Tackling Paper Clutter and a GIVEAWAY

By Kate Riley June 9, 2010

Remember when I was on that huge organizing kick back in January, even did an entire week of posts on getting a fresh start ?  I even managed to get somewhat organized when it came to filing paperwork, but I’m sorry to report, again the paper is totally and completely out of control around here.   I was doing so well for many months, but then somewhere between Easter and Graduation, the piles of paper again became my nemesis. 

cluttered pile

I’m good at juggling a lot of balls at one time, but when it comes to paper clutter, it is my number one organizational challenge.   So I’m going to be participating in the Organize Your Paper Clutter Workshop, brought to you my newest sponsor Simplify 101

As a super busy multitasking mom, I love the fact that the workshop is spread out over six weeks, with plenty of time to review the materials between entertaining the kids, swim lessons, and even more DIY projects this summer, yippeee ! 

Just the thought of ridding my house of paper clutter makes me breathe a huge sigh of relief.  Won’t you join me ?

paper clutter header

Do you stack papers on your countertop or desk because you simply don’t know what else to do with them? 

Are you overwhelmed with all the artwork and papers your children bring home from school?  Are you unsure what paper you really need to keep and how long to keep it?

Does it seem like you have more paper coming into your home than you can possibly handle?  Are you tired living with paper-cluttered surfaces?

This six week summer workshop will give you the answers to all your pressing paper questions plus simple-to-use systems that will eliminate the paper clutter in your home.   You’re free to review the weekly materials on your own time over the six weeks, online or in PDF format, or even in MP3 format.  

Plus, with clear cut action steps and the support of a professional organizer to answer questions, plus a friendly online community, you can take action and organize your paper. 

Check out the entire six week syllabus right here.

Now y’all know I love to giveaway pretty stuff, and today it’s something very practical. 

The kind folks at Simplify 101 are offering two lucky readers a free spot in the Organize Your Paper Clutter Workshop – a $75 dollar value.    

Eligibility to win one of two free spots in the Organize Your Paper Clutter workshop:

1)  Leave a comment telling us what kind of paper clutter is your biggest organizational challenge !  

2) For a second chance to win, either link to this giveaway on Facebook OR tweet this giveaway with a link on Twitter, and then leave a second comment telling me where you mentioned this giveaway (FB or Twitter). 

Giveaway ends Saturday June 12th at 8 p.m. PST.  Winners chosen by Random.org. 

swirl snip If you’d like more tips on organizing your home or office top to bottom, sign up for Simplify 101’s organizing newsletter right here !   You can also follow the blog and get even more daily tips on organizing.

GOOD LUCK ! 

341 comments

  1. Mail, my daughter’s school work and receipts are my nemesis. Occasionally recipes and shopping wish lists make it into the piles too.

  2. Of all the paper clutter that comes in it is all the stuff that my children bring home-artwork, spelling tests, permission slips, etc that is the most difficult to contain because it is all “MY FAVORITE!” I really need this workshop because right now I am typing with piles to my left and right-actually touching me. It’s a nightmare!

  3. EVERY piece of paper is an issue with me! I’m sooo not an organizer which is horrible because I am also a teacher and need to be organized at school as well as home! I always think someday… this workshop sounds right up my alley!

  4. Our mail goes from the box to the counter in the kitchen (where the hubs lays it) to the desk in the kitchen, and then into the desk drawers :/ It’s a horrible system, but clutter drives me bonkers!

  5. Paper clutter is my biggest issue, bar none. I can manage closet organization/periodic cleaning/decluttering and it goes a long way. But piles of paper seem to be everywhere.

  6. My worst paper clutter are receipts! My plan is always to cross-check them against my credit card and banking statements, but I don’t always get to it. And if I need to find a receipt for a return, it’s an all-day expedition! I even have some receipts from over 10 years ago! Why can’t I let go?

  7. All the mail goes to the desk. It sits there for a long time until it gets moved to a pile in the cupboard. It stays there for a longer time until it gets green with the moss that grows on it……THEN I file it. It’s shameful.

  8. I have trouble handling the day-to-day paper clutter ranging from bills/statements I want to keep to interesting things printed from the computer and magazine articles ripped out of the magazines. I have yet to come up with a filing system that is foolproof and easy to maintain.

  9. Oh I am SO in need of this! My biggest issue is the mail that needs to be kept for records. I am pretty good with shredding the disposable mail and tossing it into recycling with the junk mail, but the rest just get’s moved from one place to another. Mostly hanging around somewhere between my entry stairs and my kitchen.

  10. I am an organization kind of girl, but I am always looking for new ideas! Sounds fun! Yeah, so that’s how you know I am a freak…I think an organization workshop sounds fun…I need help, obviously. (c:

  11. My biggest challenge is all the recipes and things I’ve ripped out of magazines that are just laying around in different spots waiting for me to get my act together and put them in a binder or something.

  12. I just have piles. Piles of stuff I don’t need to look at anytime soon, but that I’d like to keep around just in case. The simple solution seems to be to get a filing system, but for some reason the piles still stack up!

  13. magazines and greeting cards. when ppl give cards i hate to throw them out, but keep them for years? where do i put them?

  14. My office gets to be a paper disaster! I buy things to organize it but I never seem to have the time to go through stuff!

  15. This post really spoke to me – we suffer from massive paper clutter. I’m OK with the paper as it comes in to our house, but never seem to find the time to file it away. Our spare room/office is a nightmare of unfiled paperwork. Hope to win this, because we sure need some help! Thanks for the chance!

  16. Wow, this workshop sounds like it was MADE for me! I tend to be a bit OCD and love for things to have their place around the house. However, I constantly struggle with paper! It piles up and piles up and piles up until my hubby can’t stand it and then stashes it in some unknown place to me. We just moved, and I have an entire box of paperwork – bills, insurance explanation of benefits, other records – that have to be sorted and filed! I would LOVE to win this workshop…. Thanks for the great giveaway!

  17. bills and important papers bc I’m too lazy to file straightaway and I don’t own a shredder so I end up taking stuff to work.

  18. i have 6 kiddos and i’m a bit sentimental… i try to throw stuff away, but i think i spend more time re-sorting all the stuff i save. this workshop sounds wonderful!

  19. Paperwork is my enemy! It’s everywhere in my house. No matter how many times I try to tackle it, it never goes away. I have the most random stuff with the most impostant stuff: bills mixed with college essays (7 years old), wedding invitations, my new passport, and junkmail. It just doesn’t make any sense and since it’s so overwhelming… it just sits there and grows! Then when I find things that are past their exp. date (rebates, bills, etc.) I get so mad that I let them slip away! :) Thanks for the opportunity!

  20. we just have general stacks of papers at our house. we occasionally sort them into even more piles that either go in the trash or wait around to be filed. i also have stacks of receipts or things i keep ‘just in case!’ sounds like this is a class i would really benefit from!!

  21. I can’t seem to get out from under the mail – things that need to be filed but just end up piled. I have piles in the kitchen, the dining room table and my desk. I even have paper piles in boxes – heaven help me if I ever need to find one of those papers! =)

  22. I have a mixed bag of paper clutter including mail and miscellaneous paperwork combined with a small apartment and little storage. The biggest factor, though, is that I am a writer and former teacher so I have LOTS of old and new papers and projects to house!

  23. Oh my gosh. I need this so badly! My desk tries so hard to be organized, but with three very creative and prolific children the artwork takes over. Then the bills. Then all the school papers and schedules and things I need to remember are buried underneath and I don’t remember anything. I have no idea how to deal with it all.

  24. At my house we just call them “piles”. Every “to-do” list we have ever written includes them. But do they ever get done??? no. I could definetly use some help in this part of my life.

    Pick me! Pick me!

  25. Paper clutter is my nemesis — I have piles of mail, piles of my kids’ papers, piles… I have tried to get it under control but I just can’t come up with a functional system that works consistently. Getting this organized would be such a weight off my mind!

  26. This is the oddest giveaway I have ever seen. Please do not count this comment as an entry. Thanks!

  27. Oh, please, pick me! I’m drowning in paper piles. I’ve tried. REally, I have. But, right now it is very bad. This would be WONDERFUL. Thank you.

  28. I am pretty good about paper clutter at work, but at home I am horrible because I don’t have a system. So I get stacks of papers all over the house, and then when I clean I shove them in a drawer so I don’t have to look at them…and then I can’t find what I am looking for. I am in deserate need of some help with this.

  29. I am a bad stacker… it drives my husband crazy! I really want to win so I can mark this off on my list of goals for this year:) AND to learn how to manage my clutter!!!!!!

  30. I sooo need this!! I have piles of mail, bills, lists, junk everywhere. Some are half gone through and then just never dealt with. I am sure I could probably find a few grocery bags full of half sorted piles. This is coming at a perfect time too, I have a baby on the way in August and I am trying to tackle our clutter this morning, so everything goes smoother adjusting to having 2 kiddos. Also, DS1 is starting preschool this year, so there will be more paper and I will have to be more organized too.

  31. School papers are definitely my biggest challenge. I’d love to have a space with the workshop!

  32. MAIL. Coupons. Recipes. I would love to win this giveaway….but my husband would love for me to win it even more.

  33. Love your site! Found it as a link from another friendly blogger….
    My paper challenge is all of the stuff that you need to have 2 people sign and return, or return to the store with receipts… where do you put all of that stuff that you need to act upon, but not right now because it’s 11pm or you need your other half to sign something first….
    That, and how long do I really need a copy of my electric bill that I just paid?

  34. I am actually not horrible at it but my guy is another story, he is a piler. He loves his piles and won’t be broken of them no matter what I’ve tried, ever free surface he fills up with piles of paper and reciepts and magazines never to go through them again.

  35. All of it! With 5 boys, a hubby, and me being a magazine addict there are always piles around our house! I soooo need to win this!

  36. At our house the biggest issue with paper clutter is mail. My husband seriously slacks when it comes to sorting through mail and throwing away junk mail. I try to keep up but it is a never ending process.

  37. Mail, stacks and stacks of mail both opened and unopened. I HATE IT! Even got a PO Box so I could toss and not take into the house. That’s helped about 10%. I still have STACKS AND STACKS.

  38. MAIL.
    I open and sort through into two piles— trash & needs something done (that includes bills, jury duty, catalogs that I want to order from etc etc). Then that pile joins the ever growing piles on my desk, dresser, floor…. where is most likely forgotten about. I realize this isn’t probably the best system. Haha!

  39. Mail to shred. I open and toss what is impersonal, keep everything with name/address to shred. I have tons that needs to be shredded. Recipes are #2. I have magazine pages, newspaper pages, scraps of paper, recipes on EVERYTHING with no order or reason. HELP!

  40. I struggle with ALL kinds of paper clutter! Incoming mail, school papers, etc…I would LOVE to be able to get a handle on it once and for all!! Thanks for the opportunity!

  41. Oh this workshop sounds like such a good idea. Paper clutter grows on my desk until I sort it into piles that just get transferred onto other surfaces. Usually random handouts, notes, recipes, all things that I have no specific place or system for. Not to mention all the sentimental things I hang onto but have to real place for besides boxes of “memories”. I need a better system!

  42. Miscellaneous mail combined with the kids’ classroom handouts/homework/etc. have conspired to make my kitchen counter a constant battle. I need this workshop DESPERATELY!

  43. Ugh, paper is the hugest thorn in my disorganized behind! I am a chronic pile-maker, but it’s actually my husband’s unopened mail (statements, credit card offers, etc) that is the largest issue at our house.

  44. Bills and other things that I know I need to keep for whatever reason! I’ve tried folders and filing systems, but nothing has been really successful so far!

  45. I’ve posted this to my Facebook page. Let me reiterate: I need this course DESPERATELY!

  46. paper clutter is my number one problem at home too. mails that needs to be shredded, filed and tossed. everything sits on the counter. my husband from work removes everything from his pocket including papers/post its from work and dumps it on the counter too. tried several ways but never worked.

  47. Paper clutter is one thing I keep trying to get under control with NO luck. I just had triplets 2 weeks ago and I know as they grow older it’ll be 3x’s more paper/artwork/stuff coming into the house. Needless to say, I need to get it under control now before I am too overwhelmed.

  48. My worst kind of clutter is….BILLS.

    No wait, it’s MAIL.

    No! It’s old reciepts!!! …Okay, I have a lot of paper clutter.

  49. Receipts and mail are my nemesis! I just dont know what to do with it all! I have enrolled in paper free billing for as many bills as I could but that hasnt seemed to help much. And to make things worse I work from home so not only do I have personal paper stacks in my home office but I also have work paper stacks as well. I definitely need some HELP!

  50. Well, it is, of xourse, the paper with the field trip information the night before the class trip! Or the end of yr Field Day notice that said what T shirt color my daughter is supposed to wear–I get myself organized then forget where I put the paper with the info on it! ARGH!!

  51. My biggest paper clutter: a tie between my kids’ stuff they bring home from school, sunday school, etc. AND bills/mail/and “stuff” that I can’t throw away but I dont’ know where to put it so it ends up all over my kitchen. ACK!!!!!!!!! Help me pleeeeeease!!!!!

  52. So I am fairly good with not having too much mail paper clutter — I got a filing system complete with an spot for things yet to be filed, so I can throw stuff in there when company is coming. However, my love has papers for his job EVERYWHERE all the time! He keeps crying for his own desk and his own hole (so no one cares what it looks like) but in a small house that really isnt an option — it would be soo great to have something for him and his paper clutter!

  53. I SO want this! I am drowning in newsletters, to-do lists, school art projects, bills, invitations, magazines, receipts, catalogues, and flyers! Please help me!

  54. my biggest paper clutter are the bills that we get. we can’t just toss them and our shredder is broken so it piles up waiting to be shredded! Ack!

  55. Wow, I answered yes to everyone one of those clutter questions! I just want to see clean surfaces in my house; no leftover mail, things to do, artwork, piles that need to be filed (or moved to another pile) etc – everything should have a place! I really need this workshop!

  56. Biggest paper clutter: the mail, bills and everything else that gets stacked on the kitchen counter. Plus, we don’t have a very good filing system established, so we just move the piles (once paid, etc.) to our “office” room and pile them again. Then they sit there fore a long time. Yikes!

  57. My biggest paper clutter issue……..drumb roll please- Mail (mainly bills), go figure. I’m also a huge magazine reader and save them, thinking I’m going to use the page I folded over at some point. I need to get rid of the paper clutter! I’m buying a house wiht my boyfriend here soon, and need to kick the habit before I drive him crazy too!

  58. I hear you! Paper clutter is the worst…and it just kind of sneaks up on you. I try to place things in piles…neat ones…around the house. Then I realize I have 20 different piles….and there goes my oganized paper plan.

  59. My biggest paper struggle is the things we would like to keep for awhile, but don’t need to keep forever. They end up getting misplaced or lost and then when I really need them, I can’t find them.

  60. The hardest paper clutter to keep organized for me is the mail and bills!!! My desk has become a dumping ground. I would LOVE to attend this workshop and implement their ideas.

  61. My husband needs that class! I’m pretty organized with paperwork. I use accordian folders for all the bills (paid & unpaid), contracts, receipts, etc. He, on the other hand, seems to just walk into the office, toss the papers up in the air and wherever they land is where they will stay… for-ev-er (you have to say “forever” like they do in Sandlot.) FOR-EV-ER

  62. I am desperate for help with organizing receipts! I not only have a regular household amount of receipts but I do my husband’s film production billing. I am swamped in paperwork and receipts! Can’t wait to check out the website. :)

  63. My daughter is just finishing out her first year of kindergarten. Now the neat piles of her kindergarten artwork can accommodate all the piles of her preschool artwork! I can’t stand to throw it away, but I don’t know *what* to do with it!

  64. I would have to say my biggest paper clutter right now is incoming bills and financial paper work. How much do I need to keep and for how long? Ugh. I would love to take this class. Maybe they know the answer!

  65. mail/bills/cards/reciepts…you name it! my kitchen always ends up as the dumping ground for these things and I am contantly moving piles from one side of the room to the other – not a good system =) i would love to take this class!

  66. I’d say paper in general is my nemesis…bills/documents/kids stuff/files/coupons/etc. I’d say if it’s paper then we just don’t get along :)

  67. Do I need this workshop or what?! My biggest problems are bills, school/MOPS paperwork, lists, and correspondence. Okay, that’s pretty much anything you could have a paper problem with. I need help!

  68. I definately need this workshop!! I struggle the most with the daily bills/records that you need to keep organized for tax time and all of my design files…a mess!! Thanks so much for the opportunity and for doing the workshop!

  69. My organizational style could be called Stack Management. In other words, I have stacks of paper on pretty much every surface of my home. I desperately need help with it. My biggest challenge is my husband. Secondly is the numerous papers my 3 kids bring home on a daily basis. HELP!

    Thanks!

  70. Glad to see I am not the only one with this problem! Paper clutter everywhere. Bills, circulars, coupons, etc….. It is unmanageable! It seems like when I go through a pile to sort and clear, all I am doing is shuffling papers and then moving the same pile to another spot. I would love to be organized.
    Thanks!

  71. My biggest paper clutter is mainly bills and coupons that I might use and receipts and stuff I don’t want but am afraid to throw away. Arrggh. I don’t like my paper clutter! Now I’m going to be thinking about this all day.

  72. I’m a high school teacher… so paper clutter is a constant challenge at work and at home!

  73. Inspiration such as magazines, newspaper clippings, photo, arts samples… are all over my desks, dresser tops, floor, night stand, chairs (basically, all and any surfaces in the home).

    The situation is very sad.

  74. I’m a stacker, so everything except bills (those go the hubs) gets put in piles–receipts, magazines, random newsletters and flyers, etc. I NEVER get back to any of it, but am afraid to toss it in case I might need it someday.

  75. I teach four levels of ESL –> four courses in each level. I have a massive amount of worksheets for each level, and I know there’s probably 3 extra copies of every worksheet. But I don’t want to lose anything, so I keep hold onto the extra copies to feel safe.

  76. It doesn’t matter what kind of paper it is, it seems to obscure all horizontal surfaces in my house. Looking at several such surfaces right now!

  77. hmmm…I think my biggest paper clutter challenge is the stuff that I dont’ know what to do with…you know…bits of information…or paper that reminds me I have to do something with it!

    I would love love love to go on this course! Pick me!

  78. My biggest paper clutter program is incoming mail. I open it, but then it never seems to go anywhere!

  79. Oh where to begin with which paper clutter is my biggest challenge. All of it really, but recipes are a big one for me and anything to be filed. It would be the biggest blessing to win this giveaway. Thanks! :)

  80. oh I am horrible at figuring out what to do with recipes that I tear out, print up, or have scribbled on note paper. They are collected in a file folder that I spend at least 15 minutes sorting through each time I want to cook one of my “I know it’s here somewhere” recipes!

  81. I’m not sure what bills to keep and for how long, but I also could use a better way to organize my children’s artwork, birthday cards, etc.

  82. Where do I even begin? I am notoriously known for being a pack-rat. I have stacks of mail, receipts, old homework assignments (I’m a college student), recipe cards, and stacks of old magazines. It’s very frustrating, especially when I would rather be organized. Obviously, I could benefit from the class!

  83. My biggest challenge in tackling paper clutter is what to do with my husband’s piles (I make them for him, aren’t I sweet?). I want to deal with them, but I don’t want to nag him or risk putting something somewhere where he can’t find them.

  84. I have piles of piles right now. Kids homework…what to save, what to keep? Mail….is this junk or should I keep it? Coupons….designed to save me money but I keep thinking to save my sanity I need to chuck them. OH PLEASE PICK ME!!!

  85. OH I AM SO LIKE YOU!!! I had a organize me myself and all thy things in front of me… and I have to say… I slipped and it seems to have snowballed…. I have bills, paperwork, pictures… oh the pictures just junk! Please pick me I need an intervention!

  86. My biggest problem is bills, catalogs, and other mail that I’m waiting to “get to.” This workshop sounds way cool!

  87. I have TWO HUGE issues:
    1. All the stuff… ummm, I mean precious papers sent home from preschool every week.
    2. All the stacks of papers my husband shuffled around for YEARS before finally handing over the paper organization off to me. There are honestly papers dating back to 2000 that need to be dealt with.

  88. my biggest hurdle is receipts, receipts, receipts!!! I keep them all and it comes in handy when I need to return something but they pile up, I’ve tried different ways to keep them organized but nothing seems to stick.

  89. At home, hands down it’s MAIL (more specifically BILLS, boooo) that are my issue. At work I have an even bigger paper clutter problem, in that my documents don’t fit in my desk because the papers are 11×17. Haven’t figured that one out yet!

  90. I always feel buried under all the paper my kids bring home from school – art, homework, notices etc. That and my husbands random scrap paper notes he dumps on the counter CONSTANTLY :))
    I need help!!

  91. I have isuues with ALL forms of paper clutter as well…One hubby, 4 kiddos makes for alot. I am great at making neat piles, using baskets etc. But would love to have a system that works that would be quick, easy & enjoyable. Right now I avoid dealing with the piles as long as possible; there’s always something more interesting to do. Maybe I will win and conquer these piles!

  92. Mail, catalogs, and magazines! I sort and stack and keep for waaay too long.

  93. The papers that I need to keep in view for the next couple days so that I remember to take care of them are the ones that bug me.

  94. What the heck do you do with all the kids’ stuff that comes home from school????? Please oh please pick me!

  95. Oh my where do I start? We have tons of medical bills that I have to save from my car accident a few years ago, bills, bills, and more bills, COUPONS GALORE, the list goes on and on. I need this workshop. I hope random.org knows that too! =)

  96. OMG the paper in my office at home is overtaking the room. And I look at it and then close the door because the task looks so daunting! I could really use a lesson on this!

  97. My biggest is my personal mail, catalogs, busines mail…I am drowing in piles that I have on my desk, and my husbanbs desk… this workshop seems like a life saver.

  98. My paper clutter has catagories…mail, magazines, school papers, receipts, special offers, pictures, newspapers, decorating ideas, coupons and now researching colleges for my oldest. My world has too much paper clutter. Stop and let me off!

  99. we have many medical bills and the paperwork associated with it is holding me back and weighing me down in more ways than one!

  100. I’m drowning in junk mail, catalogs I would neve order from, and those stupid checks from the credit card companies that have to be shredded. It steams me every time I set out a huge pile of paper for the recycling company (which is not cheap) that I never wanted in the first place. Unsolicited mail should be illegal!

  101. My paper piles are absolutely out of control. They’re so bad that when I can’t take them anymore I’ll put them all in a box (think rubbermaid storage container). If I need a bill or form I can narrow down what pile (or box) it’s in and then the digging starts. As you can tell my paper system is pathetic, please pick me for the challenge!
    God’s blessings,
    Sarah :D

  102. My paper challenges include mail (my own and that of my college aged children) and receipts from a little business that I am starting.

    I feel that removing clutter would create space not only physically but in a way that would allow me to move forward more freely. I would love to have professional assistance in setting up a paper management system as I prepare to move to a smaller living arrangement. Thank you for offering this awesome opportunity! Peace!

  103. Hmmm….looking around at my desk and floor….which kind of paper clutter?….

    STUFF I HAVE TO FILE.

    I have a good filing system, but…..sigh, I don’t know. I just don’t want to do it.

    But then again, maybe it’s the stuff I’m going to follow up on. YIKES!

    Need. Help.

    Thanks!

  104. I need to organize my kids artwork, my bills, my life, my junk mail…this would come in handy.

  105. Oh my gosh – Where do I begin?! Piles of junk mail, kids’ school papers, bills, kids’ ‘masterpieces’. I just got my kitchen island redone a couple months ago and haven’t been able to enjoy it yet because it’s covered with papers.

    [email protected]

  106. My biggest challenge is the general clutter that comes from things I don’t want to shred but don’t need == along with the things I need to keep that really have no real home.

  107. My biggest challenge is the stuff we need to keep filed — it all ends up in a big pile, and I only tackle it a couple of times a year. I tried moving my filing area downstairs, near where I sort mail (which, incidentally, I have TOTALLY conquered), but I guess it’s just not working for me. Sigh.

  108. Paper, paper, paper… hmmm… without a doubt the paper that comes home from the my kids and the 3 schools they attend is the worst… followed closely by every other piece of paper that enters my house!

  109. My biggest challenges with paper piles are the mail and receipts. UGH, I hate it!

  110. “Stuff we need to file” is a huge pile. It includes medical, bill statements, tax stuff, magazine articles. etc. The next is pictures that have been printed or ordered but have no home yet. Then there is the general mail (magazines, junk mail, bills, cards etc.) With a toddler and a newborn getting the mail in the house is all I can think about, reading it and dealing with it is a whole separate step assuming my 2 year old hasn’t dropped it on the floor or taken it to color on. AHHHH! Can you tell I’m stressed?

  111. My biggest challenge is just STUFF. Old batteries, mail, flyers, a soother, a toy out of its place, a bottle of sunscreen, a broken toy – you would find all those things on my breakfast bar right now. Sigh.

  112. My biggest paper challenges are magazines (too many and have a hard time pairing them down) and receipts/warranties (never know how to store them so they can be found).

  113. Oh boy, do I need this one!!! As executor of my dad’s estate, I am drowning in paperwork—both my own and his. I can’t figure out which things I need to keep and which to throw and storage space is at a premium.

  114. Ugh…bills. Blech.

    And my desk in my classroom is always a wreck. That’s probably worse than at home. I need help organizing the homework, assessments, notes from parents, notes to go home, permission slips, drawings from students…

    Help?

  115. Oh SO many piles… I seem to have so many projects that I don’t want to get rid of, but just haven’t taken through to completion. My home office is a cacophony of things undone.

  116. OMG I never realized I had this problem until I read your post! There is paper all over my house!!! I have bills, catalogs, receipts, oh dear, you name it! My house is immaculate except for all this darn paper! HELP!! This workshop would be PERFECT!!

  117. I am an organizational junkie! I use to be so organzied and then I had children :-) I feel like I am always dealing with piles of paper (bills, coupons, artwork, magazines, periodicals, etc.) I shuffle them from one spot to the next. I would LOVE to learn how to manage paper clutter.

  118. Oy! What doesn’t pile up? Papers to file, receipts to enter into the computer & file, etc…

  119. My biggest challenge is filing mail… bank statements, insurance EOBs, investment and insurance updates. I never know what to keep and what to toss, so it’s all stuck in an endless pile of “to file”. I could use this workshop!

  120. Paper clutter? Oooh….I am such a paper whore….scrapbook paper…magazines….notes….notepads….unread magazines….scraps of paper that will be good to use in scrapbooks…..notes from my kids that I want to keep….extra papers from minutes that I took for a meeting (cause I’m the secretary)….papers that I think I shouldn’t throw out….old clippoings of past articles (and some are small!)….ugh…yep….I need help with paper clutter!

  121. Paper is everywhere. I’m afraid if I file it, I won’t remember where I put it! I did do a little clean up of the paper today. I do have a recycle bin under my desk. I still need help! glenda dot edmunds at gmail dot com.

  122. My biggest paper clutter challenge is keeping track of all the notes I make to myself. I have 6 different pads of paper at any given time and they end up everywhere and never where I want them! Thanks for the giveaway.

  123. Paper, my nemesis. Of all my challenges with organization paper is the worst. The articles I am GONNA read. The coupons I GONNA use. The investments I am GONNA study. etc.

    i could use this.

  124. My biggest challenge is definitely the mail! I dread going to the mailbox each day, but if I don’t it can get so full that its hard to open. I would love to have a system where I just handle it one time and it gets where it needs to go. I’ve tried so many different methods but unfortunately they fizzle out and it all takes over again. I would love to win a spot in this workshop!!!

  125. Paper clutter is one of my biggest problems! It seems like no matter what kind of paper it is, it all ends up in piles on my kitchen counter and my desk. I have art and notes from my 2 kids (who are both very prolific artists!) that I struggle to organize, and lots of coupons, all kinds of lists that I write to remind myself of things, articles and pictures from magazines, bills and important papers that need to be filed…. etc. I would love to win a spot for the workshop! Thank you!

  126. 16 years of kids papers, projects, awards, etc. I NEED HELP!

  127. The worst is all of the bills and other things that need to be kept for taxes. And I always want to hold onto sale circulars and coupons, and nostalgic things like invitations, and it just becomes one huge mess!

  128. Paper Clutter … where to start. Challenges that I struggle with ~ Articles and pictures that I’ve torn out of magazines to save for future reference. Also, the memory papers … drawings and notes from my children, invitations that I adore, along with lots of photos! I would love the help!

  129. This would be so amazing for me – we have so little space that any little bit of clutter seems like a lot of clutter!

  130. Oh how I’ve wanted to take this class (but the cost isn’t in my budget)! I’m drowning in paper clutter! Kids’ paper from school, mail (essential and junk), medical bills and statements, newspaper/magazine articles I want to keep, lists, lists and more lists!! Thanks for the chance to win an amazing class.

  131. Please, please pick me! I feel like I could create a forest with the amount of paper that enters my home! Okay, so you won’t find me on hoarders or anything like that, but I am so sick of the clutter! Off to FB this fab giveaway!

  132. Oh the piles! I hate the piles! I think my biggest challenge is that a lot of the paper that comes into my house needs some type of action on my part – school forms to be filled out, invitations that require a response or a gift, bills, coupons. I’m good at getting rid of stuff that can immediately be thrown away, it’s the stuff that I need to keep or take action on that ends up piling up on the counter.

  133. I don’t think I can even count the number of paper piles around my house. It doesn’t help that I work from home, so the office explodes into the crevices of the rest of the house. I suppose I should devote some time to filing receipts and bills, but I’d much rather pretend that I don’t see it. Does that work?

  134. This workshop would be perfect for me right now. Paper clutter has taken over my kitchen! Between bills, homeschool stuff, magazine clippings, mounds of “need to file” papers, etc., my kitchen counters are a wreck! I’m headed over to Simplify 101 right now to sign up. Thanks!

  135. OMGosh, I so need this. My desk is the dumping ground for everyone and their paper — school papers, newspapers, mail, flyers, coupons, sticky notes with phone messages, half-written menus, etc. etc. I could clean my desk every day (which obviously I don’t) and I still wouldn’t have room for my laptop amidst all the paper clutter!

  136. I would love to win this! I have piles of paperwork and bills and warranties and house documents everywhere :( We have just moved into our first house and I would like to start as I mean to go on!!

  137. As an author, I need to keep my research materials and character sheets organised. Do i?
    Nope. It’s piling up, along with my husband’s business papers as they creep across the room, smothering my creativity. I need help! Otherwise, how will my characters find their very own happy ever afters!

    Regards
    Jane Beckenham

  138. Have no idea where to start. Hubby owns service business with one other employee. All the paperwork ends up at home! We have 4 children – one in college – one starting in the fall – one in high school and a 10 year old. The amount of mail generated by colleges trying to “market” themselves is just unbelievable. Throw in bills, schedules, coupons, applications, essays, bank stmts, medical info, school related, magazines, catalogs….where does it END?? I tweeted this also…I must win!

  139. As much as I try the worst of my organizing problem is the 30 years worth of paperwork in boxes that I don’t know even why I still keep it.

  140. I have most of my paperwork in one place, and that is a huge stack!! I am good at the sorting, and doing what needs done immediately (like paying bills), I am hopeless at filing everything away right after. Hence the tumbling down stack.
    I would love to be able to work along. I need it.

  141. All paper is my problem. Information I might need sometime, like phone numbers scribbled on little scraps, the size of my patio chair cushions, my kids’ Social Security numbers. Mail that I might want to answer sometime. I need help!

  142. Wow – your description of paper clutter was so spot-on. I have “piles” all over my house…on the kitchen table, the dining room table, the desk in my office, in a pile on the floor next to the chair in my office. I don’t know why I just can never seem to put it all away…and I honestly don’t know what’s in half the piles…so I should just be able to throw it away, but then I can’t bring myself to do it! I would SO benefit from this workshop!

  143. I need this soooooo bad! I am a paper clutter hound. Oddly enough, the rest of my house is pretty clutter free! Weird!

  144. I have paper everywhere. my worst offender i think are bills and work papers that i bring home. i could really use this workshop.

  145. I have alot of clutter because I don’t know what needs purged and what to keep! Then I don’t have a place to put it, so that turns into piles, all around the house. I’d love to learn what to keep and what to throw away, and then where to put it!

  146. I have a terrible time with copies of bills/receipts, I have a pile of them ready to be filed.
    The other area is kid’s papers from school, what and how to keep them. I know that they probably won’t want them later in life but I have a hard time pitching their art work.

  147. Oh my! This is my problem for sure. I have a home office for my job and I can’t keep any papers in order- always trying to find something when I need it and then when I do put it where it should go- I can’t find it! Grrr- such a pain and such a waste of time!

  148. The mail! Once I open it, I have trouble putting it anywhere but on the kitchen counter. Oh yeah, and my piles of paper at work that seem to build up way too quickly!

  149. Kate,

    Paper clutter is the bane of my existence! You hit the nail on the head with this one. I have kids artwork, receipts, bills to be filed, coupons and flyers, etc…I have about 4 piles on any given day. The problem is, I can NEVER find anything because of this lack of organization. It really drives me mad!

  150. I have a lot of paper clutter from home and my shop to contend with…always a mess! I have taken some of the Simplify 101 courses, they are wonderful! Abby is very helpful with her suggestions and ideas.

  151. I had to LOL at the timeliness of your post b/c I was just sitting at my computer desk and had to move a HUGE stack of papers over just so I could read the monitor. *blush* I need this giveaway in the worst way!

  152. Hi my name is jeannine and I have a problem with paper clutter……………
    Been trying for years! Tried multiple approaches(baskets, organizers, files) only to fail miserably and find my counter drowning again.
    Apparently I need help :)
    Relieved t know that I’m not alone!

  153. Paper clutter is our #1 problem. My husbad is big into lists and big into visible lists, so he keeps all of his lists within plain sight which usually means our kitchen counter. We have an office right off the kitchen but things never really make their way into the office. We’ve tried files, cork boards and baskets but nothing seems to work. We’re really great about throwing away the junk mail that comes into the house but really struggle with all of the papers that need to be dealt with. I’d love to find a way to better manage it all, and have my kitchen look like a kitchen again.

  154. mail and bills!… papers from school… recipes and ideas from magazines… what a mess!

  155. With a home business paper clutter has become our #1 problem. I don’t know how to tame it.

  156. Oh, man! I am so convicted by your post! This class is my dream! I wish I could afford to have someone come in and set up a mail system for me that I would actually follow, but this sounds like the next best thing! What a great opportunity – thanks!

  157. My biggest paper clutter problem is junk mail. I do my banking online and pay 95% of my bills that way – my actual mail and statements are getting out of control since I don’t have to physically open any mail to pay my bills! Also, magazines! Oh my, the magazines are taking over!

  158. At my house paper clutter is “THE enemy”! It is a bunch of deferred decisions that only gets worse the more of those “decisions” pile up. Would love to win a spot in the workshop to help!
    Many thanks!
    Kathryn Woodfin

  159. Oh, girl, I EXCEL at having some paper clutter…magazines, recipes, work papers/order forms, mail and junk mail, records, etc. I need this some kind of badly!!! four hundred kinds of badly REALLY>

    Suzanne

  160. My paper clutter problem starts with ordinary household paperwork but is compounded by the fact that we homeschool….schoolwork, school records, books, handouts. Add to this all of the administrative/financial paperwork for our homeschool co-op! I have quite a paper monster. Right now my solution is the keep everything in separate rooms. I’d love to condense all of this into one area.

  161. I would be so thrilled to win this prize. I would invite my sister over so we could do this together!

  162. Wow, I’d be interested just to know what types of things they say. I mean, if a simple workshop can get me to file my schtuff? Now that’s something…. Because filing is a DRAG!!!!

    I’d say my biggest problem is mail. Junk mail is in the trash before it hits the counter, but legitimate mail will sit there for a looooong time. Cards, invitations, paid bills, statements. Also stuff I add… recipes to try someday, directions to a hike I’d like to try, that sort of thing. It adds up pretty quickly.

    Thanks for the opportunity!

    ~Kathryn

  163. Thank you for this opportunity! Paper, Paper Everywhere in my house. I work-full time with countless paper-work heavy assignments, have a home based business, and a pack-rat husband! I would love to have the skills to keep all the paper under control.

  164. My biggest paper clutter comes from mail that I need to keep to remind me of “something” coming up. If I put it away somewhere, I miss the “something”. Oftentimes I miss it anyway because the mail gets lost in the other piles. Help!

  165. Paper clutter is my No.1 ENEMY!!! It seems to grow on a daily basis. I am diligent about getting rid of junk mail as soon as it comes in, old newspapers, too. But, all the other stuff…bills, magazines, catalogs, letters & cards from family & friends! I’m constantly looking for places to stash more paper. Then, of course, it’s impossible to find what I need. Help! Thank you for this giveaway opportunity.

  166. OMG – this workshop is PERFECT for me! i have paper clutter EVERYWHERE – hidden in baskets, drawers, on dressers, fridge, countertops – just everywhere. most of it is junk but the things that aren’t junk (statements, thankyou cards, invitations) i still don’t know what to do with them!

  167. My biggest problem with paper is that I have a hard time figuring out what to keep, how long I should keep it, and how to properly dispose/destroy it (personal information). Paper is not my only clutter problem, but it would sure help to get a handle on it.

  168. What a great idea….just talking about paper tigers at work yesterday! For me, my paper clutter problem would be a tie between what to do with all the copies of my paid bills, as well as knowing what is truly important to keep. Oh, and let’s not forget all those manuals that come with tools and appliances!!! Thanks for entering me. :)

  169. Paper gravitates to my desk ALWAYS! Bills, artwork, thankyou cards, whatnot! It’s overwhelming!!

  170. Receipts, coupons, insurance, banking…the list goes on. Would love to give the clutter workshop a go to help me defeat the clutter monster once and for all!!

  171. receipts and coupons are my biggest challenge. there are always small bits of paper flying around, and of course missing when i actually need them!

  172. School papers would be my biggest pile. I toss the weekly work, except the cute stuff, but the activity flyers get me bogged down.

  173. Mail! I can’t comtrol the mail volume at home to save my life. I get those fake checks from the bank almost every week and I just let them stack up until I finally get to it, and am sitting at the shredder for 2 hours straight. I need some way to figure out how to manage it better.

  174. School papers at the end of the school year! We want to keep some , but we end up keeping them all…how do you organize them? And then there is the never ending pile of receipts, hate those. I recently bought cute boxes, but they are not enough so I found some more at Walmart, hope they keep them in stock…I will be needing lots of them!

  175. I need a paper intervention. We are a family of 6 and my husband has a small business so that adds to the mounds of paperwork. I have stacks tucked here and there…..kids artwork and school papers, bills, mail, reciepts, notes, and the list goes on……HELP SAVE ME FROM THE PAPER!!!! I am a clean freak and have everything organized but my paper!

  176. Our worst paper clutter comes from my boyfriend. He’s terrible for losing paperwork, and hates sorting, and I’m never sure what to keep, so it all ends up in a box, the important and the junk. If only I knew more about taxes and self employment!

  177. Mail! Mail covers our kitchen! We can’t seem to find a good way to organize it all! ugh!

  178. It’s the mail I have to save because I need to do something with it. School papers too! I’m drowning in paper! Throw me a life jacket!

  179. Kids school papers. My papers of things I print (recipes, newsletters, etc) that I am sure I need at the time. Just make a pile and wonder why I keep doing that!! My husbands papers. Financial news, mailings about them, baseball coaching papers. Now, the youngest – football papers to add to all this!! Keep thinking if a big wind just blew it all away………right Dorothy that is really gonna happen.

  180. My biggest paper clutter challenge is all the paper that my husband thinks he needs to keep. I throw things out when he’s not home. I mean, do we really need an electric bill from 5 months ago? And if we do, can’t we just scan it? H E L P !

  181. Its all of it, I used to be pretty good when I lived alone and my desk was by my front door so as soon as I had the mail I could easily file things and paid bills electroniclly. Now that I am married my husband wants paper everything. All mail, magazines, work, craft, blog everything is in one mass pile on my desk in the basement. I mostly avoid going there now so I dont have to see it :-/

  182. OH BOY! do I NEED this class!! I’m knee deep in paper, boxes of old paper, news articles, recipes & craft supplies. All my life blood is being drained from all the paper cuts. Help me find my floor & stem the tide of blood. Please pick me!!!~C8>

  183. Omg! I need this course. I struggle between organizing receipts in my purse and how to rid my house of junk mail.

  184. My biggest problem are the non-important things I want to save from magazines like random articles. My husband could us this too; he has stacks of receipts. I just wonder what he is going to do with them all!

  185. Oh, how I despise my paper clutter. Kids school & activity papers, bills, receipts, coupons, etc., etc. Two of my kitchen countertops are always covered and sometimes parts of the dining room table. Then there are the drawers with receipts, menus, etc. Arrrgh. I’m going to facebook for a second chance at this. I need it!

  186. I would love to be a part of the workshop! I would say one of my biggest challenges is the magazines and cataloges I collect! Oh, and the coupons! I’m terrible with coupons! I collect so many that I don’t know what to do with them, pile them up, can’t find what I need when I need it, and end up throwing away everything that has expired! Such a waste!

  187. My biggest paper struggle are the things that need filing. I tend to let them pile up instead of instantly filing them away, and then I get overwhelmed.

  188. Paper clutter is taking us over here too! I’m actually great about getting rid of the junk mail but I’m getting buried in things that I keep to reference, “important” papers, notes, etc. We just moved so of course I have lots of “lists” laying around, notes and all of those papers that I brought from the last place. We did a major downsize so I’m having a really difficult time trying to figure out where to put these papers now!

  189. Coupons! I clip them and save them but then never use them because I have to search all over for the coupons I need! UGH!

  190. I never know what to do with papers like restaurant/oil change/store coupons and other papers that I don’t want to file away. They end up on my counters so I won’t forget about them!

  191. Wow! Where to start?! I am overwhelmed with papers, magazines, receipts, etc. I try to keep up with it but it’s just kicking my butt! I’m not sure how long to keep receipts. I also want to keep special projects or papers that my kids have done in school. My biggest problem is putting mail and other stuff on our kitchen counter. I would love a chance to create a system that will work. Help!

  192. I’d have to say my biggest struggle is all the “important” stuff! I have no trouble with immediately trashing the junk – but when I have important dates, bank paperwork, house papers, insurance… It’s a mess. I have TWO filing cabinets. I can never find anything and I end up with piles all over my house. I’ve even been known to stuff a pile into a cabinet in an effort to “clean” quickly for company…and then leave the offending pile hidden away. This is a mess when I later have to FIND something important. HELP!!

  193. Magazines for sure–I never throw any out because I am sure I’ll use them someday for something…so they just pile up and collect dust. I just feel so wasteful throwing them away!

  194. The paper in my purse is a huge problem. I let the receipts and mail and appointment cards build up until it’s impossible to deal with and then empty out the purse. By then, it’s a much bigger job than it needs to be!

  195. Haha, I’m not sure I’ve ever wanted to win anything more! Piles of mail, receipts, important documents, dog pedigrees – all shoved in a box just waiting to be filed. My hubby is a hoarder of paper and I have no systems to help him maintain the paper piles. Even our filing cabinet is filled with anything but paper. I’m drowning in paper!

  196. Definitely office paperwork…both my home business and personal banking and billing etc.
    I always think if I just had a system I could do this! :-( It is probably the only area that my hubby gets irritated with me…paperwork is my total downfall… :-(

  197. I’m fine with junk, I just trash it. My biggest problem is important papers that need to be filed. My filing cabinet is a mess and needs to be organized and updated so I avoid it. I don’t want to add anything to the chaos so the papers pile up. When it gets out of control and I decide to sort it, i find that most of it is no longer important!

  198. I would have to say that all the articles/clips I pull from magazines turn into the clutter I need to tackle most! I’ve tried to organize things in notebooks, but then I don’t remember to look there for project ideas or resources…Help! :)

  199. Oh I need this! My biggest paper work challenge is medical stuff, having had 2 babies in the last 2 years we have been bombarded with all sorts of stuff from hospitals, insurance, doctors and on and on and on! My medical paper work would fill a whole file cabinet on its own!

  200. This is one of my worst areas as well. Daily mail….arghhhhhhh! Not knowing what to pitch or keep and if kept how to organize it or find it when I need it (just today I had to call my doctor because I lost my perscription for a medicine I need.) I think I am hopeless, so I would really, really appreciate winning this one (my husband would thank you, my children would thank you, my countertops, kitchen table, night stand, etc, etc, would thank you!!!!!)

  201. My worst kind of paper clutter is class notes as well as administrative forms etc, for school! College is a mess of paper!!

  202. I’m a little late to this one, but so NEED a paper clutter intervention! Those piles seem to mulitiply like rabbits, don’t they. And just when I think I’ve got a handle on one area of the house, I see a new pile has develpoed somewhere else. For me personally, a challenge is those 401K mailers that I thought I opted out of, but still seem to get so they must be keep worthy, right? And it’s not like it’s just a one page promo thing. I’m talking BOOKS of 401K info on some random investment that just happened to fit the profile for me. I never look at them, but I hang on.

    Off to link up to FB. :)

  203. Just linked up to FB and realized I’m not the only Julia. So now, I’m Julia E the one who ranted about the 401K mailers.

  204. I am horrible when it comes to paper! I just went through old bins of every “important” piece of paper since I was a little kid. Nowadays I just throw stuff in a pile and when it gets to the overwhelming point I will do something with it but I still have yet to find a good system. I need help!

  205. I wish I only had 1 biggest problem:

    um right now let’s say school work/papers from my 8 year old and all the fun projects my pack rat 3 year old makes and cries if I throw out.

  206. biggest problem: MAIL!!! We don’t get that much mail, but it just piles up.

  207. My biggest thing is papers that “might” be important. Paper clutter is taking over, and while it’s driving me crazy, I don’t know what to do with it.

  208. I am such a paper big which is crazy since the rest of my house is nice and organized. My biggest piles come from school, receipts, and mail. Blah.

  209. Paper clutter is my nemesis, I can’t ever seem to get control of it, I would love to take this course!

  210. wow this class looks so awesome! i know that i am in DIRE need of something like this!! im a med student and i wouldn’t call my notes clutter but they certainly need help organizing! random.org, pick me!! hahaha :p

  211. My biggest problem is paper clutter that doesn’t necessarily have a “home.” For example, I know where to file regular bills, tax docs, etc. But, when it comes to odd things that I may need to hold onto for a while like a receipt or manual, I handle it 15 times rather than just once.

  212. Oh wow, what an opportunity. Would love to sink my teeth into my constantly growing stack of school work papers and bills. Thank you!

  213. Our office is out of control right now with papers all over in piles or not in piles. And the paperwork just keeps coming! We got behind when we had our first child (but that was almost 3 years ago!) and the 2 moves we had since he was born and our 2nd child has been part of why we are now so overwhelmed with paper clutter. I’m ready to tackle it!

  214. Definitely kids artwork is my biggest issue although I don’t even know that this class, or professional therapy could solve it for me!

  215. What an awesome seminar to take part in!! I absolutely cannot control the paperwork in our home.
    From mail, to catalogs I WANT to look at, but never find the time to, to my 3-year old’s artwork, to coupons….oh the coupons!!!!! I literally walk into my office and take a look and walk out. I dream of clear desk-tops and organized folders!!!!!

  216. Please, oh please, contest gods let me win! Incoming mail and kids papers from day care have invaded everywhere.

  217. PLEASE save me from coupon clutter! I cut and clip and rip and tear and swear I’m gonna save a zillion dollars this month.. until I get to the store to buy that one thing and realize the coupon is on the counter or in the other car. ER! Now I can’t throw it away because i can use it next time. Please help me stop this vicious cycle! Oh and did I mention I’m a gift card hoarder? That might need a 7th week :S

  218. My paper clutter weakness is for my children’s’ school papers or everyday drawings. I can’t seem to part with any of it. Even those lovely scribbled masterpieces they give you.

  219. Paper is my major issue. I have art work, paid bills, magazines, printed articles, newspapers, old files and my intention is to use most of it to start the woodstove but you only need like 5 sheets of paper to start the fire and so the piles grow!

  220. I would say my 2 biggest issues are the stuff that arrives in the mail that i have to deal with but can’t face immediately after a long day of work and articles/recipes i rip out of magazines.

  221. My biggest weakness is sentimental things… cards, drawings from nieces and nephews, etc.

  222. I’m an ideaholic!! lots of clippigns, magazine pages, magazines, memorbilia…………….. to file piles .. boxes of “future sort”………………………….oh MY!

  223. My husband and I BOTH work from home…paperwork is eating us alive like that 80s movie…Attack of the Killer Tomatoes? Insanity. Please help :)

  224. I SO need this! We have paper clutter on our kitchen counters and don’t even get me started on our office. I’m a bad procrastinator and I hate filing so it kind of piles up and gets out of control! I would love some help!

  225. I was just talking to my dh about figuring out our paper “stuff” I have boxes of papers, I know the taxes…7 years or forever, whichever comes first…but what to do with all the reciepts and cc statements?

    Ugh. I need this class and I will link it with fb too, because…I need this class.

  226. What a great giveaway. Daily mail and medical / therapy / school papers for my son create an endless mound of paperwork. No matter how much I try to organize it always ends up a giant mess pile. Thanks for the links – off to check them out. Have a great weekend. ~ Stephanie Lynn

  227. I so need to get organized-I don’t even know where to start -from school papers to daily mail-My husband has his papers from work , we have 4 boys and just daily life is consuming us -This sounds like such a good start .

  228. Bills, other mail, bills, other mail, bills… and school notes. I wish it were death by design mags but that is not the case in my house.

  229. The mail, magazines, paver patio research material (brochures, estimates, etc.) and receipts are out of control! They take up one third of the kitchen table and most of the bar. I know there’s other stuff in those piles, but I can’t tell you what’s in there! I need help!

  230. I’m so not good at keeping track of all the important papers that come in the mail… bank statements, tax returns (true confessions… right now I can’t find the bill for our property taxes. It’s in the house somewhere…)

  231. I’m a cheerleading coach, I have a TON of paper, magazines, etc. My husband tends to leave paper all around and I just stack it.

  232. I am terrible with ALL paperwork: important, junk mail, kids papers, etc…..I hate it!!! I need a new system!!

  233. ALL PAPER! oh my goodness, paper is the main reason I am so disorganized. I collect so much paper and I don’t know how.

  234. How cool!!! I HATE paper clutter and I try to keep it down. I’m getting better, but I would love some more help. Thanks for having this! Off to visit Simplify 101’s site. :)

  235. I have all types of paper clutter…kids school work, cut outs of interesting articles, coupons, bills, sticky notes…Unfortunately, I have paper clutter in the kitchen and the office/guest room. It drives my husband CRAZY and he’s a neat freak! Help!

  236. I’m dealing with combing the new husband and my paperwork and it isn’t pretty. Neither of us have much of a filing system and it’s getting a bit out of control

  237. I linked this to Facebook:) I run an event planning business from my home, have three children and a husband who is amazing, but has never gotten the mail during our 11 years of marriage! Needless to say, I am responsible for an overwhelming amount of paperwork each day. Oh and I LOVE magazines, coupons and recipes, all of which are in “organized” piles, but not in any type of order. My biggest challenge is finding a system that works and then sticking to it. I organize my clutter constantly, but can’t seem to keep things organized. Please help!

  238. I’m great at getting rid of the junk immediately – just the action items seem to build up. Luckily I put all my major bills on auto-pay but the few that creep up get thrown into a pile on the floor and that sucks!

  239. I so struggle with this. I get “caught up” and then fall off the wagon. I have piles of mail, magazines, stuff I want to keep for future reference. I even bought a basket thinking it would help me deal with everything…but it didn’t work it just over flows all over my desk new. I need help!

  240. mail, magazines that I never read but plan to some day, son’s artwork, receipts, coupons, mail, super important papers that can not be filed away (yet I can never find when I need them), papers for my business, papers for my volunteer work, bills, mail, junk mail that for some reason doesn’t get thrown away often enough, greeting cards from holidays/birthdays/christmas/etc…. oh jeeze I could really use some help! I HATE paper clutter, but it always wins in my house!

  241. Kate, my paper nighmare is all over..but the biggest problem I have is filing things that I need to keep, receipts, etc..oooh I could use some help!

    Barb

  242. perfect! I am overwhelmed by kids papers, from school, paper airplanes, craft projects – things they dont want to part with …HELP!

  243. My worst struggle is timely filing of the inspiration photos, recipes and articles that I pull from magazines. Right now they are all in a large basket on the bottom shelf of the sofa table…not a good place and if I want something in particular I have to go through the entire pile. Thanks for this offer and I’m off to check out this new sponsor!

  244. My desk at home is the WORST! Lots of unopened mail, stacks and stacks of things to file, and filled with old files!

  245. My biggest challenge is bills and the assorted paperwork that comes in the mail. I tackle it, clean it up and clear it out …. and then …. a few weeks later ….. the piles are B*A*C*K and the cycle is repeated …. and repeated …. and repeated …. Aaugh!

  246. Mail, mail, mail-then add all the junk, I mean great stuff, my kids come home with! Help!

  247. Mail! If it needs to be shredded it ends up in a pile, which is sadly now bigger than my toddler.

  248. I manage to keep my home fairly organized, but the paper issue is one I shamefully have. The desk in the kitchen is constantly covered and my office, well, let’s just say I keep the door closed. I also have had my new office space for more than a year and I have yet to organize the “stuff”. Recently I put things (like office supplies, craft projects, etc.) in plastic containers which is nice, but the papers are a disaster. If I don’t win, I should seriously consider coughing up the $75 because I need a plan!

  249. All paper is my problem! Mail, school, bills, etc. I can’t seem to find a system that works for me so always end up with stacks of paper in the kitchen and in the office.

  250. Oh how exciting. I could really use hlep with this. Both at home and at work. I am teacher and I seem to have a really bad habit of just leaving papers all over my desk.

  251. Mail combined with the never ending paperwork that school sends home are my biggest challenges. Thanks, I am crossing my fingers!

  252. love this! and love your site. i am such a fan. i run a business in my home and have 2 school age kiddos. i feel buried under all of the paper. this class looks perfect!

  253. Clutter clutter everywhere clutter! Puzzled by what to do with mortgage papers since some are legal size.

  254. my biggest source of clutter is just paper. papers i print out with information i need saved. all our budgeting things (although i have two binders already for this), bills, things i want, ripped from magazines, lists. etc. it just piles up on our desk. i’ve been looking for a letter tray i like but honestly i could just go buy one and be done but it hasn’t happened! i currently stash stuff on piles everywhere. my desk area is the bain of my existance!!!

  255. Mail and anything that “I may want to copy someday”… I’m still in college and I literally have years worth of newspaper clippings, magazines, photocopies, and printed pages filled with patterns, tutorials, recipes, directions, designs, pictures, you name it… lol. I am also a musician and I have more sheet music than I can keep track of…

  256. MAIL, SCHOOL PAPERS, and MEMENTOS !!! The stack on my kitchen counter is out of control!

  257. I think the worst paper clutter I have are my coupons. I got it in my mind that I should save, store and catalog coupons to save myself money, but it’s turned into an organizational nightmare :/

  258. I’ve taken the Simplify 101 Organize Your Closet workshop and it was the uncontested winner in all practical organizational workshops there are. Till this day I still stay organized, with the organizing principles still firm in my mind. Also, structurally, Aby’s workshops are brilliant. If you’re willing to dish out the effort, the workshop will pay for itself tenfolds in terms of the quality of your life.

  259. My clutter comes from everything I can think of, mail, work, pages I rip out of magazines, recipes, fitness workouts….the list goes on and on. The work part is that when I do want somethings I have to look for days just to find it. I just dont know where to start organizing, this would really help.

  260. My biggest problem is not what to keep, but what to do with what I keep. Right now I have 3 medium moving boxes of paper. I probably could cull more from those boxes but am unsure how to keep track of those obscure companies (that I only contact every other year or so) without the supporting paper work. HELP ME!

  261. My hubby is worse than I am but out office is drowning and it just keeps getting piled into boxes we never seen to go through. O_o From mail, bills, to my business papers and reciepts. It’s everyhwere.

  262. Great idea for a workshop! I’m drowning in magazines, catalogs, kids’ artwork, etc. I need help!

  263. My biggest clutter problem is that I stack magazines/articles to be used at a “later date”. I find myself moving stacks around. I actually took a clutter class and tried to implement the advice they offered but found myself in a worse condition because of the organization process they promoted. It didn’t fit for me. Now I’m totally bewildered. Good article in today’s newspaper-written by Heidi Stevens of the Chicago Tribune-“Don’t us it? hen lose it to cut clutter” I cut it out to mail to my mother as she always comments on the number of “things” I have collected. Some good advice in the article.

  264. Paper clutter is the bane of my existence!! My problem is primarily mail. Oh wait, coupons. Both?!? I don’t have a good process for dealing with the mail right away and so it sometimes sits on my desk (which is in my kitchen) for a while. Sometimes it sits other places too. i can’t stand it, but haven’t taken the time or had the ideas to improve things. I would love to win this prize to maybe help with that. Please help me simplify my life! :)

  265. 1. I’m a student so the worst is homework, papers, and all that other junk!
    2. I tweeted: xRosario

  266. Oooh! Glad I found this in time. I would love to win this! My biggest paper clutter challenge is school papers!

  267. Yeeesh….this is tough! The worst paper piles seem to be the ones that start with “I need to do this- just not right now…..” Then there are the recipes from magazines…the articles that I must read-later, and last but not least…the pile of kid/family memorabilia for the SCRAPBOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  268. The mail, dear sweet lord, the mail. Not so much my personal mail, which I usually deal with quickly, but the stuff that comes in for my husband. He glances at it says, “I’d like to take a closer look at this later” and sets it down. Where it will sit, and sit, and sit. Until I figure anything that isn’t a personal note is long expired and shred the whole pile.

    Hopefully I haven’t cost us a surprise inheritance from a distant relative this way.

  269. If it’s paper it’s an issue in my house. My daughter brings home tons of art projects from daycare. Filing bills, etc is always so time consuming that I just let it get so stacked up and then get overwhelmed.

  270. I work from home and seriously need this to get through the stacks of paper that clutter my desk… and sometimes the filing cabinet, the shelf and the floor!

  271. Simplify 101 is the MOST EXCELLENT CHOICE for a sponsor. Bravo! Aby is amazing. She teaches you not only HOW to organize, but how to MAINTAIN that organization. If you’re interested in recommendations, I give this website my highest!

  272. My biggest paper dilemma is my husband….I really need a self-sufficient system that he will adopt too!

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