Do you need to get a handle on loose papers? Does clutter have you in its grip?
Is there buried on your desk a 1992 newspaper clipping about Starbucks with a sticky note that says, “Think about investing in this company”?
If so, I feel your pain in the glut.
Alas, springtime is here when the mere sight — and light — of a messy home office can make us sniffle. But don’t let this season of disorganization on your desk — or kitchen counter — cause you to tear up.
Martha Stewart has a remedy that promises hundreds of beautiful ways to manage our piles of paper. In her new collection are chic binders, crisp pockets, colorful folders and files to dress up any out of control morass of receipts, coupons and “I don’t know what to do with this” items. It’s a lovely system.
However, I’ve recently found through casual research — which means talking to friends, co-workers and family — that there’s another innovative way to get a handle on the mass of paper flowing from desks into hallways.
In an effort to avoid blocking fire exits, many women have risen to the occasion with an alternate filing system. From what I’ve gathered, this method often initiates when someone is about to visit our home; a temporary illusion that Martha Stewart lives there.
“Look at this!” an unnamed “friend” who threatened to never let me see my grandkids again if I divulged her name, cheerfully commented the other day. “I finally have things organized in this room.”
I peered through the doorway to see a pristine space -- a Martha Stewart heaven. But then stepping beyond a first glance, I noted she had the same filing system as mine.
Carefully lined against a wall were sturdy boutique and department store bags, their convenient handles ready to grab and go with clutter. Each stand-alone bag -- much like Martha’s vertical folders -- had whisked away junk mail, mountains of receipts, children’s schoolwork and much more.
Even her husband had his own paper-filled Nordstrom bag.
It was a delight to see such organization; an inspiration to get busy on my own untidy heap.
So today, I’m saying good-bye to clutter. But first, I’ll need to say hello to a new dress.
It’s my way — and maybe yours — to get a better handle on paper.
