KonMari Method Paper Declutter

konmari method marie rondo paper declutter organized

Paper. I have a love-hate relationship with paper and paper products, but interestingly enough I found it exceptionally easy and freeing to throw it all out. All of it? Yes!! In the KonMari Method, Marie Kondo basically says, get rid of all paper. Product registration cards, bills, payment stubs, manuals, receipts….all of it. Of course, there are a few exceptions for tax documentation, which I’ve heard you should keep for at least seven years, and super important identification documents, titles, and deeds. Otherwise, let it go. And so I did.

Prior to the tidying marathon, our paper situation was out of control. Mail would enter our home and basically take over every square inch of spare surface space to the point that you could slap some Mod Podge on there and call it decoupage.

Paper was always in our entryway, on the kitchen counters, and in the dining room stacked neatly where the casserole should have been placed. Paper was in our bedroom, stuffed into baskets by the bed. Paper was even on the dressers, and yes, it made its way into the bathrooms too. Not only that, it was also starting to take over my bags. How could something so small and insignificant have such an immense impact on every room of our house?

Deferred decisions and incomplete actions. That’s how. While those two fancy terms aren’t actually anything Marie Kondo has ever said, I know from experience that those are the two reasons that clutter accumulates in the first place.

You see, when mail, work papers, or other documentation entered our home, they would be placed on some prominent location (like the table we eat on or the counter we prep food on) so we wouldn’t forget to deal with them. Then they would remain there forever, even after they were addressed, until someone got frustrated enough to shove them into another space. That part is an incomplete action because, really, once we were done with them, we should have either (a) filed them away or (b) thrown them out. Incomplete action.

The other reason paper accumulated was because we couldn’t decide what to do with said paper, so we left it there, in a prominent location, until we did reach a decision (Should I sign up for that underwater basket weaving course? Do I really want to pay that hospital bill?). That is a deferred decision.

Anyway, the solution to circumvent this entire thing is to have a system in place. So, I do what I always do to motivate myself to take action. I got some cute accessories to make the act of organizing more exciting. In this case it was three farm house chic white washed wooden paper containers: two upright magazine files and one big hanging file bin for taxes and other important papers that we will be hanging onto for longer periods of time.

Here is how the system works. Both magazine file boxes are kept in our entry way. One is labeled “Just In” and the other is called “Requires Action.” As soon as paper enters the house, it is put into the “Just In” bin. This is anything that we haven’t opened or considered yet. When we have the time and peace of mind to address what is in the Just In file, it then goes to (a) the trash, (b) the long-term file storage bin (you know, the big one with hanging files), or (c) the Requires Action” file because it, well, requires action. Bills that need to be paid, RSVPs that need to be sent, forms that need to be signed. You get the idea.

Once the action is completed on the papers in the “Requires Action” box, they are moved to the trash, or in some extremely rare circumstances, to the long-term file box.

This system has been working out well, and I no longer get spikes of adrenaline when I start prepping ingredients for dinner only to find that my formally gleaming counters have been taken over by the Comcast bill and some political flyer.

PAPER DECLUTTERING TIPS

Bring it all out in a pile. Every single last piece of paper in your home. Unless it’s an old love letter or your child’s artwork. That can be saved for the last category: sentimental.
Get a comfortable seat and an enormous cup of coffee.
Go through every piece of paper knowing that you are going to throw almost everything away.
When you come across important documentation like deeds, titles, pending projects, personal identification materials, and tax documentation, set it aside in a Keep Pile.
Put the rest of those cluttery papers in a box and burn that sucker at a celebratory bonfire later that night. Or you could also shred them. Either, or.

SET UP A NEW HOUSEHOLD PAPER SYSTEM

Once all of the current paper offenders have been addressed, you need to set up a household paper system to prevent paper from ever taking over your home again.
Get yourself three boxes: two upright magazine file boxes and one filing box like an accordion folder or hanging file folder box. You can get crafty and upcycle some cardboard boxes, but I treated myself to these premade wooden ones from Target.
Label the magazine file boxes “Just In” and “Requires Action” or something along those lines. The big file folder box is for permanent files that you plan to keep indefinitely or for a set amount of time (taxes).
When paper enters your home, immediately place it in the “Just In” box.
Make it a habit to clear a bit of time daily or every few days to sort through the “Just In” box and open everything.
Put items that require further action in the “Requires Action” box. Throw away anything else immediately.
Once a week or so, sort through the “Requires Action” box. Pay the bills, send out the RSVPs, sign those slips! Once the action is taken, discard the paper or, in rare circumstances, file the paper away in your indefinite file box.