Flat Surfaces

My husband doesn't like to leave mail for the mailman on the mailbox overnight. And I usually get stuff ready to mail at night. That means I can't always get it ready, put it out, and be done with it. (I really like to only handle things once, so that would be ideal for me). I had some mail tonight and left it on the kitchen counter to put out in the morning. My kitchen counter was cleared off and I noticed that it would be easy to remember to put it out in the morning, because it was the only thing on the counter.

Oh, that it was always that easy. My bedroom is another story right now and it's hard to find anything. Every flat surface is piled too deep and we're spending way too much time looking for things. It's not worth it! We've all got better things to do with our time than looking through piles of stuff for whatever we might need at that moment. What can we do? Here's a couple ideas.

*Handle it once. When you're touching something, put it where it goes - file it, toss it, pay the bill, write it on the calendar - just don't stack it.

*Have a place to put your papers. You can use a filing cabinet, binders, filing containers, notebooks, whatever works for you, but make a place to put your papers - so you can put them there.

*Hole punch. If you're using binders, hole punch your stuff (or put it in plastic sleeves). When it's hole punched, it stays in place and won't be falling out to create another mess for you to sort.

*Make a time to file. I have people over for dinner almost every Sunday and it's great encouragement for me not to have papers all over the piano or counters. Find something that will encourage you to file and do it.

*De-clutter your flat surfaces. The more stuff you have on your flat surfaces, the easier it is to gather papers or other things. Remove your trinkets and items that can find a different home. You'll be surprised how much easier it is to keep clean.

*Decide what to do with magazines and publications. I have a basket for mine that I go through about every 6 - 12 months. (It's a pretty big basket). I have one magazine that I'm keeping indefinitely (my kids go through spurts where they like to go back and read back issues). I also have a stack of great magazines for cutting up, but I keep it to a manageable pile. I have one more magazine that I go through to cut out great pictures and the rest I throw when they are more than 6 months old. I can't keep them longer than that. And I'm never going back to them unless it's through the internet.

*Have places you put things. We like to keep track of our receipts in a computer program, so we have one place our receipts are put until they are entered. We have one place for invitations, tickets, and other things that are coming - we need the information, but the event isn't here yet. When it's there, we always know where to find it.