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Summer Declutter Workshop- Week 4 of 4

27
Jul
2011
by 1 Comment

Welcome to Week 4 of the Summer Declutter (if you’re new here, it’s not too late to start, grab a freebie printable checklist here) We’ve got one more week to clean a hot spot in our homes, so let’s get started!

This week my hot spot is my kitchen bill paying “center” -  also known as where the paper gets stashed.  I have created a system that works for us for organizing the paper clutter, but life has gotten busy, and  a couple piles have emerged.  So, I turned on a favorite show, poured some iced tea and go to work.  Easy and breezy.

I started by emptying the space.  I moved everything over to the kitchen island to give me a little more room to spread out.  Here’s the stash to be sorted.
I then started to sort and toss the papers.  This works the best and quickest when you just start with two stacks – stuff to toss/shred and stuff that needs to be kept.
Then I grouped all the papers together that needed a new home.  I have a folder for paid bills and other papers that need to be kept through the year – categorized by month for easy access.  I keep more than I need to through the year, but at the end of the year I purge this folder – I like having a paper trail if necessary.
Finally I put away all the papers.  I like to have a little mailing and bill paying station on my counter, but I do hide it in a cabinet if guests are coming over.
Have some bill paying files to organize?  Here’s a freebie printable of all the months in three different cute fonts and colors – just print, cut to fit your file folders and label away.  Don’t like the colors?  Just print in gray scale and its in grays and black.  Just go here and grab one for your paper clutter needs. 

This was a simple task for me because I have a system in place.  If you don’t have a system that works for you for bill paying and paper clutter, I encourage you to set something up and experiment with what works for you in your home and with your family.  I try to tackle paper clutter on a daily basis – it’s so much easier to touch paper one time and be done with it.  When the mail comes, I open, sort and toss as it comes for a much easier system.  If I keep up with my system, I don’t have to have a declutter session.

I hope this little decluttering workshop has been fun and helpful for you.  Cleaning, decluttering and organizing can be fun if you plan for it to be a relaxing task.  I’d love for you to stop by and visit me any time at Clean Mama!

Filed Under: Challenges, Series & Workshops, Cleaning & Organizing, Digital Designs & Printables, Seasons and Holidays · Tagged With:
About Stephanie

Stephanie is the creator of Somewhat Simple. She is married to her her best friend and together they are raising 4 sweet kids who keep them busy, but make life fun! They are Orange County transplants who are now enjoying life in Phoenix, AZ. She enjoys traveling, shopping, organizing, and creating simple projects in her "spare time."

Comments

  1. Carol says:
    August 17, 2011 at 7:22 am

    I’m seriously cracking up because your before pictures look so much better than my after. Obviously our definition of “messy” is vastly different :) I looked at your “before” pantry and thought, “Looks pretty good to me!”

    Reply
    1

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