Category Archives: Paper Clutter

http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out the piles and organize the important papers.

http://www.butlerwebs.com/tragedy/default.htm

Posted in Decluttering, Home, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Planning

Important Dates in September

Posted on September 10, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I started this blog a few years ago I had a separate newsletter that listed all the special dates for the current month. I discontinued that newsletter and added the information to my Tip newsletter. Then I got away from putting that information there also. So now I’ve decided to put it on the blog.

I know a lot of readers liked getting these dates and links so they could plan ahead to celebrate the holiday or event. Getting organized by planning ahead for things is the key to enjoying them with a lot less stress.

If you have any links or know of special dates of interest for the current or upcoming months, please let me know in the comment section. To avoid spam I have to approve the comments before they are posted but I check often for new comments and post them as soon as possible. Thank you.

September 11, (Saturday)

http://voicesofseptember11.org/dev/index.php

September 12, (Sunday) National Grandparents Day

http://www.grandparents-day.com/

http://holidays.kaboose.com/grandparents-day.html

September 21, (Tuesday) International Day Of Peace

http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org/

http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/2010/

September is National Apple Month.

Although this is an event that the apple industry takes part in to promote the sale of apples they also want to educate the consumer on the benefits of apples. As the weather gets cooler and the days shorter the taste for crisp, cold apples or the smell of apple pie baking comes to mind. Here are some links that give you information on the benefits of eating apples plus loads of recipes. Enjoy and get healthy!

http://www.usapple.org/index-c.cfm

http://www.applerecipes.us/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/apple/index.html

If you have a problem controlling the paper piles in your home or office be sure to check out what tips and ideas are offered in my new eBook,

“Cut Out The Paper Clutter”.

Janice Scissors

Posted in Calendar, Family Fun, Holidays, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Planning

Lighten Up Your Perfectionism

Posted on August 31, 2010 | Leave a comment

We all want to be perfect. We are told from a young age that “practice makes perfect”. So we grow up believing that if we try hard enough and practice enough times we should be successful in what we set out to do.

Well, reality sets in that we are not perfect. No matter how hard we try the results are not always “perfect”. So then we start doubting ourselves. We feel like failures. After all, there are winners or there are losers. How you play the game doesn’t seem to matter much anymore.

Maybe it’s time to lighten up on our desire to be perfect. I was reading an essay by Pam Young ( https://www.bigtent.com/groups/innerkiddies) on the Flylady bigtent site (see below) about how she didn’t have any thank-you notes on hand so she continued to procrastinate sending one for a lovely dinner she had been to. After a month of forgetting to purchase the notes she decided to send one she had on hand even though it wasn’t a “thank-you” card. That didn’t matter because she felt much better after sending it. She lightened up on her perfectionism and in turn probably put a smile on her friend’s face.

If you want to read the whole essay you can go to the Flylady bigtent site https://www.bigtent.com/groups/flylady and sign in. Then put Young@Heart in the search box. Next put 07/07/2010 to 07/08/2010 in the date boxes. It should bring up her essay. If anyone knows of an easier way to search for a particular essay on BigTent then please let me know. It did take a while to find this essay but it’s worth reading.

In this strive for perfectionism it’s hard to laugh at ourselves for being human. We’ve become obsessed about:

always wanting our homes to be “magazine perfect”
always sending the “perfect” thank-you note and sending it on time
always cooking the gourmet meal even when our family prefers the boxed mac & cheese
always responding to that email, twitter or facebook post right away even when there are more important things to do

These are just some of the things our perfectionism causes us to think “failure” instead of laughing at our human imperfections.

Perfectionism is the striving to reach a destination that doesn’t exist. So why even try to go there. Lighten up on yourself and start enjoying the journey. The journey should consist of:

Sending the thank-you note on a plain piece of paper if necessary.
Setting a timer and work a little each day at decluttering. Enjoy the process.
Reply to that email 2 weeks, even 2 months later. Apologize and move on.
If it’s something that needs a timely response (email, phone call, etc.) just respond the best you can. Don’t worry about what the person on the other end might think, that’s their problem.

We worry too much about making ourselves look “perfect” in other people’s eyes. If they expect us to be perfect then they have a BIG problem. If we didn’t worry so much about what others think then we just might enjoy life more. We could learn to laugh at our faults. Once we learn to laugh at ourselves we can come up with clever ways to compensate for those “imperfections”. Compensating doesn’t mean we are working to eliminate our faults. It means accepting our imperfections and working around them to achieve our goals. We will work at being the best we can be and that will be good enough.

Janice

http://organizebythemonth.com/CutOutThePaperClutter.html

If you have piles of paper clutter then you need to get my eBook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. It can help you clear out the piles and organize the important papers.

Posted in Decluttering, Home, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Simplicity

"Cut Out The Paper Clutter" eBook

Posted on August 24, 2010 | 2 Comments

It’s finally arrived! The eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter” and it’s companion workbook are now available. You will be able to learn how to finally get control over those piles and piles of papers, magazines, junk mail, and lots more.

You can read more of what’s in the books here.

Over the years I learned many ways to reduce the incoming papers. I have also learned how to keep the important papers organized. It’s taken a lot of hard work but is well worth it.

The past few months have been a real challenge for me. Due to my mother having a stoke this past May I have had to manage not only my own papers but also my mother’s papers and finances. Although she has a computer she had not set up any of her bills to be on auto-pay. Nor had she done any online banking. These are two ways to simplify bill paying plus cut down on some of the paper clutter.

I’ve slowly been setting up auto-pay on many of the monthly bills plus paying online. That reduces the checks (paper) I have to write, reduces the envelopes (paper) I have to address, plus saves money on stamps. All these steps helps me spend less time on bill paying and more time on other things.

So check out what’s in the eBook “Cut Out The Paper Clutter“. I’ve listed the table of contents so you can see the different chapters that will have solutions for your problem areas.

Janice

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Posted in Decluttering, Going Green, home office, Organizing, Paper Clutter

Ran Over By A Bulldozer

Posted on June 2, 2010 | 2 Comments

I haven’t blogged for awhile. Below is this week’s newsletter explaining why.

Cut Clutter With Scissors Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 18
May 2, 2010

It’s been awhile since I wrote a newsletter. Sometimes life throws you a few lemons and sometimes you feel like you’ve been run over by a bulldozer. The last four weeks have felt like the latter. My mother had surgery on May 3 that ended up with multiple complications, the most serious being a stroke. She is now on her road to a slow recovery which gives me a chance to settle into a “new” routine.

Both of my sisters live out of town so I’m the one handling most of the legal, financial, medical, and household issues. Fortunately my mother was the “born organized” one. I’m still wondering where my SHEness (sidetracked home executive aka Sidetrack Sisters & Flylady) came from. My name is on her checking account and her Power of Attorney/Living Will was easy to find. Actually, since her stroke did not effect her memory she was able to tell me where it was.

Ironically right before her surgery I was putting the finishing touches on my new ebook, “Cut Out The Paper Clutter”. Because I’ve been following many of the ideas in the book regarding the organizing of financial papers it wasn’t too difficult to take over her bill paying and still keep my own under control. Most of my bills are on autopay and the rest are paid with online banking. I have spent several years using many of the tips that I share in the ebook to reduce the junk mail so it takes little time to sort my mail. I hope to have the ebook up for sale by next week.

My mother hasn’t embraced all the electronic bill paying yet but we had planned on doing it during her surgery recovery time. I will take the next few weeks to slowly get most of her bills on autopay and set up online banking. This way it will be much easier for her to handle her own bills when she gets back home from rehab. I will also start using some of the tips/websites listed in the ebook to get her name off of the junk mail lists. See below for a link to the blog post that list the websites.

As much as I have learned through research, first hand experience is still the greatest teacher. We all know the importance of setting up our financial papers so our spouse or children could easily take over the responsibility if necessary yet this is one area many people put off. Clearing out the paper clutter and organizing our finances can go a long way to reduce the worry. The stress that comes with disorganization and procrastination will get worse with age. Whether you are in your 20′s, 40′s, 60′s or older, now is the time to get rid of the paper clutter so you can free up your time and energy to spend on the more important and fun things in life.

My goal is to get back to the weekly newsletters (or as often as possible) and blog posts. Although I will be focusing a lot on paper clutter I also will share tips on traveling and garage sales. After all, it’s summer time and that’s what people do during this time of year.

If you have any questions, tips, or suggestions please reply to this email or post a comment on my current blog posts at: http://organizebythemonth.com. I’m always happy to help you with tips to declutter your home or life. I also love it when I can learn new things from you and then share it with all my readers. Thank you.

To a lighter load along the way.
Janice Scissors

Please pass this newsletter along to friends and family who want to declutter and organize their lives. When they sign up at http://cutclutterwithscissors.com, they will receive a free ebook filled with decluttering and organizing tips.

Blog Posts

How to Declutter Junk Mail http://organizebythemonth.com/?p=245

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email: janice@cutclutterwithscissors.com

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Posted in Decluttering, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Planning

Organize Your Tax Papers

Posted on March 4, 2010 | Leave a comment

“It’s income tax time again, Americans: time to gather up those receipts, get out those tax forms, sharpen up that pencil, and stab yourself in the aorta.” ~Dave Barry

Last night I decided it was time to start getting all my tax papers together and organized. All year long I put receipts, pay stubs, and other tax related papers into folders. Now I need to separate the papers in each folder by category to make it easier to do my taxes.

I use Turbo Tax and when you go through the program it asks for information in a certain order. You may use a different tax program but it probably works the same way. By having the papers separated it’s much easier, faster, and less likely I will not miss entering any information.

Here are the categories I use to separate my papers.

Income:

W-2′s
1099′s: Misc., Retirement, Interest, Dividends, etc.
Investment Income: Brokerage and bank year end statements

Deductions:

Charity donations
Mortgage Interest
Property taxes
Student loan interest paid
College expenses
Medical expenses

If you have business income and will be filing a Schedule C (self employment) then gather all those papers and separate them by income and expenses.

Now you’ll be ready to sit down and do those taxes.

“Today, it takes more brains and effort to make out the income-tax form than it does to make the income.” ~Alfred E. Neuman

Janice

http://cutoutthebreastcancer.wordpress.com

Posted in Calendar, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Planning, Taxes

Small Actions Can Help You Get Organized

Posted on January 28, 2010 | Leave a comment

It’s hard to believe this month is almost over. January was “National Get Organized Month”. Have you been organizing your desk, office, or home? If you’re like me it’s takes a lot longer than one month to get organized.

I’ve been working at it for years and it’s an ongoing process. It’s like floating down a river in a raft, sometimes it is calm and sometimes you hit the rapids. When the papers and other clutter enter your home faster than you can put them away then it’s time to take small but quick actions to help you get control.

If the paper piles on your desk or counter have been piling up with bills from the holidays, tax papers, children’s school papers, etc. then you need to take a few minutes and organize them. You’ll feel better and more in control. Check out my article on Divide and Conquer Paper Clutter.

If you still haven’t put away the holiday decorations now would be a good time to do it. Take one room at a time or set a timer each day. Before you know it they will all be put away.

If all the new toys your children got for the holidays are still laying around everywhere it may be time to free up some shelf space for them. Go through their old toys and get rid of the ones they no longer play with.

When you hit the rapids of disorganization then think of what small actions you can take immediately to help you navigate the rough waters. Those small actions will add up.

Janice

Posted in Calendar, Decluttering, Home, home office, Organizing, Paper Clutter

Hidden Roots Of Clutter

Posted on January 26, 2010 | Leave a comment

Why do we have clutter? That’s a tough question. Sometimes it’s as simple as setting up a system or routine that makes it easy for us to control the clutter. Sometimes it’s as complicated as deep psychological reasons. Since I am not a psychologist (although I did take about 12 hours of psychology courses in college back in the dark ages) obviously I can only help by suggesting systems, routines or simply looking at clutter from a different perspective.

So what are some of the simple hidden roots of clutter and how do you find them? Well, the best way is to play detective.

Do you have a problem with paper clutter and lost bills? It could be because you don’t have a system set up to deal with paper. You need a place to put your bills as soon as your receive them so they are in one place when you sit down to take care of them. No more lost bills.
Do clean pots and pans stay in the dish drainer because the cabinets are so full it’s a real hassle to put them away and then take them out again? The root of this clutter is either too many pans, too little cabinet space, or an inefficient and unorganized cabinet. Figure out the root cause then you can find a solution to change it.
Is the bathroom counter filled with bottles, brushes, razors, hairdryers, etc. because the underneath cabinet is filled with old stuff? Cleaning out the old and unused items can clear up some space. If you lack storage space maybe some baskets or shelves put on the wall can corral some of the items.
Books, DVD’s, toys, and other things are cluttering up the family room. Are there too many items? Too little storage? Inefficient storage? Rarely used items mixed in with daily used items? Again, figure out the root cause then you can find a solution.

Once you figure out the hidden roots of the clutter then you have a direction to help point you towards a solution. Clearing out the old unused items makes it easier to organize what is left. If this is hard for you to do then look inside yourself to see the hidden reason you can’t let go of things. Once you know why then you can start working to change it.

Janice

Posted in Decluttering, Home, Organizing, Paper Clutter, Simplicity

Creating New Habits

Posted on January 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Have you moved forward on your New Year’s resolution to declutter and organize your home? It is said that very few people follow through with their resolutions. That’s probably because they don’t have a plan in place or even know where to start.

The first place to start is to recognize and acknowledge the bad habits that got you in this mess to begin with. Clutter and disorganization doesn’t happen overnight and all by itself. It happens over time due to bad habits on your part.

So if the root of the problem is bad habits then the solution would be to have good habits instead. Studies show that the best way to get rid of a bad habit is to substitute a good habit in it’s place.

An example of a bad habit that contributes to the clutter in your home would be bringing in the mail and dumping it on the kitchen counter to “go through it later”. Later may come in a couple of days or longer. By then the pile is toppling over and in the way. Now you feel overwhelmed by the pile and don’t know when you’ll find time to deal with it. In your mind it will take forever so you put it off for a few more days when you may have more time. This bad habit creates a vicious cycle.

Now a good habit to substitute for the bad one would be to deal with the mail on a daily basis. That doesn’t mean you will take care of paying the bills that day or reading the magazine before cooking dinner. What you want to do is set up a plan to organize the mail as soon as you bring it in the house.

You’ll want a file folder or basket on your desk for bills and items that need action taken right away. You’ll want another folder or basket for items that don’t need immediate action and can wait a few days for you to look at. You’ll also want a place to keep the reading material, maybe a basket by your favorite chair.

As soon as the mail comes in take a couple of minutes to separate it into piles according to the categories above. Have a fourth pile for trash that needs shredding. All other junk mail can be recycled or thrown away immediately. Take another minute or two to put the piles into their proper folders or baskets.

Do this 2-5 minute routine everyday and before long you will have substituted a good habit for the bad one. No more piles of mail cluttering up the counter!

Janice