So, in conjunction with all this organizing and cleaning, I need a little help in the way of suggestions from you. I’ve got some things that I’m not ready/willing to part with but would like a better way to store. If you have any storage & organizing ideas, please do share!
a) I have a year’s worth of Parent’s magazines cluttering up my space. I want to keep them because I really like some of the information in them, but there has to be a better way to store them than just leaving them in a stack. The same is true for the 3 & ½ years worth of Ensigns I’ve just stacked up in a basket under a side table. Are they worth keeping? If not, what should I do with them? Something in me just can’t throw them away but I almost don’t want to keep them either. Such a dilemma.
b) This goes along with the pack rat in me, but I’ve saved almost all my notes from important classes in college. I have every intention of keeping them because there is a lot that is really helpful and I actually do refer to some of them, believe it or not. And they are actually pretty organized too, but the binders I’ve put them in are still taking up space that could be available for more important things {like my ever growing book collection}. Any suggestions for saving old college notes?
c) What about college text books? My mom saved almost all of hers and eventually just threw them all away because she didn’t ever use them. I only saved the ones that pertained to music because I figure I’ll use them sometime in my teaching. But they’re heavy and, again, take up space. Ugh. How does one balance the desire to keep useful information and the desire to clear up space in one’s living quarters?
d) I’ve recently started rubber stamping and card making, which I really love! I have a really fun time with it & love creating something new. However, I can’t figure out how to store my growing collection of stuff. First, I need a good way to store paper. Stacking it in a cardboard box isn’t really cutting it anymore. Also, I need a good way to store my rubber stamps. I just have them in a tote but I hate digging through everything to get the stamp set on the bottom of the pile. Ideally, new storage ideas would include ways I can organize everything and keep it that way, as well as easily transport the said equipment when I decide to go stamp with my sisters-in-law. Perhaps I am wishing for the impossible because I have yet to find an acceptable solution.
The big kicker is that all new organizing equipment I have to buy needs to actually be affordable {seriously, who can afford to pay hundreds of $$$ for an organizer? Sheesh ... }. Please tell me that I am not just a lost cause. I could really use it.
8 comments:
Dearest Jessica friend,
I hate the never ending job of cleaning and organizing. That's what I should be doing instead of reading your blog. Ha.
a)I was the same way. There are lots of great ideas in the Parents magazine. I cut them out and then tape them to a note card which is filed in a recipe box. Which of course has dividers. As far as any articles I just write down the summary of things I want to remember. So you can refer to those. The ensigns. Throw them away. You can access it all online. Just keep the conference issues and have them in a file box (the ones where they stand up and you can see the outsides).
b)College stuff....I kept all of my music history books and conducting books. I actually do refer to them. I kept some of my education books if it has to do with teaching music or things I can use as a parent. I have binders for college notes. Like our conducting jounals, my BofM journal, and ALL of my English 211 notes. You could put all of those on a thumb drive though and then it's taking up less space.
c) I store things like that in a tote I can slide under my bed. I put my bed up on stands for this purpose.
I hope that helps. Let me know if it works for you or how you made it work better.
Love you friend.
Jess-
Kayla will probably have some good ideas on this because she just had an enrichment night dealing with this issue, and she's implementing some things.
But my ideas are to get rid of all of the old magazines. Certainly, the Ensigns can be given away or thrown away, and as for the parenting mags, I'll bet you'll have good ideas without their good ideas. But that's just me.
Give all of your college notes to me because I'm sure they're fantastic and I could use them! :o)
Keep your texts for a while longer and they'll probably come in handy.
The paper and stamp stuff sounds girly to me, so I won't comment.
Good luck organizing!
-Brian
Alright Jessica, you know I am not the most organized around and always have good intentions to do so but here are my ideas.
A. I agree with everyone else on the Ensigns, they are online and its easier to access them that way. Also, your Parent magazines are the same way, they are online also. I saved years of Family Fun for costumes, ideas, etc. until one day I realized they were all online and I had been saving them for 10 years. They immediately went to be recycled.
B. If you need your notes, couldn't you just scan them and store them on a cd?
C. Do you really need your text books? Ted has saved a lot of his and is now finally throwing them away because they are not worth anything to anyone now.
D. Ok, I am not the best example for storing my stamps because my craft room is still in limbo but Shari stores hers really well. There are cheap plastic containers (kind of like open folders) called Paper Keepers. I know they sell these at Roberts and when you use a 50% coupon, I think they would be pretty inexpensive. I have two but have not bought any in a few years so I don't know the price anymore. Shari buy the inexpensive clear boxes from Walmart and labels them all. Some are full of stamps and the name of each stamp set is labeled on the outside so she can see at a glance what is in everything. These stack up neatly and when labeled all the same way, easy to see what you have. Whenever I transport things, I try to plan it out in advance and then just take what I need in a bag. Usually when you go to someones house to stamp, if you don't have it, she probably will ;)
Hahaha. I'm laughing at my hubby's comment. I do have some really great hand-outs for you. I think I'll mail them. The relief society meeting we had on organization really opened my eyes. It was taught by a person that organizes by trade. Interesting. One thought: If you don't think about it, if it doesn't bring you joy, and if you forget about the item often...it is of no value to you and can be thrown away. Keep only the items that matter to you and that have a consistent home. This thought was shared at that meeting...this is a condensed version but you get the idea.
-Kayla
I miss you Cooks!!!!! You make me giggle.
I'm trying to get rid of stuff too. I find the same problem of wondering whether I will really use something again.
I was thinking it could be fun to cut out a few pictures from your magazines before you throw them out. You could use them for family home evening with your kids or for their primary talks, etc.
idea for old college notes: scan them into your computer, then shred them. keep them organized digitally somewhere on your hard drive and you'll be glad they're out of the physical world and into the digital. :)
idea for rubber stamps: my mom used to keep all of hers in those long, flat boxes you use for wrapping paper that fit under the bed. that way she only had one layer of them, and could see them all at once! :)
p.s. i'm a horrible pack rat too. i have boxes and boxes of old stuff that apparently used to be important still stored at my parents' house... i'm scared to go through it. o_O
Thanks so much everyone! I really appreciate your help and ideas - it really helped liberate me to just throw more things away. And I felt really good knowing Rexburg now has a bunch of recycle bins so I didn't feel like I was just throwing away all those magazines! Anyway - I love your ideas and I keep referring to them frequently as I continuously go through some of my stuff. Just a little somethin':
Cassa: I like your idea about Parents. I think I'll use it.
Brian: You crack me up! I'm not sure you'd really want my old college notes!
tktracy: thanks so much for telling me about the paper storage boxes! I got some and love them - only I think I'll need more {Dan told me I have too much stuff!}.
Kayla: I'd love to see any ideas you have. Isn't it interesting that there is a such thing as a professional organizer?
Lisa: That could be fun to use the pictures. I'll have to really look through my mags.
kathryn: I'm sooo glad I'm not the only pack rat around who still has boxes of things at their parent's house! I don't want to go through mine either - I put it off every time we visit ... my mom is probably getting frustrated!
Post a Comment