Clutter Clearing Made SIMPLE!

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Spring is here. The sun is out. Time to clear out the clutter. But where to start and how to get it done. Clearing the clutter is freeing but can also be overwhelming.

Here are some simple tips to get started:

  • Start with a SMALL project like your purse, the top of your dresser, or the junk drawer.
  • Get a BUDDY and take turns helping each other. The project will be so much more fun with a friend.

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    Putting it all together…

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    You’ve got all the pieces, now let’s put the puzzle together!

    Are you starting to feel like you’re getting this R.A.F.T© thing?! We are going to walk through the process in its entirety again to help with that. As I mentioned in “Contain the Piles,” the very first thing you do is gather all of your incoming paper each day and put it in a vertical holding container.

    From there, schedule some time in your week that you can R.A.F.T© through it…

    • R = Read. All items that are leisurely reading go into one container…or two containers, but they are specifically for Reading.

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    T = Toss

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    Get it outta your life!

    The final step of R.A.F.T.© is TOSS. It is a simple step, but offers a noticeable difference in your paper load. Once a week, as you process papers from your incoming container, simply toss papers into a recycle container or send through a shredder. Pay attention to what happens as you go through this process.

    Common results are…

    • Feeling accomplished clearing out all of that weight.
    • You and your space feeling lighter.
    • It sets a standard in your space that for all the incoming there has to be outgoing as well.

     

    Send it off before it takes up residence!

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    F = File

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    Are you ready to love your filing cabinet and the papers inside?!

    Okay, maybe that is a little extreme, but the reality is that you CAN have a filing system in place that will change your relationship with paper. You CAN enjoy handling, filing and retrieving papers. Thanks to the magnificent Seth Odam and his brilliant creation FreedomFiler. FreedomFiler is the only all-encompassing, self-purging filing system. Do you need even more reason than that?!

    Okay…

    • It contains everything from your daily action file labels, to your monthly files, your taxes, your vital records, your contracts and your reference information.

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    A = Act

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    Here’s another simple step to managing your paper!

    It’s time to set up a Simple Action System. This is where you will gather all of the papers that require you “do” something…make a call, pay a bill, send a card, schedule an event. Having just one place that you can go to for these things will change your relationship with paper AND with getting things done.

    To put together your system you will need the following items…

    • Container
    • Files with labels
    • Clear project folders
    • Post-its, sharpie

     

    Putting all of the pieces together!

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    R = READ

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    Do you wish you could do more reading?

    How many magazines or articles come into your life that you really want to read, but never seem to get too? How many places do magazines pile up just waiting for you to peruse? Life has gotten so busy for so many of us that we don’t always get the reading time we desire.

    Here is how to change that…

    • Get a holding container for your desired reading items (we like magazine files)
    • Keep one where you will do the reading (i.e. next to your bed, near the couch, in your reading nook, in your office). Sometimes this means you will have more than one in your home.

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