Is paper clutter getting you down?

Even in the most tidy and organised of homes I visit in my day to day life as The Clutter Fairy there is one thing that always causes problems and that is paper. It flows through the door of our homes via the postman, school bags, newspapers, fliers or in work bags. And where does it find its home? In the hallway, kitchen surfaces, bedroom, living room – in short, lots of places where it is never going to be dealt with and leaves you with lots of clutter, depressing you each time you see it building up and up.

The key to paperwork is dealing with it initially as soon as it comes through the door and then revisiting it on a regular basis.

So, pick that post up from behind the door, get your recycling bin at the ready and get rid of:

•  Adverts and mailings trying to sell you stuff . It’s never hard to find info about things to buy!

•  Envelopes – the reason for keeping them is?

•  Terms and conditions that you are very unlikely to ever read. They send them because they have to not because they think customers will read them.

•  Duplicate bank/credit card statements from a joint account. Better still – opt into paperless billing online.

•   Letters that are for info only. Read the info, put any dates into your diary.

•   Charity requests (unless you know you regularly increase your donations)

•   Take away menus from any take-aways you never have and never will use.

•   Any info that is duplicated online.

I could go on and on but you get the gist by now.

You will have got rid of at least 75% of the paper and everything that is left is needed until actioned or filed.

Put what remains into your intray in your office/study/kitchen. It doesn’t matter where it is as long as it is where you deal with your paperwork.

Try to deal with paperwork once a week.

Go through your intray, action first, shred second, file third.

For most people who cite paper as their worst clutter nightmare, it is more about changing habits than anything else.

Good luck!

Don’t leave it till January. Why November is the best time to declutter.

The New Year is the busiest time of year for Professional organisers and generally when people choose to declutter their homes. Obviously, I’m not going to be able to change the New Years resolutions habits that have existed for centuries. But why not declutter now rather than wait till January? I think it’s the perfect time of year to do it.

But why?

– The festive season with all its celebrations is a time when we are most likely to have guests in our home. What better time than now to have a home you can be proud of?

– For your guests, you will probably need your spare room to stay over. Isn’t that the one where all the clutter finds a resting place? Get it sorted and let your guests be impressed.

– There is a serious influx of ‘stuff’ into the house at Christmas. If you have your sort out before Christmas there’s a chance it will have somewhere to be put away. A place for everything and everything in its place.

– By decluttering in November you will get a chance to find things you didn’t know you had eg. boxed Christmas cards, wrapping paper, gifts you can recycle or give to Christmas appeals. Use up your clutter and save some money.

– If you declutter your wardrobe now  you will probably find a party dress that will be perfect for December without having to go out and buy a new one. We wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. That party dress falls into the other 20% category.

– When you find all those Christmas presents you were given last year that haven’t seen the light of day, it might make you think about the types of gifts you are giving and whether they will be welcomed.

So, rather than go out and do your Christmas shopping this weekend, have a sort out so you know what you’ve got and what you need. Make your home clutter free, save yourself time, money, make space and have a home you can be proud of.