Paper Pileup

I was recently asked to do a post on papers. Oy, where do I begin? Papers truly are everywhere, from your bills, to old birthday cards, to the A+ history paper you wrote in 7th grade. So the question is: what kind of papers are we dealing with? Because depending on the paper predicament there will be different solutions. Due to my tendency for lengthy posts I am going to go ahead and split this paper palooza in half, based on category of papers. So let’s start with the papers we’re dealing with on a daily basis…

BILLS: This is the easiest kind of paper to get rid of. Do ‘em online! Nowadays everyone is obsessed with “going green” and doing bills online is one great way to join the trend. Some companies will even give you discounts if you do online bill pay to encourage less paper waste. Not only will you be doing something helpful for the environment, but you’ll also get rid of all the extra papers that are taking up space in your life. Done and done!

COUPONS AND RECEIPTS: These are also pretty easy to contain. Pick up a cute (or manly) coupon organizer, like this one pictured from Amazon and then you can sort out the coupons so they are easily accessible. Also, I always recommend using coupons as soon as you get them so that way you don’t shove them into your purse and then by the time you find them they are expired. Another thing I like to do is clip coupons to my fridge. That way they are in sight so I don’t forget I have them but they aren’t taking up space on my counters or drawers.

When it comes to receipts, if you know you aren’t going to return something, get rid of the receipt. There is no need to save it. For questionable items, or in case of breakage, file them away but don’t keep them for more than a couple of weeks. Again, you can buy a cheap small file folder and reserve a spot in a drawer for it. But make sure you clean it out every two weeks or so. My fave:

Stay tuned for part 2, plus more tricks and tips for containing paper piles!

Quick Tip #357

While visiting my latest obsession, The Container Store, the sales lady made an excellent comment to me that I felt should go into this blog. As I was checking out I said, “I came in for one thing, and I am leaving with half the store!” She replied with a smile and the reminder to finish one project before I begin another. “It’s easy to just keep buying things, but you will feel so much better once you use what you bought to complete a task. Then you can reward yourself, with say, a cookie and be ready to go onto the next one.”

While the idea of rewarding myself with a cookie was not so appealing (what am I five?), I did like her one thing at a time approach. It seems pretty obvious and yet I found myself reflecting on my own apartment, cluttered with items I have bought to “get organized” that are instead collecting dust. Right then and there I resolved to pick a project and finish it this weekend. 

So my advice to you, fellow organizers, is this mantra: One step at a time. Try not to get overwhelmed by all the different tasks you have to do. Instead pick one, follow it through until completion and then give yourself a pat on the back. Or, if you prefer, a cookie.

Drawer Disorder

When I met my boyfriend this morning I was greeted with, “So, there’s a bunch of stuff I need you to do in my apartment today.”  While my first thought was “well hello to you too” and then “oh man and here I had planned to spend the day doing my own apartment projects” I took another look at his how-can-you-resist-me-smile and puppy-dog eyes and figured, oh what the heck! “Plus,” he added happily, “It can go in your blog!” 

Walking into his kitchen I knew immediately what the project would be. The Silverware Drawer. It was a disaster. He had the right equipment (divided tray), but he wasn’t actually using it. You can have all the right pieces, but if you aint putting them together, it won’t do you a lot of good.

So the first step, as all first steps go, was to empty the drawer.  After that we sorted all the different implements into various piles and I had him go through which items he actually used. We were able to get rid of a couple of things (a really rusty can opener, an old wine corker) and also found that some things in the drawer really belonged elsewhere (an apple corer and a trivet). The next step (as always) was to clean out the drawer, along with the silverware tray. 

Now we were faced with an empty drawer, a cleaned out silverware tray, and a variety of utensils that needed a home. 

After placing what we could back in the tray (without overcrowding!), we still had a bunch of items that were homeless. I suggested checking out The Container Store for some extra drawer organizers. He decided on the bamboo design and voila- his serving spoons, baking utensils, and other various instruments now have a pretty place to live!

The key with kitchen drawers is not overstuffing. You want to be able to easily get to items when you need them and then be able to actually close the drawer once you’ve gotten what was needed. It is also important to keep like utensils together; for example, having a section for your wooden spoons that are used for baking, and then another container for serving pieces. If you are so lucky as to have more than one drawer in the kitchen, group the silverware in one, baking utensils in another, and the miscellaneous kitchen tools (does anyone really use a garlic mincer??) in a third location. This makes it easier when cooking to know where to go, plus grouping like items together means fewer trips to different places within the kitchen. 

One more tip about drawers- liners give the space a nice fresh finish. Plus they are easier to clean and if they get really gross you can always replace them. Container Store even sells scented liners which add a cool touch (or smell, rather!).