The Best Way To Quickly Organize Paper Clutter

Even though we all count on our digital organizers more than ever before, we still seem to have an abundance of paper to deal with on a daily basis.  Here’s the best way we’ve found to organize paper clutter.

Are Important Papers Considered Clutter?

We are all pretty good, at times, of quickly discarding the obvious junk mail that lands on the kitchen counter daily.  Some of us even make neat little stacks of the mail that is important enough to go thru just as soon as we get dinner started, take the dog out, help with homework or are back from the extra event of the day.  Why don’t we take 5 minutes to open the mail instead of leaving the stacks to multiply during the week?  Because once the papers are loose…we should deal with them.  If we don’t have a good, quick system in place these important papers become more clutter on the to do list to deal with later.  What we need is a ……

Daily Life Sorter

Today on another Friday Favorites, let’s look at the must haves for paper clutter control!

• has to be a quick system that we will use daily-no exceptions
• needs to be in a location easy to use all the time
• must be able to evolve with life changes
• reasonably priced and looks good – a plus

Presto!  This system above meets all of the criteria to organize paper clutter.  For this family,  a 5 section wall tray is in the kitchen where most paper lands each day.  The trays are labeled with a system that works for this family.  The trays are compact, and opaque, which keeps visual clutter under control as well.  Trays come in all price points, colors and are easy to install.  A vertical system keeps surfaces clear.

Not sure you want to see this system in the decor?  We’ve placed these trays on the back of pantry, laundry room, garage, closet and kids rooms doors.  Ideally, with a trash can and ultimately a shredder very nearby, paper clutter can be efficiently dealt with in about 2-3 minutes a day.   Important papers are sorted and easy to find when we are ready to deal with them.

One client’s 5 year old brought home his school papers every day and told his Mom to “put them in the thing”!  Out of the mouth of babes.

White Wall Trays

So many of our clients are super crafty and have come up with personalized labels that work for their lives.  Designers use blue painters tape, and a sharpie, to label everything.  Removable tape, and sharpies,  are now available in all kinds of cool colors.  What a fantastic, quick way to personalize and change labels as often as needed to keep a wall tray system working for paper clutter.

Removable Tape For Labels

5 Trays – 5 Ways To Organize Paper Clutter

We’ve found that one central stack of 5 works for the immediate, daily sorting and centralizing the most important papers in our clients lives.  However,  we’ve also found it can be contagious when one in a family starts to organize and sees this same tray system being personalized even further.  One Mom has a set that allows for a slot for each person in the family.  A gent has one in his garage that organizes auto paperwork.  The configurations are endless.

Family-Bills, Appointments, Tickets/Invitations, Kids/School Info, Things to Address Soon

Mom-Kids Art, Coupons, Recipes, Magazines, Groups/Hobbies

Dad-Manuals, Membership Info, Sports Info, Receipts

Kids-Homework, Photos, Journals, Awards, Cards/Notes

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