The focus this week for
Project Simplify over at
Simple Mom was paper clutter. And, oh boy do I have a lot of that! It's definitely my biggest organizational challenge. I took Tsh's suggestion to amalgamate all my papers into one box. Well...um...all of my papers didn't quite fit into this one very large basket that you see here and that's why the overflow is in the black milk crate beside it. Here is the before shot:
I feel like I've been striving towards greater organization in this area for a very long time. And, I've definitely come a long way, gradually, over the last ten years. But still...as I was going through my very large backlog of paper this week, I realized that it was usually times of transition or change (birth of a baby, a renovation, a move) that really caused the paper to accumulate alarmingly. Going through this paper pile made me feel like I was excavating part of my life. Photos, memorabilia (letters, cards), old planners, journals, receipts, bank statements, old calendars, manuals....you name it, it was there.
Anyway, I'm quite motivated to continue to streamline the paper in our house as much as possible. And, while I wasn't able to fully complete all of the paper processing this week, I was able to cull that large paper pile above into a much more manageable "to act" pile that you see below as my "after" shot.
Also, here is a photo of my desk with my current inbox papers:
My most important reason to continue to streamline household papers? To be able to have more time with my family, more time for myself and more time creating (especially sewing). I'm looking forward to it!
