28 // Are You Constantly Shuffling Around Piles of Papers? Steal my No-Fail Paper Processing Routine

Do you have piles of paper that are constantly shuffled around from place to place? Do you lack a system around all the paper coming into your home? Today I’m sharing my no-fail paper processing routine around the three main categories of paper that my mamas struggle with the most - mail, kids’ school papers, and kids’ artwork.

Resources Mentioned (may include affiliate links):

The paper tray/inbox I use in my kitchen looks like this one

I use the ScanSnap scanner. Mine works with Evernote but they make other models as well.

Amazon Basics 12-sheet paper shredder

For mail:

To unsubscribe:

• For catalogs you don’t want, use Catalog Choice.
• Dmachoice.org to unsubscribe from mailing lists
• Optoutprescreen.com for credit card solicitations
• yellowpagesoptout.com for phone books
• Magazines - depends on the magazine but the company needs to be contacted directly in most cases. If you don’t want the physical copy, your local library may have access to magazines through Libby or Overdrive. Mine has 3,900 magazines available! 

For kids’ school papers:

I use Evernote (especially the Evernote app) to easily capture kids’ school work and artwork I want to keep. Here’s a short Reel showing you how I use it.

For kids’ artwork and crafts:

If artwork doesn’t go on my kids’ corkboards in their rooms, I leave it in art purgatory for a few months. Then I go through it and will either take a photo using Evernote or throw it away.

 

I will keep a limited number of items (especially with handprints, etc.) in a physical file folder after I have taken a photo or scanned it.

 

Other ways to keep your kids artwork is using a system like Artkive and Keepy. They are apps that have paid and free versions that can take your kids’ artwork and make art books or framed mosaics out of them. 

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Have a question about decluttering, simplifying, systems, or anything else we talk about on the podcast? You can now leave me a voice message here. Look for the microphone that says START RECORDING. Who knows, your question may be answered on an upcoming episode!

 

Episodes Mentioned: 

Episode 27: What Does Your Home Say About You? The Secret to Decorating Intentionally with Dani Watson from fig & farm at home

Episode 26: Loathe Laundry? Learn to Love it with my 20-Minute System 

Episode 6: The EASIEST Way to Declutter Any Space in Your Home!

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I help moms declutter their homes, heads, and hearts.

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5 Steps to Overcome Overwhelm -＞ https://simplebyemmy.com/5steps/

5 Mindset Shifts for Decluttering -＞ https://simplebyemmy.com/mindset/

 

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