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Sorting the Mail

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Does mail pile up at your house? Have you found a way to keep on top of the paperwork? I have heard organizers suggest keeping two containers by the front door. When you get the mail, all junk mail goes in one container.  Then items to read/pay/act upon get placed in the second container. The idea is that the junk mail gets taken out with the trash. Then the active pile gets read once a week.

The above system may work for some people, but I choose to deal with mail each day. I have found the following list works for me:

1.       Hubby brings in the mail and puts it on the kitchen counter when he gets home from work.

2.       As I am making dinner, I open the envelopes and sort through the mail.

  • Junk – goes in the trash
  • Bills, movies, statements, etc. – placed in one pile on top of my bread maker

3.       When the family retires upstairs for the evening, I bring the pile from the top of the bread maker and take it to my desk.

4.       After putting my children to bed, I file the paperwork in the appropriate place.

  • Movies – go on my husband’s desk
  • Bills – date added on calendar and statement placed in “bills to be paid” section of file
  • Receipts, rebates, etc. – added to original paperwork and filed in filing cabinet
  • Coupons – placed in binder or folder

I handle the mail in small sections of time. In doing so, my mail pile stays small, manageable, and organized. What tips have you found to be helpful in keeping the mail pile manageable?

Changing the Smoke Detectors Batteries

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Photograph Credit: Flickr (Suzie Ridler)

Now that some of us have sprung ahead an hour, it’s time to change the smoke detector batteries.

I was reminded of this fact during my son’s field trip to the fire department. Since the recommendation for smoke detectors is replacing the batteries twice a year, the fire department personnel suggests changing the batteries as we set our clocks forward and back during Daylight Savings.

Having set our clocks ahead an hour, I am due to get more batteries, so hubby can update our batteries in our smoke detectors.

Will you be joining us in changing your smoke detector batteries? Do you perform any other maintenance on your home around Daylight Savings time?

Time to Clean

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When I was a teenager, Saturday mornings were deemed cleaning the house time. My brother and I had a list of chores that had to be completed before the fun activities commenced. I quickly began to dread Saturday mornings.

Up until this year of my married life, I have worked hard to keep the weekends free of housework. This plan worked for me as I am a stay-at-home mom. This year was a big change for our family. Our eldest child started school. My week days are spent driving to and from school, and my time at home is broken up into small sections. I still attempt to keep Saturday mornings free, but the cleaning must be done.

My cleaning schedule is currently in a transition phase. I am trying to clean one room at a time on different days. With each day having a different schedule, I am still testing out ideas. Here are some ideas:

  • Clean the same type of room on certain days of the week? For example: Mondays – bathrooms, Tuesdays – laundry, Wednesday – bedrooms, Thursday – heavy traffic areas, and Friday – laundry.
  • Start at one room clean in geographical order? For example: start in the upstairs bathroom, and then move counter-clockwise to a bedroom, then to the next bedroom, etc.
  • Choose an order based on my answer to the question, “What must be cleaned first?” For example: clean the downstairs bathroom since guest will be arriving, or the kitchen since milk was spilled all over the floor this morning, etc.

As I continue to try these options, I have a better understanding of why my mom used Saturday mornings to clean. With a block of about 4 hours, my mom, with help, could have her whole house cleaned. Though it is nice to have the entire house clean at once, I still do not like cleaning on Saturdays.

Have you found a system that works for you? I would love to hear your suggestions and guidance as I adjust to a new cleaning schedule.

My Organized Nightstand Drawer

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As I went to put away some prescription samples, I found there was no more room in my nightstand drawer. When this happens, I must clean it out. I cannot  just stuff the extra items in a drawer and close it. Leaving an area unorganized bothers me until I  take the time to clean it out and make room for the needed items.  In this case, I  cleaned out the drawer immediately.

To organize my nightstand drawer, I followed these steps:

  • I made three piles: (1) items to keep, (2) items to toss, and (3) items to give away.
  • Then I placed the items to keep back in the drawer and had plenty of room.
  • The items to toss included expired medication, which I disposed of, and empty boxes from used medications, which I threw away.
  • The items to be given away were placed in a bag to be distributed later.

Now there was plenty of room for the prescription samples. I placed these in the nightstand drawer and surveyed my clean, neat, and organized drawer.

Does disorder bother you, too? Like me, do you organize as you put items away, or do you need to set a schedule to organize?

Organized Toy Placement

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During a weekend dinner party, I believe most of our toys were removed from their designated spot by one of the nine little ones. All the children had a great time and helped to pick up the mess before going home, so we awoke to a clutter-free living room. Though the mess was cleared away, my children could not locate their favorite toys. To my children, the suggestion of reorganizing their toys was a bit overwhelming. To ease their dilemma, I placed the toys back in their designated homes with a little system.

THE PROCESS

I began on one wall of my living room.

  • I removed toys that did not belong in that space and placed them on the floor in front of the couch (center of the room).
  • I then put the toys away that did belong in that section.

I then moved to the next area which is a small bookshelf.

  • I found items in the pile on the floor in front of the couch that did belong in this area. I put those items away.
  • Any other items that did not belong on the bookshelf were added to that mound in front of the couch.

I continued this process along the three walls of my living room until all the toys were put away.

I then put away the remaining toys in front of the couch.

THE RESULTS

By going through each section of the living room, I was able to put together a train puzzle, place all the Potato Head accessories in our green basket, sort the vegetables and fruits from the play kitchen, and find a loose magnet in a fishing pole which my fabulous husband fixed.

Having a designated spot for each item made the pick up quick and thorough. My children helped sort the items and put them away. After completing the thorough reorganization of my living room, my children were able to find their toys and play. When they finished enjoying their toy, they remembered to put it back in its designated place, so they could find it again later.

Do you have an assigned place for each item in your house? Do your family members know the placement chosen for each item? Having a special place for each item saves me so much time cleaning up. You can save time as well and accomplish a quick pickup in 15 minutes or less.