BMW Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I am sitting at my desk sorting through stacks of papers and remember hearing great advice: Handle each paper only once! That means, of course, taking care of the responsibility at the time, like when you sort through mail, pay bills, file them, take care of the papers just once! It saves time... What other words of wisdom are there for handling a household?? (I also like several of flylady's sayings!) Bee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magistramom Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Handle each paper only once! Oh, I'm a believer of this one! I have learned to bite my tongue, but still secretly wish everyone in my home held strong to this advice! I'm a do it once type of gal... and I often wonder if living with others who do not have this urge, is a test of my patience... or a test of how many strange and new organizational ideas I can implement to keep things organized (baskets, file folders, recipe holders, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I love the idea of handle it once and sometimes I even follow through but it is so much easier to just make a big pile of paper and recycle it 3 months from now because I have not even looked in that pile once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I couldn't live by the handle a paper only once advice b/c there is no way I can look through my mail and deal with it immediately. Some of the things I do to keep our lives in control: 1- I go through mail and separate it into distinct piles. Trash (throw out immediately). Bills (put into my "bill" slot in my organizer and pay on either the 30th or the 15th). Need to deal with (insurance papers, stocks, and other types......put into my "deal with" slot and I go through them during extra minutes during the day) 2- throw a load of laundry in as soon as I start functioning in the morning 3- buy all my meat for the week days on Sunday. I plan (vaguely) our meals for the week so that I pick crockpot meals on our busiest days. (I also don't plan before I shop b/c I buy whatever meat I find on sale) 4- I fold laundry while calling out dictation or while discussing things with the kids 5- With gas prices the way they are, a huge time-saver has been to make sure that my trips are multi-purpose. This has actually been an incredibly blessing b/c I am becoming more organized b/c of it. ETA: Grade kids work daily even when I really, really don't want to! There is nothing that I put off more than a stack of ungraded work. Pure torture. I'd rather be tortured in smaller increments!! Well, that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Once a week I clean the bathroom thoroughly early in the morning before I shower. That way it's done early and I can shower after as I always feel yucky after doing it. Plus somehow I've never figured out how to clean the tub/shower without getting myself wet. This way, it doesn't matter and I finish the rinsing of the tub after I get in. I may wipe down the surfaces other times in the week (with a 4 yr old boy I have to) but I only need to do the bigger cleaning once a week. I have a general schedule of what needs to be done when. I try not to be a slave to the schedule but it helps me to know that on Friday I wash all the sheets. I feel less behind and less overwhelmed when I know that I'll get to everything, just not all on the same day. Make a grocery list as we run out of stuff. That seems obvious to me but I know others who don't do this and then spend a lot of time figuring out what they need. Put laundry in first thing in the morning every day, so it's done early. Make a general meal plan but only do 4-5 days of the week. I find that when I plan for 7 meals it's too much. Invariably we have leftovers or we get invited to someone's house or something happens. In general I only handle paper stuff, except bills. I put those in a specific place and pay them as they come due. I keep a bulletin board in the kitchen with all the other paperwork we need but not yet (like camp forms or tickets for an event). I also try to deal with each e-mail I get as I get it. It's just easier than having a backlog of e-mails to respond to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKim Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 Put things back where they go as soon as you are finished with them. Don't just lay something on a table or shelf with the intention of putting it away later. It doesn't get done. I am forever saying this to the people who live with me. Little ones and big ones. A place for everything, and everything in its place. Make a grocery list as we run out of stuff. That seems obvious to me but I know others who don't do this and then spend a lot of time figuring out what they need. Good one! As soon as we open the last bottle, bag, box, or whatever, of an item, we put it on the grocery list for next time. We don't wait until we are out of something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 whatever "it" is. "File--Don't Pile!" by Pat Dorff is the absolutely BEST book I have ever read on handling the paper monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted September 6, 2008 Share Posted September 6, 2008 My words of wisdom: Make the kids do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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