This is not my kitchen. The kitchen belongs to the much loved Emerson of Emerson Made and was part of a universally loved sneak peek on Design Sponge. Balloons popped, bunting rippled, and stripes flew off shirts in blogger homes across the country. We shared a moment.
I’ve been staring at it and staring at it and staring at it. There is enough in common with my kitchen for me to get a similar look for very little money. I’m thinking about it.
I’m also thinking about organization. The older I get, the tidier I become. I have a pretty good routine, too. I clean the fish tank, sweep up after the dogs, and avoid waste when I can. My secret to cleaning is this: have less stuff and a place for all your stuff. To be honest, it took� giving up our housekeeper a couple of years ago to get the hang of keeping house well and regularly. I believe this is one of the best things we ever did for our family, and I wish I did it sooner. It boiled down a simple issue of entitlement. When it’s your little fingers getting dirty, you pay more attention to what you buy and where you set that coffee cup. You become a more conscious consumer and invested homeowner. This isn’t the case with everyone, of course, but I don’t think my experience is unqiue.
My downfall is paper. I am at a loss when it comes to collecting and storing the paper trails that prove we exist. Bills, contracts, insurance policies, school work, report cards, tax returns, family photos, and holiday cards are killing me. Franz Kafka’s short story, The Penal Colony, centers around an elaborate torture and execution apparatus that carves a sentence into the skin of condemned prisoners. I forget the particulars, but I’m pretty sure the blades were made from old utility bills. If I were ever condemned, my sentence would be “File me.”
I store our bills in accordion files separated by year. Every year after tax season, I place all the supporting receipts and documentation in a large envelope with a copy of the submitted state and federal returns. If we are ever audited I have our evidence at the ready. (That’s the lawyer in me and if I can give you any advice, do this.) Most of our photos are tossed in an enormous drawer in a hallway built-in and I have two “memory boxes” for the boys. Schoolwork, cards, and things like hair and teeth go in there. (?!)
I’m on the verge of a paper solution. I can feel it. All I need is a healthy dose of inspiration. Are there organization blogs you like to read? Monica and I were discussing our love for Chez Larsson on Twitter yesterday, and how excited we were to see she joined Pinterest. But aside from Benita, we came up empty. My problem with most organization blogs are the features on organizational products/furniture/calendars, etc. That’s not what I want. I want to learn how to manage my home from someone who is naturally tidy and good at editing. If you do a good job controlling your home inventory, you won’t need special equipment for its management.
So says the girl who couldn’t find her son’s baptismal certificate yesterday.
Hi Jules,
I love your blog and particularly the stories you tell! There’s definitely a serious writer in you somewhere!
It seems there are few organisation blogs out there, so I’m looking forward to what others will share. Especially because I’m moving at the end of the month. So far Unclutterer has given me some of the best tips. Hope it helps you too!
http://unclutterer.com/
V Yang.
Oh god, paperwork.
I have no answers, but the blog iheartorganizing might be helpful? I don’t read regularly but it sounds like the sort of thing you’re after. Young house love is less focused on organising but does have that naturally tidy and good at editing thing going on.
I live your blog by the way.
Just took a look at iHeart Organizing (http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/) – amazing site with SO MANY ideas and solutions, thanks for recommending!!
I go paperless on absolutely everything possible. All my bills and bank statements are paperless and almost every payment is electronic. (This includes taxes.) Any paper important to keep, I scan an electronic copy of and back up on an extra hard drive. This not only reduces clutter and frees up mental space for me (a necessity for me to function properly without going crazy), it also makes an eventual moves astronomically easier.
But paper is evil, and accumulates like dust bunnies if you turn your gaze away for just a moment. So even on top of all that, I still go through seasonal purges to streamline everything as much as I can.
Hope that helps or gives you ideas!
You know, I like the idea of going paperless … I do. And I’m getting better. My shredder is under my desk and I shred junk the minute I get it {rather than save up, as I was prone to do}. Still, I can’t let go of everything. I want tangible proof. If all forms of electronic communication are cut off, and that’s the time I get audited, by George, I’ll be ready!!!
That aid, I do have paper hanging about. Unfortunatatly, I don’t read organizational blogs regularly; it just feels like something personal. Which for me means going old school and sticking with drawers/folders/dividers … ordered according to use.
In other words, I’ve got nothin’ for ya! :)
I have all of the same issues with paper. There was a time in which I had the ability to manage it, but somehow that knowledge is now lost. I need inspiration. I need help. Looking forward to the blog suggestions.
Thanks for the mention. :)
I LOVE the Unclutterer.com website & read almost everything that comes to my reader from that one. The archives have a lot of useful advice for whatever your problem area may be or problems you never knew you had! (kid stuff, paper, kitchen tools, gifts, etc…) The best thing about this blog is that it doesn’t go on about STUFF you need, but more of a SYSTEMS approach to organizing and—more importantly—-keeping organized. She may have also written a book, but I think the website is probably more helpful—some of the comments to the posts offer even better suggestions of what has worked or not for others.
Yesterday I was browsing books on Amazon and came upon one by Tsh Oxenrider who blogs at simplemom.net and has a book that looks lovely (“organized simplicity”) . There are sections in there for decluttering every room of your house as well as on natural cleaning & personal care recipes. Not sure if there is a section on paper clutter, but the book looks gorgeous & the reviews mention that there are good specific tips.
I have always been an organizational freak and still struggle with the paper. We have got it significantly pared down though. Our bills and taxes are filed in folders, not unlike yours. Everything else goes in one of two places, the fireproof safe or the two-drawer filing cabinet. The things that are mega important like social security cards, birth certificates, marriage license, mortgage, check books, etc go in the safe. Things like warranties, handbooks for the kids school, receipts for big ticket items, etc go in the filing cabinet. Now if only I had the time to file things more regularly.
Schoolwork, cards, and things like hair and teeth go in there. (?!)
I saw an episode of CSI that started exactly like that! ;)
I have the locks from my son’s first haircut still sitting on our kitchen hutch ready for an envelope. So I understand the need for a place to file it. :-)
Maybe you’re keeping too much. What exactly do you need those old utility bills for? In the unlikely event you are audited and the IRS doesn’t believe you had electricity in your home (I assume you write off part as a home office), I’m sure you could get the pertinent information from your bank, etc. Learn to let go! BTW, I keep the teeth in my jewerlry box. Sort of creepy when I come across them.
I’m also struggling with organizing paper! Last Saturday I spent most of the afternoon shredding old bills, and refiling documents that I probably will never need to retrieve. I’m considering scanning my key documents to lighten my “paper trail” existence.
Holy crap! I want every detail of this kitchen which somehow i had not seen (oh right I was away from the blog world for a year…)