Getting Organized

I just went through and organized all my papers in my file cabinet (bills, taxes, etc.) I have needed to do it for awhile and had a huge pile of papers that needed to be filed. It feels good to do so. About 1/4 was no longer valid and I was able to toss. About 1/4 was daycare stuff that I can box up and keep it attic as I am not currently doing in home daycare. I will keep all that stuff though as I was told to save any IRS stuff for 7 years. So my file cabinets are much more spacious now. It feels good to get a boring task out of the way. Plus now when I get a paper to file I can file it right away as all folders are set up and labeled. This really helps. Hopefully this will eliminate paperwork piling up.

I also have been going through one room or area each night and filling one box for my yard sale. I know in a previous post I have mentioned that I have not been very successful at my yard sales. However, a few family members, friends, and I are going to attempt a multi family sale. Plus my grandmother has moved from her home into a senior apartment and has some items that she no longer needs. So this sale may be a bit more successful. We are planning it for Fri. Oct. 9th & Sat. Oct. 10th. It seems to be a trend in my area to do yard sales Fri. & Sat. They seem to be more successful; plus the weather should be nice for a yard sale. I LOVE the fall weather (probably because I was born in the fall.)

I have no problem getting rid of stuff, as I got rid of about half my stuff when I moved in this house 2 years ago. But we still have managed to gather more stuff than we need. I am trying to weed out anything that was used for the in home daycare, as we no longer needs toys for any child under 6. If a baby comes over I will give them a box and some tupperware to play with, they like that batter anyway. For any preschool friends we still have our wooden trains and train table which my boys still play with.

I also need to weed out some of the homeschool stuff. It seems to multiply, we have so much. It is hard, because I think, "Will I use this?" or "What if I need this?" But since we have a very small space to work with I want to declutter as much as possible. Flylady taught me, "You can't organize clutter!" It is so true. By the way check out the Flylady website for some awesome help in cleaning and organizing your home and your life. Fly stands for Finally Loving Yourself. It is a great, practical, helpful site. It starts with babysteps to get you in the right direction, instead of diving in head first which can be really overwhelming.

Have you been doing any major cleaning or organizing lately? What are some helpful tips you have?

Thanks! -Becky