Monica on the Loose

It's been awhile since I've done an Orderly Conduct post, so I thought I'd share 3 things that have been working for me.

1) DVD storage.
I am so over having a zillion stacks of cds lying around to get scratched. Ever open a movie case with the wrong movie or nothing at all in there? Irritating. About a year ago, I snapped and threw away ALL of our movie cases, save the tv series collections (the Office, Friends, Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Seinfeld, etc...the ones that have a box for each season). Our movies went into one of two cd cases that hold like 100 cds each. We have one with all movies that the kids are allowed to watch, and one with the rest of our movies in it.

When the kids want to watch a show, they just flip through the case like a catalog and choose something, rather than bringing me 10 movies in their cases and not putting them away. I do not miss movie cases at. all. I get asked this question often and I am telling you. NOT AT ALL. It feels great to throw cases away after opening them. I do keep one or two empty cases around just in case we want to lend a movie out or take it somewhere.

This also helps because the kids are no longer fishing through and scratching up our movies, or seeing a colorful, kidsy-looking movie case and asking to watch BabyMama or something that isn't appropriate for them.

But really, the best part really is the clean up. It takes 2 minutes to put a stack of movies back into the case. And 200 movies can be stored in less than 1 square foot of space. Sold.

2) Magazine Rack Mail Sorter.

Do you have little stacks of papers around the house? Piles of bills to be paid, papers to be filed, and mail to be opened? We did, too. And they drove me insane. I hate stacks of paper like I hate cats.

Now remember, we don't have a home office or a lot of space available for paper organization, so piles and stacks have a tendency to accumulate quickly on our contertops and bookshelves. No bueno. It was important that I found a system to eliminate piles and stacks as efficiently as possible. I spent two weeks searching stores and online for the perfect mail sorter and I finally found one I liked. It's a magazine rack. Mail sorters were only 6 inches wide and I wanted something that could fit an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper in each slot.

I love the industrial look of the wire mesh. The metal is a nice contrast to the weathered and painted wood surfaces in my kitchen. The metal offers enough coverage for privacy, but enough transparency that I can actually SEE what is hiding in those pockets, so items do not get lost or shoved sloppily in there.It hangs right next to the door to the garage so when you walk in the house with a stack of mail, you can sort it immediately and it never makes to the counter. We stand between the mail sorter and the trash can and separate ours into 4 categories: toss (envelopes and junk mail), shred (any garbage that has with our name and address or bank information on it), pay (anything that needs attention before it can me filed), and file (self explanitory).

The system is working well because I used to never attempt to tackle filing or bills when I had less than an hour to put into it. I like to have time if I am going to attack any activity that requires that I really tune my brain into what I am doing. Before, it seemed that when I wanted to file, I had to sift through piles, folders, bins, etc where everything was mixed together and search out items that needed to be put away. I couldn't just grab a stack, and get filing.

Now, when I have 10 minutes before we need to go somwhere, or when I am waiting for Reese's bus to arrive, I'll take one or two or 10 items from one of the sections and take care of them. It's easy to make a dent in the pockets without making a big mess on the table for Corbin to get into.

So yeah, we have a big letter sorter in our dining room. It's not the most attractive or ideal situation, but it works for us, and it is soooo much better than stacks of papers and receipts everywhere.

3) Contacts binder
It's been awhile since I have updated this, and after doing that today, I can't believe I forgot how useful it is!

I keep a binder full of clear sheet protectors for phone lists, takeout menus, class lists, etc.

I had half a package of photo holder sheets from a photo album and I stuck those behind all of the phone list pages. This is the best information catch all EVER! I am certain that whoever came up with the idea for pinterest must have sifted through my junk drawer and seen this little beauty. I put everything in those little photo slots. Business cards, email addresses that I wrote on the back of a reciept, post its with directions to someone's house, the ugly magnets with local numbers for POA and city offices, the paint sample cards from different rooms in the house (labeled for which room they were used in), online shopping mailing statements (in case I want to order something again), the labels from the boxes our cell phones and other electronics came in (in case we need the make/model #, temple schedules, the label from my running shoe box so when it's time to replace them (and I've worn through the tag inside the shoe) I'll know what size and style to get, Aaron's eye Rx, printed mapquest directions to places we only go once a year, but need directions for every time, like st. louis, or Aaron's aunt and uncle's house in Dallas.

The only thing I DON'T keep in here are coupons. What a mess. Unless they have no expiration date on them, forget it. zillions of coupons stuffed here and there are what would turn this binder from being a beautiful resource to a cluttered disorganized disaster. Trust me.

I'm not saying you shouldn't use coupons, but use a separate system for those and keep them out of the contacts binder.

And if you are one of the people (ahem kasey, sheena, angela) whom I've gotten referrals for a service (like a dr, dentist, etc), or I've bugged you repeatedly for a phone number or your address from an email, text, or FB message this is probably why I have had to ask you for it 10 times. If it's not in the binder, I don't remember where it is, and it's easier for me to just ask you for it 100 more times until I get a physical business card or save their number in my phone.

Sorry, friends. Blame the (super cool) binder!

Do YOU have a tip for home organization you would like to feature on this here bloggy? Email me, I'd love to share it and inspire others to live a more organized life!