How to Tame the Paper Monster and Eliminate Clutter with Sarah Moore

Are you living in paperwork overwhelm? Do you have so many pieces of adorable children's artwork you just don't know what to do with it all?  Do you need a simple way to control papers? Then this is the episode for you! This series is different, because instead of an interview, Sarah Moore will be giving 4 separate master classes that make up the 4 Organization episodes. Today's master class is about Taming the Paper Monster. Sarah Moore's 3 Step Paper Reduction Strategy :

1. Stop the paper coming in 2. Put something in place that makes it easy to deal with the paper going forward 3. Get rid of what you already have

Today Sarah Moore discussed:

How to accomplish step 1:

• Asking to go paperless for bills
• Talk to your kids' school about sending the flyers electronically in emails, not send papers with kids that make a mess then get lost
• Get off of junk mail lists by going to this link: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0262-stopping-unsolicited-mail-phone-calls-and-email

How to accomplish step 2:

• Ambush the paper at the door, Sarah has a recycle bin, a shredder, and an action basket at the door.
• No more mail on the kitchen counters
• Use a 4 cube mail station with 1 cube for recycled paper, 1 for shredder, and 1 basket for action. Go through the action basket 2-3 times per week.
• Use a clip or basket for your kids to put their paperwork in when they walk through the door, that way they don't get lost or make a mess. Put that clip or basket on your mail station.
• Every day when her daughter comes home, Sarah has a "how was your day?" Conversation with her daughter, and her daughter puts her paperwork away at that time.
• Kids artwork: Art gets displayed in one place for one week, or until the space is full. As pieces are taken down, they go into a portfolio. Every season, a few pieces are chosen to keep forever.
• Or take pictures of all the art and create a photo book of all of it. That way you can save more pictures in a small space.
• You can use kids artwork for wrapping paper!

How to accomplish step 3:

• Collect all paperwork and bring it to the coffee table or kitchen table so you can watch tv as you go through it. Get yourself a cup of tea to enjoy as you go through it.
• Get 2 boxes and a shredder/recycle bin 1 box of things to keep 1 box of actionable items (set aside a time each week to deal with them)
• Go through every piece of paper and put it in one of the 2 boxes

 

A word from Sarah:

"Hi, I'm Sarah Moore. I've been eliminating chaos since 1989! My left brain discovered a long time ago that it has the mind of a Lego master builder when it comes to filtering out all the busy work and time wasters of a process or project leaving only what is necessary to achieve the desired result.

My right brain is a little woo and I believe that everything is energy. My left brain is OK with that because Einstein thought so too. Your thoughts are energy - they are electrical impulses traveling down neurons. Food is energy: plants fix the energy of the sun. But it's really easy to get that energy stuck. Ever had the same song playing over and over in your head all day? Exactly, Stuck energy.

When you combine the two halves of my brain you get a project manager who has a laser focus on the critical path: the only bits of a project that actually need to get done to achieve the desired result. Whether that critical path is the a to z of a huge corporate project, a small entrepreneur's project or the pathway to getting dinner on the table with no fuss...I have the ability to cut through the fluff and leave only what truly matters.

These days I prefer to work with overwhelmed women who have too much on their plates and piles of stuff threatening to take over their homes. I bring you discipline and simplicity to help you find balance. With a big helping of no excuses tough love too."

Next week we'll be talking about how to feed your family fast, cheap and healthy

 

You can find Sarah Moore:

Website: https://www.urbanearthmom.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/urbanearthmom/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/UrbanEarthMom/

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanEarthMom

 

Thank you for joining me today! 

Want more? Go to HardyMom.com and you'll find ways to live well, grow, and enjoy your life again -with any health challenges.

I'd love to hear what you think about this episode! Send me a message at HardyMom.com/contact

Have a blessed week,

Jen

p.s. Like the show? Share with a friend!

Our music is "A New Day," by Scott Holmes