Since my last post was a decor item, I thought I would write about an organizational system that we all deal with, pretty much on a daily basis, paper.
We have a newer system in our house, here it is:
a closer view:
Some of you may be wondering if this is my kitchen. It is! It may seem a little odd to have a wall mounted system so close to a cabinet in the kitchen (instead of the office), but for our habits, its in the perfect spot. This area is actually a little mini-office; the drawers hold small office supplies, my phone books are in the basket on the counter, and my Household Managment Binder sits here (I'll post about this later). Most importantly, my husband and I have been opening mail in this spot for so long, that I'm not sure we would use the system if I put it in the office. My recommendation to you is to place a system like this where you are confident it will get used.
Here is an example of a system that sits on the counter, made by rubbermaid, and sold on amazon.com that would work well : click here for link
Here are the supplies:
Ikea wall mounted system (5 - slots)
file folders
scrap book paper (optional)
label maker (optional)
The wall mounted system was around $15 from Ikea. There are many other options online at amazon.com or in an office supply store if you don't live near an Ikea (you poor thing) or want to have it shipped. The other cool thing about this system is that its magnetic, so I will attach items such as a check that needs to be deposited, to the front of the holder. Next came the folders. I had plain manilla folders in the house and wanted something a little more pleasing to the eye, so I cut up a piece of scrap book paper for the label portion, and then used my label maker to make the actual label.
If you don't have a label maker, you can write it in by hand or make a small label on your computer and attach it with tape or glue. Why did I do this step? I am far more motivated to use an organizational system if its beautiful and pleasing to the eye. I read about a woman who was more motivated to fold her laundry when it was placed in a beautiful basket vs the plastic variety most of us have in our homes. For me, its true. I crave beauty in every day life, and this is a very tiny form of beauty for me (I know, I'm rather OCD).
My five folders have the following labels:
"Action" - this folder contains items to be handled immediately. It may be a phone call I need to make the next day, etc.... This is the first folder I go to when I have time.
"File" - these are items I want filed away in my filing cabinet, but don't want to take the time right then as I'm opening the mail to handle it.
"Hold" - this folder might contain a receipt for a gift I just gave and don't want to toss yet, an item thats waiting for a response, etc.... Anything that I need to hold temporarily, but don't want to see as clutter on the counter.
"Read" - around here this folder most likely contains a ministry newsletter, at other times I might place an article in here I'd like to read.
"Personal" - this is kind of the "junk drawer" of my filing system. It contains items that I'm not sure how to handle that are of a personal nature. For example, my husband was praised recently in a company wide memo and I don't want to recycle the memo, but am not sure what I'm going to do with it. If you use a folder like this, be careful not to let it fill up.
Your folders might have different titles. You can pick and choose, after some evaluation, what works for your family. We already have a system for paying bills that works, it we didn't, I would probably have a folder that was titled "To Be Paid". If there is an area of your life that gets a lot of paper traffic, such as a ministry, volunteer organization, job; you might want a corresponding folder.
I hope this idea inspires you to create a system of your own!
Here it is again:
Many blessings - Home Centered Girl
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