junk mail, bills, grocery lists and other random bits of paper covered my kitchen counters.
It was time to tackle the paper to create a clean house!
BUT, I wanted to make sure that I didn’t throw away anything important. AND, I wanted to have an organized place available to put all that important paper so that I didn’t just throw it back into the kitchen junk drawer just before the professional house cleaning crew arrives!
Some people swear by a three-ring binder with labeled tabs. This seemed inconvenient to me, because then I’d either have to hole punch everything, or, have enough plastic sleeves to stick everything into. Additionally, a lot of papers I want to stash, such as manuals or booklets, are thick, and would fill up a binder pretty quickly.
The solution I arrived at was to use file boxes. I inserted hanging file folders, and labelled each one with categories. I use two file boxes, so that I don’t have to over-stuff my files and make them hard to use. The categories I use are:
- Bank Statements
- House (a catch all for contracts for home services such as lawn care, warranties for major appliances, homeowners insurance info, mortgage info, etc.)
- Taxes (anything we’ll need for tax season, including important receipts)
- Recipes
- Manuals / Instructions / Warranties
- Contacts (with emergency contact information)
- Take-Out Menus
- Cars (including insurance info, titles and maintenance info)
I also have a file folder for each member of my family where I keep specific medical information, birth certificates, information for sports leagues, school registration information, etc.
So far, so good. I love having an organized place to put all my important papers. Everything else can go straight to the recycling bin and off the counters. This makes it easier for the Green Clean professional house cleaners to clean without having to navigate falling stacks of paper.
While I do get behind on filing from time to time, it is easy to stay motivated to keep it clean when I am able to easily access important information in a matter of minutes, rather than digging through random piles of stuff all over the house.
And, Kansas City, Overland Park, Olathe, and everyone else in Kansas, when you’re finished de-cluttering and need help scrubbing off the grime, please call Camille at (913) 207-8677 to schedule an appointment with our professional maid service.