My Top 3 Essentials for Organizing Paper Clutter

Where on earth has the time gone since my last post?! After celebrating the holidays and having a blast catching up with family, Ben and I returned home to Denver and proceeded to take turns coming down with a different bug just about every week for about a month straight. From tummy troubles to colds and coughs, we had a slow start to the year as we tried to get back into the groove of everyday life.

Having watched one too many episodes of Tidying Up With Marie Kondo on Netflix (like everyone else in America, it seems!) while I was down for the count, I was chomping at the bit to start organizing and purging our stuff. As soon as I was feeling better, I dove right into the deepest corners of junk drawers and pulled everything out of our closets and cabinets.  With all of our possessions out where I could clearly see them, I sorted into categories and then began the tough work of making purposeful decisions about each and every item. To keep it or not? If not, should it be donated, sold, recycled or trashed? If an item is to be kept, where should it be stored and why?

After weeks on end spent confronting this monstrous project, there finally came a time where we had to put the house back together despite not being completely finished with every nook and cranny of the house – but I’m proud to say that I got pretty darn close. As a result, it’s been much easier to keep the house tidy and find the items we need exactly when we need them.

After making so much progress with organizing my home over the past couple of months, this is the first in a series of posts where I’ll be sharing some of my favorite products for getting your life and home organized. Today I’m telling you all about my three favorite items for dealing with the big, bad beast that is PAPER CLUTTER.

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Binders with sheet protectors and business card inserts – As I was organizing my house, I kept coming across things like user manuals, business cards and gift cards all scattered in different drawers and tossed in various storage boxes. I corralled all of the user manuals we might need to reference in the future (like for our vacuum, small kitchen appliances, and electronics) and stored them in a binder in sheet protectors, so we can easily flip through and spot what we’re looking for.

These handy business card inserts went in another binder, so now it’s easy to grab gift cards and shopper’s rewards cards before venturing out to a specific store.  For stores we frequent more often, we keep our rewards cards in our wallets.

Since I keep my binders out on an open shelf in my office, I picked a pretty color that reflects my personal taste and looks like part of my décor. Life is too short for boring office supplies when there are so many fun options out there! Target is my favorite source for binders since they have such a large selection to choose from.

Here are some of my favorite picks:

Source: Target
Amazon.com: russell+hazel Marble Patent Signature 3 Ring Binder: Gateway
Source: Amazon
Source: russell+hazel

Expandable folders, file cases and envelope folders – These folders came in handy when it came time to corral sentimental papers like printed awards, writing portfolios, school mementos, cards and photos.

While I prefer to use hanging files in a filing cabinet for our records, you could also use folders like this to store important documents if you don’t have the space for a file cabinet! I also like using mini expandable folders to keep track of receipts. Again, Target always has a great selection of pretty folders like these.

Here are some of my favorite options available right now:

Source: Target
Source: Amazon
Office Depot Brand Expanding File Case 19 Pocket Legal Size Multicolor Fashion Print - Office Depot
Source: Office Depot
Staples Plastic Coupon Organizer with 1/2" Document Case, Assorted Colors (51801)
Source: Staples

Magazine files – I’ve gotten pretty good about tossing old magazines and cancelling subscriptions for those I can’t keep up with, but for any I haven’t had a chance to read yet or am holding on to for a friend, I find that storing them in a magazine file keeps them looking neat and tidy. I also occasionally receive a catalogue that I want to flip through, so until I’ve had a chance to do that, they live in this file right next to my magazines!

This system also works well for separating incoming mail by items that need action vs papers that need filing. Just like my binders, I keep my magazine files on an open shelf in my office, so I want it to look just as great as it is functional.  Target and OfficeDepot both usually have a great selection of these, as do TJ Maxx and HomeGoods.

Here are some of the best options available right now:

Source: Target
Bigso Estelle Canvas Paper Laminate Magazine File Storage Box, Grey
Source: Amazon
Telford Handwoven Rattan Magazine File
Source: Wayfair

And there you have it – my top three items for staying on top of paper clutter! So tell me, friends – have you done any major organizing so far this year? Is paper clutter a common issue in your home? What are your favorite tools, tips and tricks for keeping your life and home organized?

Linking up at my favorite blog link parties! This post was featured on Chasing Quaintness.

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