If you have a school aged child then you have paper to deal with. How do we decide what to keep, and how do we store it?
School papers can take over our homes if allow them to.
Deal with notes from the teacher, field trip permission forms and schedules immediately then throw them away, do not pile them.
I had a conversation last week with a group of home schooling moms about this very topic. We discussed the different ways that each family dealt with the mounds of paper that come along with school.
Here are some of the ideas that were shared:
Keep one binder for each child with page protectors. In this binder keep their completion certificates, awards, samples of their art and writing from each year. This binder can also contain medical records.
One mom said she makes a couple of scrap book pages for her child with the best work from that year represented. Each child has their own book and upon graduation there is a complete record of growth for that child beautifully displayed.
Sometimes you can get pizza boxes from your local pizzeria. One box for each child, this allows for storage of bigger art project pages that may not fit into binders or scrap books.
Take a picture of your child with their creation, these pictures can be printed and then placed into the binder or scrap book. Pictures of any field trips or vacations can also be included in your child's book.
Set a plastic bin aside for each child and keep the papers that are in the running for keeping in the bin. At the end of the year go through the bin and decide what to put into your book, file etc....
So what if you simply do not have the time, energy, or creativity to make a book? Keep one file for each child in the file cabinet to store their best work. You could also keep one plastic bin for each child and just simply put what you want to keep into the bin.
What ever you do limit the amount of space in your home allowed for school work and then stick to it.
If you have methods of dealing with your child's school records and work please share with us as we can all benefit from your experience.
Keep it simple.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Simplify~ Paper Piles Part 1
Paper piles, most of us have them and they can seem like a daunting task to conquer. Today pick ONE pile to go through if you are like most people you have more than one pile so just keep it simple and pick one.
Before going through the pile gather a couple of tools to help you deal with the pile.
A garbage can
A box to put papers to be filed in
A digital camera
I would guess that most of the pile can go into the garbage, if it has sensitive information on it you may want to shred it or burn it.
How do I know if I can throw it away? Here are some guidelines for you to consider.
Is it junk mail? Throw it out.
Can I get this information on line? Throw it out.
Is it an idea that I want to keep for later? File it or take a digital picture to upload to your idea file on your computer.
Ask yourself why you feel you need to hold on to this piece of paper. I agree there are some things we should be keeping. Tax information, recent pay stubs, charity giving receipts, birth certificates, passports, school records... these paper items are important so be sure to have a file system to keep them safe in.
We also want to be keeping some of our childrens work, we do not want to throw out their childhood.
Be realistic today and try to throw most of the paper pile away.
In the future we will look at what to do with the kids special items from school. For now put those items into a folder or a box.
Just take this one piece of paper at a time and keep it simple. You can do it so go ahead and get started.
Before going through the pile gather a couple of tools to help you deal with the pile.
A garbage can
A box to put papers to be filed in
A digital camera
I would guess that most of the pile can go into the garbage, if it has sensitive information on it you may want to shred it or burn it.
How do I know if I can throw it away? Here are some guidelines for you to consider.
Is it junk mail? Throw it out.
Can I get this information on line? Throw it out.
Is it an idea that I want to keep for later? File it or take a digital picture to upload to your idea file on your computer.
Ask yourself why you feel you need to hold on to this piece of paper. I agree there are some things we should be keeping. Tax information, recent pay stubs, charity giving receipts, birth certificates, passports, school records... these paper items are important so be sure to have a file system to keep them safe in.
We also want to be keeping some of our childrens work, we do not want to throw out their childhood.
Be realistic today and try to throw most of the paper pile away.
In the future we will look at what to do with the kids special items from school. For now put those items into a folder or a box.
Just take this one piece of paper at a time and keep it simple. You can do it so go ahead and get started.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 6
Today is the last day of our challenge. If you have been following along this week you most likely now have a pile, maybe even a mountain of items that are going out of your house.
Our challenge today is two fold.
1. Go back to the one area that you feel you want to do more work in. I know you may want to weed more out of all of the areas we tackled this week but for now just pick the most urgent one. Go ahead and spend some more time today weeding out and organizing.
2. Today is the day that we take all of the items we have weeded out to the donation center. It is important to have a plan in place to actually deliver the boxes or bags of goods otherwise we end up creating a new problem.
If we allow the bags and boxes to remain in our homes items tend to migrate out of the box as we second guess our decision. You have worked hard this week to gather up all of these items, now go donate them so they can bless someone else.
There are many donation centers around, I'm sure your town or a town close to you has one. Usually you can get a receipt from them as your donation is a tax deduction. Some donation centers will come and pick things up from you.
Where ever you decide to donate do it today and one more thing, do not go into the second hand store because you might come out of there with all kinds of things you do not need.
Remember keep at it and keep it simple.
Our challenge today is two fold.
1. Go back to the one area that you feel you want to do more work in. I know you may want to weed more out of all of the areas we tackled this week but for now just pick the most urgent one. Go ahead and spend some more time today weeding out and organizing.
2. Today is the day that we take all of the items we have weeded out to the donation center. It is important to have a plan in place to actually deliver the boxes or bags of goods otherwise we end up creating a new problem.
If we allow the bags and boxes to remain in our homes items tend to migrate out of the box as we second guess our decision. You have worked hard this week to gather up all of these items, now go donate them so they can bless someone else.
There are many donation centers around, I'm sure your town or a town close to you has one. Usually you can get a receipt from them as your donation is a tax deduction. Some donation centers will come and pick things up from you.
Where ever you decide to donate do it today and one more thing, do not go into the second hand store because you might come out of there with all kinds of things you do not need.
Remember keep at it and keep it simple.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 5
It is day five of our One A Day Challenge, today we will take a look at the media in our homes.
Remove at least one old media item from your home today, an old magazine, newspaper, book, DVD etc...
The optional challenge for today: declutter all of your media.
We tend to hold onto those movies that at one time we just loved but now we find we do not really long to watch it, get rid of it.
How about VHS tapes, do you have them? Do you have a working VHS player? If you have VHS tapes and no player.... get rid of them, if you have a player and it does not work.... get rid of it.
Is there a Media cabinet for your DVD and VHS tapes, if so be sure that all the tapes you have fit into your cabinet, if they are spilling out weed through them and pair your collection down to only what will fit into the designated space.
Video games also fall into this category, make a place and make them fit, weed out those games that are no longer played.
Work out tapes/ DVDs do you actually use them? If not then donate it so some other well meaning soul can benefit from it.
We will tend to hang onto an entire magazine because we like one article, recipe or decorating idea in that magazine. Tear out what you like and file it IF you know you will use it and then clear the magazine out of your house.
If the city of media has overtaken your home you need to take it back. Be brutal! Be HONEST with your self, do not hang onto it just because you might want to watch it, read it, or look at it again someday.
Media can most certainly be an overwhelming area in our homes as the mound of items we have tends to grow with each birthday, holiday or sale at the store. Ask yourself if this item is bringing your home joy, relaxation, or enjoyable down time. If it really is just there reminding you of the past, take a moment to reflect and then move it out while you move on.
Keep it simple, take it one DVD at a time and before long you will truly enjoy your down time as the space around you becomes peaceful and inviting.
Remove at least one old media item from your home today, an old magazine, newspaper, book, DVD etc...
The optional challenge for today: declutter all of your media.
We tend to hold onto those movies that at one time we just loved but now we find we do not really long to watch it, get rid of it.
How about VHS tapes, do you have them? Do you have a working VHS player? If you have VHS tapes and no player.... get rid of them, if you have a player and it does not work.... get rid of it.
Is there a Media cabinet for your DVD and VHS tapes, if so be sure that all the tapes you have fit into your cabinet, if they are spilling out weed through them and pair your collection down to only what will fit into the designated space.
Video games also fall into this category, make a place and make them fit, weed out those games that are no longer played.
Work out tapes/ DVDs do you actually use them? If not then donate it so some other well meaning soul can benefit from it.
We will tend to hang onto an entire magazine because we like one article, recipe or decorating idea in that magazine. Tear out what you like and file it IF you know you will use it and then clear the magazine out of your house.
If the city of media has overtaken your home you need to take it back. Be brutal! Be HONEST with your self, do not hang onto it just because you might want to watch it, read it, or look at it again someday.
Media can most certainly be an overwhelming area in our homes as the mound of items we have tends to grow with each birthday, holiday or sale at the store. Ask yourself if this item is bringing your home joy, relaxation, or enjoyable down time. If it really is just there reminding you of the past, take a moment to reflect and then move it out while you move on.
Keep it simple, take it one DVD at a time and before long you will truly enjoy your down time as the space around you becomes peaceful and inviting.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Simplify~ One A Day Challenge Day 5
The week of One A Day Challenges is almost complete.
Today we are focusing on our offices. If you do not have a physical room in your house that is an office you still have an office it's just part of another room or maybe it is all over the house. If you do not have time for the optional challenge below just remove one item from your office collection, even a piece of junk mail counts.
Here are some office areas for you to consider today:
The desk top, is it clear of stuff? Is it functional? Flat surfaces tend to collect clutter so declare an all out war with the desk top and clean it off, you will love the result.
The paper piles, sometimes these are piles sometimes they are hills and sometimes they are mountains! If the document is IMPORTANT to keep then file it otherwise toss it, you may want to shred it first. I will deal with how to manage paper piles and what to do with sentimental things in those piles in a separate blog down the road. Today just throw away the junk.
Pens, pencils, markers, crayons etc.... do they work are they broken.... get this down to a manageable number and make sure they have a place to live in your home.
Notebooks, folders, binders, loose leaf paper, post it notes, weed them out and organize what is left.
Envelopes, stamps, stationary, take a look at these things and weed out what you don't use.
Staplers, rolls of tape, scissors, paper clips, binder clips, thumb tacks, brass brads, rubber bands... make a place for them and organize them so they are easy to get to.
Printer papers, printer ink etc..... organize it.
We will deal with computer programs and all those computer CDs in a blog down the road for now get rid of what you do not use.
With the above list get rid of duplicates. Anything you have excessive amounts of but do not really use donate some and keep some.
For items like tape, staples etc... that will be used make a place for them and if you think you have way too many then do donate them, someone will be happy to have them, perhaps a school? It will not hurt you to have to buy new staples in a few years but keeping too many in the house can stress you out.
If you have been taking the weeding out challenge with us you may be finding one of two things happening.
One, you are feeling empowered, invigorated, excited to see some things being weeded out of you life as you gain more and more control over your time, space, and finances. This is an awesome camp to be sitting in, keep going!
Two, you are feeling very overwhelmed and want to just give up even trying to simplify as it is an impossible task. If this is the camp you are sitting in I want to encourage you that this is a normal feeling. Personally I have been working on simplifying for about three years now and I'm still not there. This is the slow and steady wins the race kind of thing. Do not give up! Every little decision you make towards simplifying is one step closer to the freedom those sitting in camp one are feeling.
Just keep it simple, you know what you can handle, however do press on, do not give into the materialism mountain, you CAN conquer it.
Today we are focusing on our offices. If you do not have a physical room in your house that is an office you still have an office it's just part of another room or maybe it is all over the house. If you do not have time for the optional challenge below just remove one item from your office collection, even a piece of junk mail counts.
Here are some office areas for you to consider today:
The desk top, is it clear of stuff? Is it functional? Flat surfaces tend to collect clutter so declare an all out war with the desk top and clean it off, you will love the result.
The paper piles, sometimes these are piles sometimes they are hills and sometimes they are mountains! If the document is IMPORTANT to keep then file it otherwise toss it, you may want to shred it first. I will deal with how to manage paper piles and what to do with sentimental things in those piles in a separate blog down the road. Today just throw away the junk.
Pens, pencils, markers, crayons etc.... do they work are they broken.... get this down to a manageable number and make sure they have a place to live in your home.
Notebooks, folders, binders, loose leaf paper, post it notes, weed them out and organize what is left.
Envelopes, stamps, stationary, take a look at these things and weed out what you don't use.
Staplers, rolls of tape, scissors, paper clips, binder clips, thumb tacks, brass brads, rubber bands... make a place for them and organize them so they are easy to get to.
Printer papers, printer ink etc..... organize it.
We will deal with computer programs and all those computer CDs in a blog down the road for now get rid of what you do not use.
With the above list get rid of duplicates. Anything you have excessive amounts of but do not really use donate some and keep some.
For items like tape, staples etc... that will be used make a place for them and if you think you have way too many then do donate them, someone will be happy to have them, perhaps a school? It will not hurt you to have to buy new staples in a few years but keeping too many in the house can stress you out.
If you have been taking the weeding out challenge with us you may be finding one of two things happening.
One, you are feeling empowered, invigorated, excited to see some things being weeded out of you life as you gain more and more control over your time, space, and finances. This is an awesome camp to be sitting in, keep going!
Two, you are feeling very overwhelmed and want to just give up even trying to simplify as it is an impossible task. If this is the camp you are sitting in I want to encourage you that this is a normal feeling. Personally I have been working on simplifying for about three years now and I'm still not there. This is the slow and steady wins the race kind of thing. Do not give up! Every little decision you make towards simplifying is one step closer to the freedom those sitting in camp one are feeling.
Just keep it simple, you know what you can handle, however do press on, do not give into the materialism mountain, you CAN conquer it.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Simplify ~ One A Day Challenge Day 4
If you have been following the One A Day Challenge, you are half way done for the week.
Today let's take a look at our bathrooms. Choose at least ONE ITEM from the bathroom to get rid of, maybe a bottle of lotion you have had for a long time and do not use.
The bathroom has many different areas so just pick ONE AREA for today if you are doing the optional challenge.
The medicine cabinet, if it is old or expired by more that a year, get rid of it.
Cosmetics if it is open and over a year old get rid of it, did you know that cosmetics harbor bacteria and you can get an infection from old cosmetics.
The linen closet, if it is torn or stained get rid of it. Figure out how many towels you need and stick to that number.
What about that pretty hand towel that you NEVER put out to be used, get rid of it.
Open bottles of lotion or bath gel that you do not use, get rid of it.
Old hair products that you do not use, if they are old you are not using them, get rid of them.
Duplicates of anything, hair brushes, hair dryers, etc... you only need one get rid of the extra.
Weeding things out of our lives and homes can be very overwhelming. I was talking to a friend last night and she was overwhelmed by the big picture. If we look at the picture as a whole it is overwhelming but when we take it one pixel at a time it isn't so bad.
Keep it simple, one step, one pixel, one item at a time and before you know it the canvas of your life will indeed be more simple. You will find that you have more time, energy and money freed up to do with as you wish.
Go ahead and take the step towards simplicity now, you will be happy you did.
Today let's take a look at our bathrooms. Choose at least ONE ITEM from the bathroom to get rid of, maybe a bottle of lotion you have had for a long time and do not use.
The bathroom has many different areas so just pick ONE AREA for today if you are doing the optional challenge.
The medicine cabinet, if it is old or expired by more that a year, get rid of it.
Cosmetics if it is open and over a year old get rid of it, did you know that cosmetics harbor bacteria and you can get an infection from old cosmetics.
The linen closet, if it is torn or stained get rid of it. Figure out how many towels you need and stick to that number.
What about that pretty hand towel that you NEVER put out to be used, get rid of it.
Open bottles of lotion or bath gel that you do not use, get rid of it.
Old hair products that you do not use, if they are old you are not using them, get rid of them.
Duplicates of anything, hair brushes, hair dryers, etc... you only need one get rid of the extra.
Weeding things out of our lives and homes can be very overwhelming. I was talking to a friend last night and she was overwhelmed by the big picture. If we look at the picture as a whole it is overwhelming but when we take it one pixel at a time it isn't so bad.
Keep it simple, one step, one pixel, one item at a time and before you know it the canvas of your life will indeed be more simple. You will find that you have more time, energy and money freed up to do with as you wish.
Go ahead and take the step towards simplicity now, you will be happy you did.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Simplify~One A Day Challenge Day 3
For the One A Day Challenge today let's take a look at our clothing.
The Fall and Winter seasons are coming to an end so this is a great time to evaluate what we can get out of our closets and drawers.
If you have not worn it at all this Fall or Winter and it is not a special occasion dress or suit, please note I said A dress or A suit, then get rid of it.
If you always pass it up in the closet, get rid of it.
If it is faded, torn, or stained get rid of it.
If it does not fit right no matter how hopeful you are that it will fit next year..... get rid of it.
If that color or style really does not look good on you get rid of it.
If it makes you look fat then for sure get rid of it!
For todays challenge you can pick the AREA of all clothing as your ONE, or you can pick ONE CATAGORY of clothing. Feel free to choose from, swimming suits, jeans, sweaters, under garments, shirts, dress clothes, work out clothes, pajamas, hang up clothes etc... or pick one drawer, maybe one shelf.
If you do not have time for a whole category today no worries, just be sure to pick ONE ITEM and send it out of your house.
Keep it simple, there is no need to overwhelm yourself, each step matters so go ahead and take the step now.
The Fall and Winter seasons are coming to an end so this is a great time to evaluate what we can get out of our closets and drawers.
If you have not worn it at all this Fall or Winter and it is not a special occasion dress or suit, please note I said A dress or A suit, then get rid of it.
If you always pass it up in the closet, get rid of it.
If it is faded, torn, or stained get rid of it.
If it does not fit right no matter how hopeful you are that it will fit next year..... get rid of it.
If that color or style really does not look good on you get rid of it.
If it makes you look fat then for sure get rid of it!
For todays challenge you can pick the AREA of all clothing as your ONE, or you can pick ONE CATAGORY of clothing. Feel free to choose from, swimming suits, jeans, sweaters, under garments, shirts, dress clothes, work out clothes, pajamas, hang up clothes etc... or pick one drawer, maybe one shelf.
If you do not have time for a whole category today no worries, just be sure to pick ONE ITEM and send it out of your house.
Keep it simple, there is no need to overwhelm yourself, each step matters so go ahead and take the step now.
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