Make Room for What You Love - Third Week Challenge

And we're back with Week 3 of the Make Room for What You Love Challenge. This week Melissa of the Inspired Room challenged us to focus on the entryway of our homes and fight the paper clutter.

Here is what Melissa said:

Make Room for Arrivals and Departures

The arrival and departure areas of our home tend to collect quite a bit of clutter and often end up in disarray. We bring in a lot of papers, coats, schoolbags, purses, briefcases, sports equipment, homework, party invitations, and bills, and we track in mud and grime from outside. How do those clutter spots make you feel when they are out of control? This week, we’ll be setting up a sorting station so we can avoid paper pileups near the front door.

3 Steps to Setting Up a Paper-Sorting Station

1. Find a spot near your entry or office area where you’ll take all incoming mail. Put a shredder and recycling bin near this station so you’ll be able to immediately deal with papers you don’t want.
2. Plan to sort, shred, or recycle all the envelopes, newspapers, and junk mail, and put your bills in your previously designated spot every time you bring the mail in the house. Everything that is not a bill but has a due date or an upcoming deadline can go on a bulletin board with a clip or pin.
3. If a paper is important and you’ll need to access it later, file it in a designated file box or drawer. Give each housemate an inbox if they will receive mail or have papers that enter the house.

Get Organized Tip: If your child comes home with special papers you want to keep, get a clear box with a lid or a personal file box with folders to store the current year report cards, favorite assignments, art, and other significant papers.

The entry way in my house was already taken care of last year when I redid this space for the One Room Challenge.

But the paper clutter was something that I definitely still needed to tackle. I always seem to have a pile of papers in various rooms of the house that I can't throw away yet, but still need to be put some place. 

I have a small narrow closet that really isn't big enough to do much with, so I decided to make this my landing pad for all of the paper that still comes through the house. I put a simple white desk in the space, and added a box and a few bowls to catch odds and ends. I also put a pencil holder on the desk to make sure I always have a pen handy when I need to sign my kids papers. 

The biggest thing that is really going to help me get a handle on the papers is a new filling system. Now everything can be put where it needs to go, and I will be able to easily find something when needed. I am so excited about this and think it is going to be a great addition to my quest to rid my house of clutter.

If you want to join into the challenge, check in out here.

And the book is now available on Amazon!