How to Organize Paper Clutter

FREE IMAGES Hi there!  Have you heard about my series "Organizing and Decluttering for Unorganized and Cluttery People"?  I'm sharing easy low budget ideas that anyone can do to improve their organization and get rid of their clutter.  They will probably not be the cutest organizing tips you'll see out here in blog land but they will be relatively easy and inexpensive. 

Last year I had a few organizing posts and this one is worth sharing again.  I have been using this system for a year and it's still going strong (most of the time). :)

How to Organize Paper Clutter

I have read approximately one-bazillion posts on cleaning clutter, organizing closets, un-junking junk drawers, tackling toys, prettying up pantries (I don't even have a pantry! Why am I reading those posts?!)... the list goes on and on.

In all of my clutter research I was looking for the solution to paper clutter in my kitchen. My oldest started school this year and I can not belieeeeve the amount of paper that is sent home with him. Seriously, it is reedonkulous! How many trees are they killing for these kindergartners?? ;)

All the paper he brings home needs some kind of organization. Some of it is completed work or art that I put in a special bin in his room for keeps or on the fridge, some of it is information for me of special dates and events, some of it is homework he has to complete and take back (don't even get me started about homework for kindergartners...), some of it goes straight in the garbage (shhh, don't tell him!)

He brings me all this paper every day and I just start making piles, then mail starts coming in and I pitch what I can up front but the rest goes on top of the pile. The pile keeps growing with whatever other paper stragglers make it into the kitchen and by the end of the week I have a HAAAAUUUUGE mess!

Ok, this is actually really clean for this area I'm sorry to admit... usually the piles are much bigger!

 The mess drives me nuts! It drives the hubs, Mr. I-don't-like-anything-on-the-kitchen-counter-ever!, even nutser. (Yes, I just made up the word nutser, but it's true)

Although I have an office I tend to do all paper work in the kitchen. This is where I spend 90% of my time, I can keep an eye on the boys and get something done plus, I am too lazy to walk up the stairs. My office/mom cave is still a work in progress so it's not a very good place to hang out right now anyway.

I decided I needed some type of filing system in the kitchen. I have seen people with filing systems in their kitchen or wherever all over blogland so this is not an amazing new idea. I just tweaked it a bit to work for me.

First, instead of a typical file box I got this super-cute lined basket at TJ Maxx for only $7.99!

I then found some files (TJMaxx too, I'm tellin' ya, they should pay me for all the free publicity I give 'em!) that match perfect for $2.99 (even the plain ones cost that much!).

I labeled everything... I now have a file for all appropriate school papers, household stuff, plus my decorating business with room to spare!

And, it even looks pretty!!

When we have company or I want less on the counters (or the hub wants less on the counters) I can just take the whole basket and move it to my office revealing a clean counter... everything stays organized and in it's place.

Note to self: going to have to take the picture down behind the basket.

Why didn't I ever think of this before?! I guess it just took getting huge amounts of paper from little guy everyday and finding a cute basket and files (I don't care how much it helped me, I wouldn't put an ugly file box on my counter every day if you paid me. ;)

What's your organizational savior??

See all of my organizational posts:

Linking: Someday Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, Organize It! at Goodbye House, Hello Home!