Collecting tips ...

In my search for the best ways to organize papers, I've found a few helpful sites that I thought I'd share in case you were looking also.

The Top Five Ways to Organize School Papers Honestly, the only thing I liked on this page (that was a new idea to me) was scanning things into the computer. But I only semi-like that idea because I do like having hard copies of things for sentimental reasons ... and we don't have a scanner. I don't like the backpack idea (keeping important school papers in a backpack) as it just seems messy to me and I've already heard of the picture-taking idea (taking pictures of artwork, etc.) and have started doing that a little. We have a file cabinet, but have a hard time keeping it organized and up-to-date, so I don't think that would work for me either. So not much from this site for me personally, but I'm posting it in case someone else might like it. :)

Back to School Organizing Tips Honestly, I did not read this all the way through, but I like that they have a how-to create a command central binder, as this was suggested to me and I think may be a great way to keep much of the clutter organized. I also know from experience that having a "homework station (table)" really does work and also has the added bonus of keeping markers, scissors and glue away from little hands that have recently learned to reach and grab much higher and further than I expected. Ours is a table that multi-tasks as a craft/puzzle/card game/anything you don't want C to grab from you while you're playing station, which is ALSO nice because it is only one table that has to be cleaned before it can be used for something else. And no, they are not allowed to bring the markers in the other room. :) As nice as this is though, it does not help me with my current problem.

Ten Best Tips for Organizing Paper Clutter This is probably my favorite of these three sites. It's a quick read, has some good ideas - also has the binder idea - talks about scanning their artwork to create stationary, which I think is a cute idea I hadn't thought of before. And ... drum roll, please .... They have a phone number and address you can call/write to to be removed from mailing lists ... as in, ALL OF THEM??? I am definitely trying this. A day without a credit card application in the mail would be a day to remember.

Okay, well my laptop battery is about to die, so I better post this and run. :) Here's to a cleaner home!