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Post by breakingfree on Sept 17, 2009 7:46:24 GMT -5
Thanks for the excellent post. Paper is my personal hell too. I have gotten much better about dealing with mail as it comes in, but darn it, I STILL find mail that is 3 or 4 years old in the oddest places. Like a briefcase. Or a bag in my closet. It has become a running joke in our household. Sometimes I think little mischievious faeries are playing jokes on me! And I don't even want to talk about receipts in my purse... BF
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Post by paperpiler on Sept 17, 2009 9:01:44 GMT -5
And I don't even want to talk about receipts in my purse... BF Those got on my last nerve. I now keep a quart size Ziploc bag on the counter, and throw all the receipts in there for a short while until I can get to them to see what I need to do with them (save if it was a purchase where I might need it, log into checkbook, etc.) They're all in one place to deal with, yet not in my permanent manila envelope that holds receipts I've already decided to keep.
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Post by zen on Sept 17, 2009 19:25:01 GMT -5
haha I love the "paper is my personal hell" quote - after reading this thread I am going straight to my shredder to start shredding! I have a good tip for recipes - there is a great company called Blurb, where you can make books of your saved recipes. You can even make a book out of your blog or anything else you wish. I have used them to make portfolios for myself (I am a painter) and books of my own compiled writings. The books are are well made, easy to make are a great idea for keeping bits of ephemera collected in one spot. I made a recipe book with all of my favorites from Cooking Light, my grandma's recipes, and I was able to ditch a whole slew of crumply paper that I had been toting around with me for ages. www.blurb.com
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Post by breakingfree on Sept 18, 2009 9:48:50 GMT -5
And I don't even want to talk about receipts in my purse... BF Those got on my last nerve. I now keep a quart size Ziploc bag on the counter, and throw all the receipts in there for a short while until I can get to them to see what I need to do with them (save if it was a purchase where I might need it, log into checkbook, etc.) They're all in one place to deal with, yet not in my permanent manila envelope that holds receipts I've already decided to keep. Thanks paperpiler! This is an excellent idea and I have started doing this and it does help. Thanks again, BF
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Post by zen on Sept 18, 2009 11:30:51 GMT -5
last night I went right to the shredder and started tackling the mountains of old papers and old bills that were stacked, ready for shredding that I have been avoiding for what must be at least nine months according to the dates on paperwork. I must have cleaned out some drawers a long time ago as well, as there was stuff going back to the late 90's. I worked for an hour and a half and made a good dent. yay for me This morning I tackled a horrible drawer in a filing cabinet downstairs - packed with all sorts of jumbled things, office supplies, old memories, etc. and I am trying right now just to get like items with like items - its too overwhelming to try and sort with the intention of letting go right now - I would like to do the only handle it once thing, but even that seem like a lot at the moment.
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Post by ponygirl on Sept 18, 2009 12:25:36 GMT -5
For you, Cel: I guess I should be a'headin' To that mountain I've been a'dreadin' Procrastination: Creatin' more piles Paper: Stretchin' for miles If I don't get back to the shreddin'I guess ya'll can tell, That paper is my personal hell, Too.(I guess ya'll can also tell that I found the limerick thread!) !
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Post by zen on Sept 18, 2009 12:37:53 GMT -5
Ha-ha thanks ponygirl I will hum that to myself as I go. Taking another break - I have an entire legal sized 2 drawer filing cabinet empty now, and have put all of the office supplies together in one spot in a separate area. I have added to the shredder mountain - I have years of all three credit reports printed out - why the heck have I held on to these? I know it was to see the progress I had made over the years with improving my score - but wow those papers take up a lot of room - to the shred mountain the go - soon to be small bits of paper that will be recycled. I had another stack of printouts from my old website - yikes...off it goes. I was going to hang on to them - came upstairs and made a fresh cup of coffee and thought no way! I have one of those big paper yard waste bags from ACE hardware filled to the brim - and another almost full. I have been looking at the cute website posted on another thread with the lovely little house and am very inspired to jettison junk. Thanks to the poster ( I dont want to navigate away and lose my post.) www.younghouselove.com/
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Post by ponygirl on Sept 18, 2009 12:43:17 GMT -5
Cel, you are on a roll!
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Post by Lucky Laura Loving Life on Oct 15, 2009 18:54:02 GMT -5
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Post by zen on Oct 15, 2009 19:50:41 GMT -5
Lucky Laura I think I am going to follow my own advice and go through my recipe books when I have a bit of a winer break. I have done well with donating the cookery books that supported the inner Martha that never appeared but once a year during the holidays. I am like pigpen with paper - it just trails behind me . The recipe saving compulsion is kinda like the clothes in my closet i've noticed, I wear the same things again and again - and I make the same things again and again. I guess I don't need 50 baskillion books and recipes for the reality of my life and habits. I've ben thinking, even if i tried one new recipe a week - and that is a lot for me, that only 52 recipes a year, my family would probably be completely discombobulated from being exposed to that much variety!
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Post by Lucky Laura Loving Life on Oct 15, 2009 20:19:42 GMT -5
Zen, too funny! You don't want to traumatize your family now do you? Love,Laura
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Post by StuffNoMore on Oct 16, 2009 17:03:36 GMT -5
Oh my...while cleaning my roll top desk now that I finally got through the door to the desk, I found papers and a few newspapers from 1994. Tossed those babies right out in the recycle bin. I now have a box full of old check, paper, receipts, old paycheck stubs etc that I'm going to shred one night while I watch some TV. Heck, I didn't think I had a paper clutter problem until I read this thread and looked in that desk. SNM
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Deleted
Joined: January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Oct 17, 2009 17:16:50 GMT -5
I just want to say thank you to all of you for your suggestions and especially to the original poster for describing the process in such detail.
Paper is my nemesis too. In fact, almost all my clutter is paper--mostly financial stuff, but I also tend to accumulate coupons and credit card offers that I never use!
I've always had such a hard time figuring out what to keep and what to toss. I think I also tend to make my files too complicated. I need to simplify. I am going to try and get everything in one or two portable file cases. My life is not so complex that I need more than that.
It seems like every time I clean, I sweep up all the paper piles and put them in a box or bag and throw that in the storage room. Then I never go back to clean them out. So now I have a room full of boxes and bags full of old papers.
I do have a shredder which I use for my daily mail sorting, and it has helped a lot.
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clutterbye
New Member
Joined: October 2009
Posts: 16
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Post by clutterbye on Oct 31, 2009 20:33:01 GMT -5
I cleaned the paper clutter out my purse and car yesterday. YAY!!! (-: Whoops, that reminds me....gotta run out and get some toilet paper..... !!
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Post by lizzie on Jun 14, 2010 4:17:54 GMT -5
Thanks to Morningstar for providing this link on another thread, I have just enjoyed reading through it and thought I would BUMP it onto the current threads. I too have an elcheapo shredder, dug it out a few days ago to lend to a friend, and think I will keep it by my computer now so that it is easy to access on a daily basis...
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