Stopping the Flow of Paper Clutter

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I recently had someone question how I deal with paper clutter in my home. I’m so glad you asked!

Paper is definitely something that has the ability to accumulate quickly since it seems to come at us from all angles! Junk mail from the mailbox, flyers and forms from extracurricular activities, kids’ art and graded papers from backpacks, and even receipts or lists from your purse or desk can accumulate on countertops, refrigerators, and organization boards. It soon becomes a pile (or multiple piles) of clutter that can easily get out of control.

As a minimalist, rather than constantly “tidying up” or organizing clutter, it’s much more important to stop the flow of these items into your home before it becomes a bigger problem. We are the gatekeepers to our homes! We decide what may come in, and what must go. The same is true for paper.

Here are some tips for stopping paper in it’s tracks, before it becomes clutter:

1. Reduce the influx of paper by opting for paperless bills. It’s 2019, but many people still receive paper bills in the their mailbox. Sign up for paperless, digital bills when you can. You’ll be able to pay the bills online and eliminate unnecessary paper from entering your home.  This also includes credit card and bank statements.
2. Eliminate unwanted credit card offers. If you receive unwanted preapproved/prescreened firm offers by mail, you can actually opt out of these offers by going to this website. It does require you to enter your social security number as if you are checking your credit score, but if you receive them regularly, it could be worthwhile.
3. Better yet, just recycle BEFORE you enter your door. If #2 makes you uneasy, receiving a ton of credit card offers won’t matter when you’re tearing them up directly into the recycling bin before you even enter your home. This is actually beneficial for all unneeded papers. Have a recycling bin by the door so that after you check the mailbox, or when you’re coming in from the car after picking up kids from sports or school (they never fail to have a flyer or backpack full of papers!) you are able to toss junk papers before they can accumulate inside. We have a recycling bin that we pass on our way through the side entrance of our home. We throw away any unneeded papers before walking in, and only bring in the papers we need. I’ve been known to toss kids’ paper art projects directly into our recycling bin. #sorrynotsorry
4. Use a one in/one out rule with A+ papers and kids’ art. When our kids bring home an excellent test grade or a beautiful art project, we make sure to sing their praises! But then they get to decide if they want to replace the current masterpiece on the refrigerator, or recycle it. It’s their choice to make, but only one can stay. By allowing them to do this, we’re not only teaching them to make difficult decisions,  but also planting the seed for future minimalists. If the idea of throwing away your child’s latest treasure makes you (or your child) cringe, you can also take a photo of the special memento and keep it digitally…forever!
5. Organize the clutter where it lands.  When paper clutter does manage to infiltrate the home, watch where it tends to accumulate–THEN organize it. If you notice paper constantly piling up on a particular kitchen counter, put a small letter bin there. At the end of the day or week, go through the letter bin and make three piles: ACTIVE/PENDING, FILE, and RECYCLE. The “active” pile is for things things waiting for an action from you (a field trip permission slip, a bill that needs paid) or even something you use regularly (your child’s school lunch menu, the weekly grocery list). Take care of the active pile right away (sign the form and return it, or hang the school menu on the fridge). File the things that don’t need to be sitting around (legal documents, tax receipts). And finally, recycle anything else that is leftover (this is typically junk mail, old magazines, expired coupons, or outdated flyers). Feeling lighter yet?
6. Finally, use Evernote to turn paper clutter into easily organized digital files. Most of the time we do not need to keep originals of the papers we choose to “file” or hold onto. Keep a small file folder or lock box for the originals of important documents like living wills, licensing certificates, birth certificates, passports, upcoming paper concert tickets, etc., and then use Evernote to file the rest digitally. You can even use it for some of the reference items in the previously mentioned “active” pile, in lieu of hanging things on the refrigerator or in a family organization station. This is the perfect place for school handbooks, recipes, coupons, flyers for reference…you name it. I eliminate most of my paper clutter by recycling it or saving it to Evernote by snapping a photo and saving it as a document. Give it a try!

Even in a very digital world, paper clutter may never completely go away, but I hope these tips are helpful for you as you attempt to reduce the stress of excess in your home.

Do you have your own clutter-busting tip? Leave it in the comments! I love to hear from you!

-BethAnn

 

A Minimalist Christmas

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This time of year, people often ask me what Christmas looks like in our house as a minimalist family.

The truth is, Christmas at our house is probably very much like Christmas anywhere else. After Thanksgiving, we love bringing out the holiday decorations and making the house festive. We decorate our tree and hang our stockings along the fireplace mantle. We pack away the fall wreath on our front door and replace it with one that is full of greenery and bright glowing lights. The holidays give us a perfect excuse to bake treats for family and friends, sing and dance along with our favorite Christmas music, and snuggle up together to watch our favorite holiday movies.

But one thing that may be a little different in our house is gift giving.  On Christmas day when the kids come running down the stairs, we don’t have a mountainous pile of gift boxes under our tree. There are only four. Yes, you read that right. Each of our kids receive one wrapped gift under the Christmas tree…just one.

We’ve had this “one gift” rule since our oldest was born, and we’ve found that Christmas morning is much less chaotic. A month or so before Christmas we ask them each to choose the one thing they’d really like Santa to bring them. Knowing they can only have one thing, they tend to take their time and be really mindful as they choose something they know will bring them the most joy.  On Christmas day, since their focus is not being divided between multiple new toys or gadgets, the gift they receive ends up getting a lot of attention. There is nothing more disheartening than watching a child open a new toy, and then quickly toss it aside because there’s another shiny box waiting to be opened. By receiving only one gift, they have the opportunity to really enjoy it without being distracted or overwhelmed.

Beyond that, there is no formal gift exchanging with our kids, (eventually they will discover that we have been “Santa” all along…but other than that, we don’t exchange any additional gifts.)  My husband and I do not exchange gifts either. In all honesty, we have joint accounts, so my money is his and vice versa. But if we need something throughout the year, we simply get it when we need it. We do not feel obligated to buy something for each other simply because of the holidays.

In lieu of gifting, we tend to focus more on annual holiday experiences that have become family traditions over the years. We decorate the Christmas tree together while singing and dancing to our favorite Christmas music. We take flashlight walks down the street after weeknight family dinners to see the neighborhood houses decorated in bright colorful lights. We drive through the light display at our local park. We decorate gingerbread houses and bake cookies and treats for our neighbors. We cut paper snowflakes to hang in our windows. At the risk of sounding cliché…being present with one another is the only present we need. It works well for us, and it helps to teach our kids the true meaning of the season. It also keeps unnecessary clutter from building up in our home, and keeps our debt at zero. I love a good twofer.

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Now I know what you’re thinking: that’s dandy, but what about gifts from OTHER relatives and friends?

You’re right…that’s another story. And it can be rather tricky! Currently, we do not participate in any obligatory gift exchanges with other relatives or friends. But that wasn’t always the case! For years (especially when the kids were little) we were bombarded with clothes and toys and household items every holiday. With every gift we received, we then felt obligated to gift something back. Often the gifts were things that we never asked for, we never needed, and wouldn’t really use.

Don’t get me wrong, people generally mean well when it comes to gift giving. They intend to show us that they care and that they love us and we are always very grateful. But the truth is, with 4 kids, the house is quickly cluttered with excess stuff (not to mention the extra mental clutter and stress that tags along with having to store and maintain the gifts). Eventually we decided enough is enough and we desired a much more simple, meaningful holiday experience. We have spent many years setting the expectations for the holidays with the hope that family and friends save their hard-earned money and not buy us anything.

Be aware though, this change in holiday tradition didn’t just happen overnight. It honestly took years of setting expectations for our extended family to hop on board. And to this day, some have not…and that’s ok too. Because you can’t force someone to accept your lifestyle. You can’t force someone to not buy you a gift.

You can, however, start a conversation. Tactfully.

Discuss what you’d like the holidays to look like and set expectations ahead of time so that the people you love understand how you feel about obligatory gifts. A good time to start doing this isn’t always in November when people are asking what you’d like for Christmas. The time is actually now. As you’re taking down your holiday décor in the new year…have a conversation with your family. Something like “As I was putting away our decorations this year it made me realize that I think I might like to try something different for next Christmas. In order to save money and make the holidays more intentional and more meaningful, rather than exchanging gifts, let’s….

• Share a meal together at a restaurant
• Exchange a homemade book of our favorite recipes
• Go see a show together
• Exchange our favorite dish
• Have a traveling dinner party
• Have a White Elephant gift exchange
• Do a book swap

If they still insist they’d like to buy you something special. Tell them instead of an “item” perhaps they can gift you something usable. There are plenty of things that make wonderful gifts that also do not take up space in your home.

Here are a list of “experience gifts” that are suitable for kids and adults alike:

• A lesson, class, or workshop (music, sports, pottery, crafting, etc.)
• A week of camp
• Tickets to a concert or sporting event
• Tickets to a local themepark
• Movie tickets
• Books or music
• Passes for rainy day activities such as bounce houses, indoor trampoline parks, etc.
• A local museum or aquarium membership.
• Pay toward something they currently use–like a month of their current gym membership, or studio passes, etc.
• Consumables–wine, homemade candy, baked goods, a homecooked meal.
• Cash or gift certificates to use toward something they are already saving towards.

Any of these things can still be printed out nicely and placed into a festive box or envelope.

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My in-laws recently began gifting experiences to our kids for the holidays instead of swinging by Costco and filling their cart with all the latest buzzing toys. They will usually reach out to us and ask if the kids need anything first, such as new clothes or shoes to replace anything they are outgrowing, or any necessary gear for extracurricular activities. If they don’t need anything in those categories, they will ask the kids what kind of summer camps they would enjoy, or if they’d like to try a new sport or after school activity.

One year they purchased each of our children a week of summer camp. Another year they paid for a month’s worth of swim lessons. Another year they gave us money toward a family vacation we were saving up for. We love it because all of these gifts are things the kids can actually DO, or an experience we can enjoy together, instead of something that sits on a shelf. When it’s time for the kids to actually enjoy the gift later in the year, we make sure to remind them that this was a Christmas gift from their grandparents.

I know that buying, wrapping, and watching kids open electronic gadgets is FUN for grandparents…but you know what else is fun? Receiving a photo of your smiling grandchild enjoying a week at camp that you provided. And it’s so much more meaningful too!

So there you have it. A minimalist Christmas isn’t a holiday void of decorations or traditions, but rather a time to focus on being intentional with our resources and present with the people we love. These are just some of the things that work for our family, but perhaps they could work for you too! No matter what your traditions are, I hope you and your family have a magical holiday together full of love, laughter, and fun.

Have any additional ideas or comments? Leave them below. I’d love to hear from you!

-BethAnn