Oh my word is there a lot of organizing going on out there in blogland! You guys are on fire, I love it!
Quite a few of you mentioned your struggle with piles. Now I’m not a piler. In fact piles in my house make me crazy. Crazy to the point that I find myself turning into the Incredible Hulk when piles invade my home (and they do, I have three children and a husband after all). I may not turn green or split my pants as muscles suddenly pop out all over my body BUT I do get that crazy eye thing going on just like the Hulk and I do go on a complete and utter rampage storming around my house foaming at the mouth in anger. Really, it isn’t pretty, I’m just saying.
Then as quickly as the frenzy starts, it’s over. The piles that magically seem to appear out of nowhere over night are quickly depleted and things are put back where they belong. Thankfully, because everything has a designated space, it doesn’t take long. I take a deep breath. I slowly calm down and I can breath again. Now if only I were that passionate about cleaning the bathtub 🙂
You may handle your attitude toward your piles a little better than I do and then again maybe you don’t. Either way having a place for everything certainly makes it easier to get your home back into order quickly when chaos rears its ugly head. If you have piles on your kitchen counter or even dining room table taking up valuable space then what you’ve got there are some big piles of procrastinated decisions. That’s it, that’s all it is. I’m not fully buying into the no time thing either. Piles are the easiest things to sort while watching television. So this weekend wouldn’t it be great if while you were watching a movie you grabbed a pile of whatever that has been driving you nuts and just started making some decisions with what to do with it. Before you know it you’ll be done.
Most often these piles consist of a lot of paper. I’ve always said paper is one of the hardest things to stay on top of. Two Storage Stars that I would like to award today are to two ladies that are using the binder system to contain their papers. Three ring binders are perfect for containing all sorts of things such as magazine clippings, receipts, bills, kid’s school stuff and schedules, recipes patterns, etc.
Robin of Robinznest just recently designated space for all of her patterns into a wonderfully organized and labeled binder system.
Visit her tutorial post to find out how she did and see many more great pictures as well. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love this idea.
The other person who uses this system is my friend Barb. Barb has a beautiful binder that she uses to contain all her “good things” magazine articles. Rather than have stacks of magazines taking up valuable space she simply rips out the page of importance and files it away….where it belongs….sigh. Please go check it out!
Both of these ladies are receiving my little happy face storage star guy today. They deserve it!
Got some piles to tackle? Have at it and come on back and tell me what you did!
I’m waiting………
Still waiting…….
Are you still here?
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Related posts:
Mrs. Wilson says
Oh I HAVE to do that pile thing REALLY BAD!!!!!
Maybe I’ll take pictures and send them to you!!
Avlor says
I’m starting to scan things to PDF instead of keeping the magazines, patterns and what not. Helping to reduce piles somewhat, and the craft and personal finances clutter too.
Laura says
Yes I’d love to see pictures!!
Avlor that is a great idea to scan them in to the computer for reference. Wonderful suggestion!
Sandra says
That’s a great idea to keep the binder, I think I’ll start doing that too 🙂
I WILL become an organized person one day…somewhere in the future LOL
Hugs,
Sandra
Barb says
What a cute little star guy, Laura. Thank you for giving him to me. And thank you for highlighting my good things book. Don’t know what I’d do without it. It’s always worked really well for me.
Magnolia Sun says
Just found you site and I love it, I also love organizing things, I’m sure I learn a ton from you.
Steph's Mommy Brain says
I LOVE the clear cover 3 ring binders! I use one every year for my finances. 3 inches thick. Tabbed dividers for Paystubs, Bank statements, utility statements, etc. And a zippered pencil bag for all those loose receipts for clothes and what-not that I want to keep for a couple of months. Makes taking care of our finances super-easy! I know if something ever happened to us our relatives could figure everything out based on those binders. Not to mention I can put my hands on anything Hubby asks for months after the bill is paid. = )
Laura says
Stephanie thanks for sharing what works for you. That is a great idea!!
Leigh Anne Wilkes says
I love binders for organization. I have a Smart Book that I use with my homebased business that is my business “brain”. Everything I use to spend time searching for on my desk is now in the binder. These are things I use and refer to on a daily/weekly basis. It has saved me a lot of time and frustration – now I have everything at my finger tips. I love it! You can see my Smart Binder and read more about it at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/smart-book/
Laura says
Thanks Leigh Anne, great stuff!
Dot says
Laura, we must have this extra-sensory connection. LOL I spent this evening eliminating piles before I even read this post! Now I feel like I’m on top of things even though I still have a few piles to go! LOL
Proverbs31 says
Oh my word, girl, don’t get me started on paper piles right now! I’ve got to finish my kitchen first! 😉
I will say this, though: My desk and filing cabinet is my next big project. I’ve spent a little bit of time in recent months going through old boxes of papers and purging and “sort of” filing things into my filing cabinet, but nothing is labeled and there is still some to be filed and I have GOT to finally develop a good system for incoming new papers that I have to keep. ACK! Probably at the same time, I’m going to get a better handle on organizing the kids school work and records, and I had already planned on using 3 ring binders for part of that. 🙂
However, I DO have a home management binder that helps me manage SOME of it. Sort of. You know, if I actually USE it. 😉
SarahDee says
I hate piles but can’t ever seem to eliminate them. I think you’re right, Laura, I just need to do it while I’m sitting. I often fold laundry that way – why not sort through mail and stuff?
And I started ripping magazine articles out a month or so ago and felt so proud, organized, and creative! I am in the process of going through old mags now and then filing them in an expandable file holder… binders would work well too.
I will attack piles tomorrow!
Laura says
Expandable file holders are also an excellent idea!
Tiffany says
I’ve been watching your site for awhile and I finally just need to comment!! You are amazing and I love all your little tips. I’m a fairly new mom and I’ve been writing letters to my little guys since he was born, and have just recently browsed what other moms have to say. Thanks for all your help to others!! I look forward to reading more!!!
rosemarie says
Spices? I’ve got SOOOO many, all in assorted bottles and jars. So I bought 100 jars – 3, 6, 9, and 12 oz – from http://www.specialtybottle.com, picked up a few tiered shelves from Fred Meyer, and printed gold-colored, French-looking labels from Microsoft’s Office.
Voila – my spices looked so good in a few cupboards that I organized my tea stashes. Now I’ve called a cabinet guru who is going to rout out the centre oak panel and put in glass – it’s too pretty to hide!
Thanks for inspiring us!
rosemarie says
oops – corrected link is http://www.specialtybottle.com/
Lora says
Piles make me crazy, too, but apparently not so badly that I don’t have any-ha! I’ve been tackling some of mine recently, but thanks for the reminder and challenge to get moving on the rest!
The Family CEO says
I love these! Binders are my favorite. Barb’s idea is like creating your own magazine where every article is something you love. How cool. Thanks for sharing.
Gwen B. says
For magazine clips, Rather than binders (which require some preparation), one idea is to buy the 1-31 or Jan to Dec accordion file. Then relabel the pockets. You might have one for “decorating/organzing” then label the pockets by room or some other system that makes sense to you.
You can also store things in these files until you have the time to scan them.
Alfa says
I have a similar “piles out” project – a paperless home office. But I’m still in the process of looking for the best scanner.
Marcia Francois says
I also do like Barb
http://organisingtips.blogspot.com/2007/08/organise-your-magazine-clippings.html
Janelle says
Laura I’m working on my kitchen this week and tomorrow I’m going to help my daughter in her bedroom. She needs a place for everything, so we’ll tackle it! I’ll take some pictures and send them to you.
Like you I hate piles and clutter! I have a stack of scrapbook stuff I’m going to tackle tonight. I’ll take some shots of that too and send it to you!
Erin K says
I am a compulsive piler!! Always have been, but I refuse to think that I always will be. 🙂 Do you have any other tips or advice to share on this subject? Like more specifics on how you organize various papers? I’m going to re-read your post about your desk because I know you share some advice there, but if you would ever consider doing a “pile-buster” post that would be AWESOME. (And if you already have, please forgive me… I’m rather new to your blog.)
Thanks for all the wonderful information. Your blog is one piece of a big puzzle that has given me a whole new attitude about my house and my abilities as a mom and a housekeeper. Guilt and frustration have been replace by an empowered and confident attitude! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Robinznest says
Thanks for the sweet little storage star guy! I shall display him proudly on my blog! Thank you too for highlighting my post on organizing my patterns and ideas. It has already been a great help to me – I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing it years ago!