The Intentional Home, Week Six: Thursday

For an Introduction and Table of Contents for The Intentional Home, click Here.

Week Six: Thursday

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
John 21:25

Today, we will tackle some paper clutter issues. Almost nothing stresses me out more, or makes a house look messier than stacks of papers lying around.

At times, I've had different ways of dealing with them, like having a basket to put paper in. But, that would just end up to be another stack of papers, just located in a basket. That's a step above the counter or desk but it's still not a great solution.

I bought a small file box paper organizer about six months ago and it has really cleaned up my stacks of papers. Another good option is an accordion style organizer. You can tailor the dividers for whatever fits your needs. I have the dividers labeled:

Haley Schoolwork and Art

Important School Papers

Coupons

Bills to Pay

Receipts

Weekly Menu Plans

Important Papers

Harrison's Folder

Church Stuff

Follow-up Folder

This needs to be in a location where you go through mail and backpacks. I have it in my laundry room, which would be my command center. It is located right off my kitchen, so I go through Haley's folder and the mail each day on my counter. Then I immediately put the papers into their home, which is also the recycle bin a lot of times.  

If you do this on a daily basis, then you won't have the stacks of papers that build up and can become a daunting task.

I go through the organizer as needed, but at least once a month. I actually don't pay the bills. So, I put those in this orange basket located on Matt's dresser along with any mail that is for him. This way Matt has any mail specific to him in a place where he can easily access it.

Daily Chores: 

One load of laundry from start to finish

Make your bed

Unload the dishwasher in the morning, load and run it at night

Wipe down the kitchen counters and sink 

Wipe down the bathroom counters and sinks

Straighten the house up in the evening 

Thursday’s chore of mopping