Paper Clutter

There is never an end to a person's paper clutter.  We all get mail:  bills, invitations, junk mail ... you get the picture.  And if you're like most people, some of these things are all jumbled into one pile.  When it comes time to locate one of those papers, or a store receipt to return an item, we can spend -- or rather, we can waste a lot of hours needlessly!  

There is a lot of talk about downsizing and /or organizing your home; if you Google it, you are sure to come up some good and some not so good ideas for both of these things.  But the one thing that is often left out is how to be organized with your papers.  

But it doesn't need to be any more complicated than creating a plan.  When I collect my mail, I often review it quickly, sorting out the junk mail straight into the garbage can.  Then bills go in a basket over my desk, and personal mail goes into another basket.  When a bill is paid, if it will be needed at tax time, I have another basket just for those items (doctor bills, car repairs, etc)  Being a homeowner, I also have one of those accordion file jackets with several slots for receipts and owners manuals for things like the fridge, dishwasher, roof repairs.  Just so they're handy if they're ever needed again.

It's important to have a system so that you aren't stuck on worrying where you put that receipt, and you aren't wasting time looking for that one you just can't seem to find!  When you realize how much time is spent on this one aspect of your life, you can then use that time for other pursuits - like doing something creative! 

Personal Space and Creativity

 One of my fav authors is Sarah Ban Breathnach when it comes to a self help type book.  She uses insights and thoughts to get women to think - at least that's how I use her books.  Today I started perusing Simple Abundance:  A Daybook of Comfort and Joy.  Each day there's a different thought and today's thought was about creating a space, a quiet place, in order to have some creativity, or at least create a space where you can find it.  

Unless you live alone, you probably don't have a room all to yourself; her suggestion is to create a small nook that's just your own, or at the very least, a bookshelf that's yours and yours alone.   Since I live alone, all the spaces in my home are mine, and yet I still feel the need to carve out my own space where I can let my creativity flow. 

Yesterday, it was at my computer.  I am an avid photographer and collector of photos.  So I took on the "job" of creating a memorial DVD of my sister's years on earth.  I was rater pleased with how it turned out, but it was a way to express my creativity, collecting the photos and setting them to music that suited my sister and her life.   But I also enjoy writing and feel that's an area that I've let slide in recent years.  In an attempt to correct that, I'm using the daily notes in Sarah's book to create my own  post on the topic.  

It is necessary that we acknowledge our creative side, and she tells us that we should "nurture our sacred creativity side".  I'd like to add my own thought because so many of us are working women, between job and house chores and down time, along with creating our own little niche of space, we should also carve out a niche of time as well to devote to our creative side.  Having yourself a space is a passionate reminder to attend to our private, artistic impulses, to reclaim our creativity.

Make a corner.  Create a bit of time.   Write.  Draw.  Dream.  Paint.  Dance.  

Be uniquely you!