Project: Simplify Hot Spot #2: Paper Clutter

 This here is the catchall in the kitchen.  My action box will go here once I get it off the desk.  Love how it looks and with the little cherry trees made last week at preschool.  It makes me happy.

Ah, my nemesis!  I was so hoping for a different task to do this past week.  When I saw this challenge I thought, huh.  I have paper everywhere and then there are those 10 boxes in the basement and the file cabinet...Overwhelmed much?  YES.
My mother wrote a short story where the main character was in charge of teaching  the babies what they would need to know in life.  Only instead of teaching line upon line he tried to show them all the water they would ever drink etc.  Which confused and overwhelmed the babies.  I am like Zebulon, I see a task and everything it will take to do it and then become frustrated because there is no perceived progress.  I couldn't just do the loose papers around the house.  I had to do ALL of the paperwork that is lurking in all its various locations!
It wasn't until yesterday, after dragging everything out earlier in the week, that I finally had a plan to deal with the chaos of paper.  I made piles. LOTS of piles with categories: Action, recycle, shred.  Those were the given ones.  Then I had to add: to be filed (or recycled/shredded), gardening, emergency preparedness, church, school, art, manuals and warranties, medical, craftiness, household, keepsakes (photos, certificates and the like) and one for Scott to deal with.  Seriously?  Yes.  So, I now have manageable piles (boxes actually) to finish sorting as time permits (this summer most likely!) 

Like so many of us the computer area is a dumping ground of sorts for everything and anything.  I have bills, class work, files, stationary, plus all the usual computer (x2), printer and the scanner I am borrowing for a bit to scan the artwork.  It may not look tons better but I can find things and the kids aren't knocking paper of the back of the couch.  My file box is newly empty.  I have no idea how long it has been since that happened....probably 4 years ago when we moved in!

This is my magazine dumping ground.  Church on the right and others on the left.  I cleaned and dusted the book case behind, though I didn't sort through that.  The books are a whole month long sorting!  Now there are only the current month of magazines out.  I find that if I sit a skim through my magazines as they come in and sticky note any articles or recipes etc. that I want to come back to I am more likely to use them.  We also use them for collage projects and making gift bows.

As I was cleaning out a box of "current" paper work I found this article!  The irony was not lost on me.

This is still a huge work in progress but in spite of my biting of way more than I could realistically do in one week (and still shower and feed the family) I've made progress.  I would love to have one box per child but the size of said box has yet to be determined!

I would love the hot spot next week to be the pantry and food storage.  Could that be arranged?! Please?