Spring Cleaning - Organizing

Well Spring has officially sprung, even if the weather does not agree.  I do not know about where you are, but the highs this past week have been in the high 40s to low 50s, which is unusually cool for us.  Just a couple of weeks ago it was 82!  Mother Nature can be so cruel.  I was so excited for warm weather and the clothes that go with it, and then she came and snatched it all away.  Replacing it with rain and ice and doom and gloom.

However, even though it does not feel like it Spring has arrived, and brought with it Spring cleaning.  I know I can already hear you groaning.  Have no fear, I am not saying to pull out all of your cleaning supplies and clean from the ceiling to the floor, although that may not be too bad of an idea.  I am saying it is time to organize and make your life and house a little more clutter free.

This is a great time to go through all your piles of mail and random papers and give them all a home.  It is easy to pile everything up and ignore it or just cram it in a junk drawer.  Why not take a couple of hours one day this weekend to organize everything?  Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Sort Everything Out - First go through all of your piles and put them each into a category.  Trash - anything that is safe to throw out i.e. mail circulars, old magazines, etc.  Shred - This is anything that is not safe to throw out as it i.e. paid bills, anything with private information, etc.  File - I am sure that you have heard this before - If it is worth keeping it should have a "home."

Shred & Trash - Once everything is sorted throw out the trash and shred the items that need to be.  Tip - Check around to see if anyone does free shred days.  My credit union offers free shred days a few times a year, and you are allowed to bring up to 3 boxes of items to be shredded.  This can save you time and money.

File - Now you should be left with you file items.  There are a multitude of ways for you to file and store your paperwork.  I personally use different systems for different things.  I use binders( for my blog, recipes, and workouts I have printed offline), hanging file folders(for my budget and previous years taxes), and accordion filing systems(for pretty much everything else).  I find that these work best for me, but it is different for everyone.

I will tell you this.  I went through and organized all of the paperwork on my desk(and let me tell you it was pretty much a mountain), and my room looks much better now.  Not only does it look better, but I feel better.  I no longer walk in my room and feel doomed and overwhelmed looking at my mountain.  I also like the fact that I can now find things without an avalanche occurring.  Over the next month I am planning on revamping my filing system, so once I get that done I will share it with all of you.

Do you have any good tips for organizing?  How do you file your important documents?