Banish PAPER CLUTTER FOR GOOD! My *EASY* Filing Method + Kids Art Paper System |Messy To Minimal Mom

Banish PAPER CLUTTER FOR GOOD! My EASY Filing Method + Kids Art Paper System |Messy To Minimal Mom

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HOW TO ELIMINATE PAPER CLUTTER! EASY Filing Method + Kids' Art Paper System | Messy To Minimal Mom
Today I'm sharing with you a video all about decluttering and simplifying your paper clutter. I've got great tips to help guide your decluttering process and share with you my personal experience with keeping my files and mail tidy and simple! I'm also sharing how I deal with the paper clutter my KIDS make with their school papers, art projects and piles of scribbles! This is another video series "A Clutter Free January" Started By Dawn from The Minimal Mom. Here's the whole playlist of Paper Decluttering and Organization videos in this collab: • Paper Clutter Tips & O...
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➕WHAT I LEARNED IN A YEAR OF MINIMALISM: • ✨MESSY TO MINIMAList: ...
➕MESSY TO MINIMAL EXTREME DECLUTTERING SERIES: • MESSY TO MINIMAL SERIES
➕FILING CABINET: rstyle.me/cz-n/ex6p5jcdigx *
➕MESH FILE BOX (inside the fabric drawer): rstyle.me/+RO_GGgtzwIUibr9y2j...
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➕HOMESCHOOL ROOM TOUR: • SMALL Homeschool Room ...
Music by Angela Predhomme - So Good to Be Free - thmatc.co/?l=2EC1454A
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Пікірлер: 671

@TheSmilingTabbyStickers 3 жыл бұрын

For kids art I scanned the ones my son did and had them made into calendars for family. Used vista print or Shutterfly

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

Such a fun idea!

@jomarieingram9657 3 жыл бұрын

We have taken pictures and made an art album.

@CMBauer 3 жыл бұрын

That is a great idea! Thanks @A BK

@HappilyOrganizedChaos 3 жыл бұрын

@@jomarieingram9657 I love the idea of creating a book! I had that idea a few years ago but then never went through with it. I would take a picture of the art project and if it was special I would take a picture of my son or daughter holding it. I should go back and do that ☺️

@jomarieingram9657 3 жыл бұрын

@@HappilyOrganizedChaos yes sometimes I end up with photo clutter but it helps get rid of the paper in that moment that when I don't want to let go of sentimental items.

@dianamgallagher 3 жыл бұрын

I have a basket of "stuff" that needs to be filed and when cleaning it out the other day, I found a card from last Valentines day and there was a $50 Amazon card inside!!!!

@rachelhathaway6239 3 жыл бұрын

My favourite thing about kids art work is what Dawn the minimal mom says “the fun is in the making”

@Sterling8953 3 жыл бұрын

I keep a shredder and small trash can near the front door. Mail gets sorted right away and either trashed or shredded before it makes it past the entry. Otherwise it just piles up.

@SarahShepz 3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I open mail standing over the recycling bin.

@nataliegrant5456 3 жыл бұрын

What a great idea.

@mildziute 3 жыл бұрын

Shredder sounds victorious😁

@ludwigvonmiseswasright4380 3 жыл бұрын

I do try to look at the mail as soon as I take it out of the mailbox, but one busy week I ended up not opening the mailbox for several days, because I was just overwhelmed by the idea.....

@heidijanuary3286 3 жыл бұрын

Brilliant idea!

@dianejaquay 3 жыл бұрын

Omg, "attached to every little piece of paper", that statement brought back memories of my daughter when she was little. She wanted to save EVERYTHING. I remember she had a cork board in her room and I'd go in there and see that she had pinned the wrapper from the lollipop she'd eaten, or a torn corner off of a piece of her artwork. She's 19 now and has gotten much better at getting rid of things, so parents of young ones, take heart!

@pamelamolina5623 3 жыл бұрын

I just learned that hoarders start in childhood. Saving wrappers that is scary

@nancywidows463 3 жыл бұрын

I am old school, so digital really gives me anxiety. But I love the simplicity of your system: recycle, shredder, ot filing cabinet. What a concept. I promise to try.🙂

@thisuniquechica 3 жыл бұрын

In addition to the ones you listed, I have “scan and shred” and “scan and keep” categories. It helps to know that I don’t have to store paper, if I can use digital (scanning), but I won’t lose the info.

@ludwigvonmiseswasright4380 3 жыл бұрын

@@thisuniquechica Isn't having digital folders the same as having an off-site storage unit? It's out of sight, but it's not really out of mind. It's still part of your mental inventory

@thisuniquechica 3 жыл бұрын

@@ludwigvonmiseswasright4380 Not for everyone. Certainly not for me. Maybe that was the case for me early in the evolution of cloud storage, but now it’s out of sight, out of mind. I don’t even have to organize stuff too carefully either. It all organizes itself chronologically in the cloud, much like the way our memory works, and much like the way I’ll look for things if I ever need them again. Plus, for me, it’s the boxes and boxes of paper that creates the inconvenience.

@kimwatts6338 3 жыл бұрын

same at 57 years old . There have been many times and lately too that I needed the papers I “ could” have gotten rid of and digital is not always available. Our internet goes down a lot

@kimberlyeakin761 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you, I also was a fearful bill hider as a 20 year old newlywed. 30 years later I’m finally felling empowered and now on top of things. Blessings to you!

@headintheclouds2196 6 ай бұрын

Nice to see young women like you embracing and focusing on keeping a clean home. I’m sold!!!!

@raquelsanchezpinion7699 3 жыл бұрын

Mr. Chicken with the Green Star Belly Button is a Sneetch from Dr. Seuss! One of my favorite stories!!!

@suec440 3 жыл бұрын

I was just checking the comments to see if anyone mentioned that!

@lorimanha2628 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!! Actually what I was coming to say!

@eileenlester4342 3 жыл бұрын

Yes!!! Love it. 💜

@ellenshirreffs326 3 жыл бұрын

I figured the same thing! Love reading that story to my kiddos!

@familyof5quicktips514 3 жыл бұрын

We hang up some artwork, then after a few weeks, we throw it away. This allows them (and us) to see it and admire their "hardwork." Thanks for sharing the clutter tips, mail is the worst for me!!

@photobugmom72 3 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU for addressing the FEAR that paper clutter causes! I think that is the biggest reason why I avoid my papers. I know what waits in it and I don't want to deal with it. ...so I procrastinate. Then I cause bigger issues when bills are late and I have to pay penalties.

@minimalzebra 3 жыл бұрын

Paper clutter is my nemesis so I've been excited for this week. I'm not a morning person but I tried to be awake for the premiere but my body said no too early.

@krystalneeley1741 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your story. I went through a really tough time when I didn’t want to open mai. I threw it all in a box and have lost important documents. My goal for this year is to make that box disappear!

@micheledryden1057 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your honesty; thoroughness; discipline; and simplicity in your paper management! I went through part of my files and decluttered 1.5 FEET of garbage; 8 INCHES to shred; 4 INCHES to giveaway!! My heart and mind are happier and at peace.

@diannedelledera3096 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Natalie for being so honest with us! I wish that I could go back 30 years and do my life over! 5 kids and my bad habits of saving everything and wanting to reuse everything and emotionally holding on to everything has left me with a big mess. But your videos are a blessing because I see that I can, paper by paper, just start the process! Thank you!

@sanne3288 3 жыл бұрын

This is definitely one of the hardest things for me to let go of. Especially things from my studies because of all the hard work I’ve put in it, and all the memories that are connected to so much of it, and I really need to tell myself that I still have the memories (I’m such a memory hoarder!!). And I’m also terrified of parting with things like old bills in case I need it later on haha!

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

Papers are hard for me to part with too!

@karialmine4689 3 жыл бұрын

I have gotten to where I keep almost everything digital and throw the rest away. Even my tax stuff is all scanned into my computer, filed into a file folder, and backed on my Google drive. The only physical papers we keep are passports, immigration documents, stuff like that! I will say though that I understand the fear! I still get nauseous when I go to check our bank account online. I overdrafted big time several times when I was really young, and that fear has stuck with me at times, even though I am in a much better place! It really is all about trusting God for our needs and knowing that He will take care of us, even if we don't have much.

@rachelemazza8623 3 жыл бұрын

Same about the overdrafting at a younger age! So glad that's in the past as well. Yes .. trust, have Hope and have the Faith ... it will allllllll be ok, even (and especially) when it's not okay!

@AmyWhoLovesFlowers 3 жыл бұрын

Set reminder, set reminder, set remiiinderrr-! Oh boy, do I need this one. I’m sorting out an entire filing cabinet this week 🗄☺️

@jenpisano1 3 жыл бұрын

I struggle SO MUCH with “sentimental” Paper Clutter... and my kids are TEENAGERS now 🤦🏻‍♀️ ... that and Coffee Cups ☕️... De-Cluttering has DEFINITELY made a difference in our home! I Try find a place in my home every day to declutter, and it’s made such a big difference! Even if I do a little job, like DECLUTTERING pens.... I have a problem with a pen collection too 😬 I appreciate your videos, they are so inspiring! Thank You for Sharing! This is how I start my morning. You help to get me Pumped up and ready to tackle clutter!

@tiffanyaloudat7145 3 жыл бұрын

Paper clutter is the bane of my existence. Thank you for the motivation to decluttering and organize it. 💖

@bethbrown2316 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing this. I thought I was the only one with anxious thoughts and paralyzing fear when it came to paper. Knowing that I’m not alone means so much. 💖

@ForHisGlory222 Жыл бұрын

I'm with you! 💗

@Kelli.Hicks.5 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Natalie. I REALLY enjoyed all your tips and tricks pertaining to kids' artwork. While I personally didn't have any qualms going through the artwork and culling the massive pile, it took a while to convince friends and family that I didn't need to keep EVERY. LITTLE. SCRIBBLE my nieces and nephews gave me. My nieces and nephews ARE NOT their work, and my throwing things away DOES NOT mean I'm throwing my love for them away too. I definitely kept the extra special pieces, but I really don't need that kind of clutter in my space.

@littlemouse9900 3 жыл бұрын

My mom kept our art works in a folder and then when we got old enough to understand filing she gave us the folders to go through and let us choose which art to keep. She personally kept a few herself but us kids mostly had the last say.

@joanbryant1494 3 жыл бұрын

I have many years of paper clutter. It is daunting to get through. Most of the time I cannot decide what to do with it. So it goes in a pile to decide later. Later doesn't come.

@gdsgrl4468 3 жыл бұрын

Paper clutter is THE WORST for anxiety! 📚

@nellajoensalo2316 2 жыл бұрын

Truer words have rarely been spoken. 🙏🏽

@shirleyasay7673 3 жыл бұрын

Your story about avoiding your mail hit me so hard. I’ve been talking to my counselor about that a ton lately! Not just with mail, but also other things in life too. Seriously thank you for sharing that story! Makes me feel like I CAN get over it and makes me feel a tad less crazy🤪

@juliewilliamson3419 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for this video! Paper all over the counter is a real weakness of mine and I hate it! For me I hate getting mail because I know it will end up in a pile on the counter and can be there for months! I’ve been getting better but hoping to build up to the goal of no mail on the counter or table! Great goal!

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

The daily habit of taking care of it as you walk into the house with the bundle has helped me so much!

@hillarybarker2766 3 жыл бұрын

Re-watching for inspiration as I do a major declutter of my old paper clutter 💪🏻

@jessicawarner7634 3 жыл бұрын

Great timing! After 6 months of moving around/living with different friends and family, trying to land a house, we close and move in tomorrow! Same day I turn 37 weeks pregnant. Having the plan for how to organize paper from the get-go will be quite useful!

@eileenlester4342 3 жыл бұрын

Congrats!!! 🎈

@aliciahird7022 3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I so need this one! Actually tried to go through some of the papers that have accumulated over time over the weekend! Perfect timing!

@selinaburford6771 3 жыл бұрын

You are not alone in having that fear of going to the mail box. I was also there. And I have carried paper clutter through four homes. I’m 47 and am finally deciding to deal with it. I have paper clutter from my first college degree back in 1992.So no you are not alone in keeping stuff. Thank you for being honest about the fear and anxiety paper clutter creates.

@kirbylewis6869 3 жыл бұрын

I seriously love how you just explained coloring and art! I’m so glad I’m learning this one pretty early on in parenting because my personality is easily one that wants to keep every drawing they make.

@beachlover4413 3 жыл бұрын

Natalie, You have so much class and I enjoy watching and learning from your videos. I hope to put this into practice. we just downsized. I reduced 14 rubbermaid totes of sentimental papers, notes my kids wrote me, cards they gave me or I gave them, cards for their grandparents, school papers and more into 4 containers. plus 1 for me of my stuff growing up. But being in a small house, I am finding it easier to give up the clutter because I feel claustrophobic. When it warms up and I can go thru the boxes in the garage without freezing, I want to downsize more. My kids won't care about the 100 notes they wrote me that say love you mom, nor will they want all these cards and papers. Thank you so much for doing this series (along with Dawn-love her too). But You are amazing. I love your family and the values you teach your kids. Thank you for being you. Happy New Year to you and your family.

@jamiedueck1272 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you sooo much for sharing the emotional side of dealing with paper clutter and sentimental paper clutter. That’s sooo me!! My kiddos draw and color a lot and want to give every scribble to me as a gift. Time to implement the container strategy!! 📚

@daniart3909 3 жыл бұрын

I especially love the kid coloring routine and recycling!!!!

@howbethdoesit5695 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your honesty about hiding from mail. I used to do that, but finally got over that part of my life. I so respect you for saying it out loud. You are not alone on this. Many people do this. Top respect for you. 💜💜💜

@JessicaMainous 3 жыл бұрын

I clicked on this so fast 🤣 I’m expecting my life to be changed by the end of this video...😜🙌🏼

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

Well those are some high hopes! I hope I deliver! 😜

@shirleyarnold4627 3 жыл бұрын

This is one area that I have always struggled with keeping up to date. Crazy thing is I've been doing this type thing as a career forever. I use the excuse that I'm all "papered" out by the time I get to my stuff.

@michelleneuman579 3 жыл бұрын

Great job! You have come a long way and I'm impressed how young you are and that you are so wise. I don't know many young people or older for that matter who have will plans in motion!

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! We got those done last year and it gives so much peace of mind to know it's taken care of!

@ChristianAnneSmith 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for being so candid about your struggles. Very helpful.

@kimnagy1276 3 жыл бұрын

Natalie, you are just the most relatable person I have found on KZfaq. I always feel like I am listening to a friend and go away with helpful life tips every single time I come here. Thank you! I am soooo looking forward to the episode on sentimental items...my spouse and I have lost three grandparents in the last two years and have collected a lot from them. That stuff is always so hard to part with.

@sreyphon-thill3297 3 жыл бұрын

This video was perfectly timed for me. We just have a 5 yr. old and he has so many arts and crafts from VPK that I’ve stashed away. He loves to color and draw and his room is filled with so many...now I can feel better about letting them go without feeling bad about it. Thank you!!

@daisybuchanan5378 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing how you used to fear and avoid mail and bills. Me too !! Overcoming that has brought me such peace. It was a huge accomplishment.

@brooklynneedham2502 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this! I am a young newly wed and I have been needing to organize our papers but I have been procrastinating. I’m ready now, I will be starting this week!

@jamiikazini 2 жыл бұрын

This is a very great, honest, and easy way of filing things. I really love it. Everyone has his or her own ways of being organized but from learning what others do.

@pvg1236 3 жыл бұрын

I have been a single mom since my son was about 5 (he's now 32 and married) and I am decluttering for me, but also with the mindset that things that I once might have thought, "I'll keep that and pass it on to him" will just be a burden for him, not a blessing, as he is interested in very little of it. That ESPECIALLY includes all the tchotchkes, etc that he made as a child. He recently was over and saw a plaster handprint he made at 9 and said, "You know that's tossed when it's up to me, right?" LOL!

@meghanlewellen9032 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your honesty- this video was an answer to prayer. We are all so much more alike than we could ever imagine! Much love to you and your family.

@alexa574 3 жыл бұрын

Paper is my daily battle. I now have my Daily paper in control now, as long as I work our system Every Day. As soon as it comes in, it is recycled, thrown or put into the tax folder , and the rest of items (i.e, receipts) go into the current Month Folder which I go thru at the end of the year when I am preparing for Taxes

@lisamcgaha54 3 жыл бұрын

You are a classic lady. Your tips are right down my alley, I can’t do those other systems either. You remind me of Lauren Bacall. She was a famous actress, many years ago, the picture of classy.

@cindyhoyt5909 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing your story of anxiety with papers , I am overwhelmed by it and went through it before but its back to the same.

@hardwicktammy 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for sharing the kids paper organization. My son is 5 and in SK and I keep everything he brings home from school or does at home right now for remote learning. You are my saviour ❤📚

@rebekahmulato8750 3 жыл бұрын

I have a son that paints 4 hours or more a day. Can you imagine how much paper I have that is sentimental!? And then I have all this that I don’t know what to do! This was such a perfect timing for a video. Love your work Natalie! You are helping sooo much! Please keep that in mind!

@anitaprudnikow2088 3 жыл бұрын

4.5k views and no thumbs down. You are being loved Natalie

@juliaw7515 3 жыл бұрын

Loved the video, especially because you show normal life with all those papers ❤️ We recently started banning paper from our dining table, too, it makes such a difference! This year, we try to keep the surfaces in our living room pretty much clear at all times and it makes me feel so much more calm and relaxed. I had never thought the difference could be that great. Thank you for all your inspiration!

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

It makes SUCH a difference! 🙌

@catharinab8860 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you Natalie for a great video! I went through my paperclutter before watching this video 😉 I plan to check with my husband if I can declutter his as well, that would be nice! 📚 My kids did a declutter of their keepsakes boxes (they have one each) this weekend, they mostly have drawings and other paper memoribilia in there and did a great job with it! To keep up with paperclutter I try to live by the rule ”if it takes under 1 minute to do it, do it right away” and I find that this rule applies to all papers that come into our home.

@mickicoon103 3 жыл бұрын

We have done the same thing with paper clutter when we moved. I just told my husband I need to start going thru those boxes this week.

@liadelvalle2722 Жыл бұрын

Thank you, Natalie. I'm not alone when it comes to the anxiety and overwhelming feelings resulting from all the paper clutter.

@wellyano6964 3 жыл бұрын

I just got rid of all of my paper clutter. It is so freeing. It was one of the last things I decluttered over the Christmas holidays but one of the most rewarding. I didn't realise how much anxiety it was giving me. This video was so helpful and gives me the tools to keep paper clutter out of my life going forward. Thank you 🙏

@Tazzy5 2 жыл бұрын

I'm watching this realizing I have mail on my workstation, two tote bags, a basket, and on the bed. That tip about where to keep the paper is priceless, THANK YOU!

@jlewis364 3 жыл бұрын

I only just found you and the collab group, and I can't be more grateful! Seriously a blessing straight from God. Thank you all so much for your loving kindness toward your audience, and the love and credit you give to Jesus in all you do. You are exactly what I have needed in my life. I am delighted to have found you. God bless you all!

@vivianhudacek1556 3 жыл бұрын

Surrounded by baskets & folders & containers of paper I started working on a few weeks ago, then abandoned. Actually started watching your video as a means of feeling productive while actually avoiding what I NEED to be doing. :) Enjoyed your video & can relate in so many ways. I’m retired, having taught numerous college English courses for decades & being inundated with papers all of the time. I think that’s one of the reasons I despise dealing with papers now. I have gotten better at letting stuff go & also dealing with the daily influx of paper. Still have some things staring me in the face that fit in that “scary” category. Ugh! Thanks. You’re adorable!

@jenniferhiza7848 3 жыл бұрын

This is something I have never really thought of but definitely need to do.

@sydlant 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for making this video! Paper clutter creates so much anxiety! I've been watching your videos since you were pregnant with Hailey. Your videos make such a difference in my positivity. ♡

@nancywidows463 3 жыл бұрын

Awww....I love your story of first starting out...you were so young...I am 54 now, but I remember having a shoebox full of papers that I would sit on the floor and go through when my husband and I were first together. You are way ahead of me...you've already figured out how to stop it from turning into a paperwork nightmare!🙂 I'm just figuring this out in my 50s, after raising 4 kids and now raising 4 grandchildren. It's a really long process now.

@CherylMacKay11f 3 жыл бұрын

I was going through my clutter as I watched. Loved the filing system

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

I'm glad! Thanks for watching! ♥️

@LilCraftyNook 3 жыл бұрын

Wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing all this as well as your special moments! You are such an amazing young woman!

@weebellsbells5194 3 жыл бұрын

I can relate to your story, I was the same way. If only we knew then what we do now. Great video.

@M00N.L1GHT 2 жыл бұрын

📚 I really appreciate you… all the information you kindly share with your audience as well as the respect you offer us when you speak honestly about emotional experiences or just the challenges or vulnerabilities we all face at times in our lives. Thank you for being a kind, honest, genuine person on your vlog. Somehow I just needed to hear your words today. 💜

@christyp3853 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this video Natalie! Looking forward to the kind of part 2 next week! 📚

@jessicalantz4428 3 жыл бұрын

I love your point that coloring is an activity. My kids like to hold onto their paintings and artwork for awhile, but once a coloring book is completely done they have no qualms about putting it in the recycle bin. It's so funny they noticed before I did that coloring is just a quiet activity and not a sentimental thing to keep forever.

@christineo8510 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing your tips and stories!!! I actually find paper clutter more overwhelming than clothes!!!

@abigailg9188 3 жыл бұрын

I really enjoyed this video and found it to be very helpful and validating! Thank you for your consistent transparency and honesty. I’ve been following your Messy to Minimal journey and wishing to do the same. It’s taken me several months of adjusting my mentality before I began, but recently went through my closet and got rid of half of the clothes in it. It was so freeing! Your journey and example really made an impact for me. Thank you! I’m continuing on to the rest of the house! Also, I love the yellow chicken with the star on its belly-also known as a Star Bellied Sneetch, formerly thought to be the best on the beach. Happily, the Sneetches forgot about stars and whether or not they have stars upon thars.

@laurenweible4584 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for sharing these tips and reminders. Paperwork is one of those things that piles up very easily in our home in several locations, and it really does cause so much stress in my life. I want to know that important documents and being maintained properly, and that hasn't been something that my husband and I have tackled yet. But I truly appreciate these tips because it was really encouraging to work on figuring out a system that works for us!

@as0205_ 3 жыл бұрын

I need to go through my paper now

@whitneyblair631 3 жыл бұрын

I need this video so much! I cant wait to watch!

@christiana_mandalynn 3 жыл бұрын

The vulnerable story you shared had me in tears! 💝 I actually had a similar issue, you are not alone!!

@wf1005 2 жыл бұрын

Great video. I am in the middle of decluttering my old paper. Thank you so much espescially for your tips about kids artwork. It makes it easier to help the children go through rein stuff. And a lot easier to go through the stuff my mother kept for me.

@kaitlyncate7754 3 жыл бұрын

I thought I was the only one on earth that got anxiety with my mail. I would do the same thing... ignore it and maybe it would go away. But it doesn’t it gets worse. Thank you for this video!

@alanad2339 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks again for the wonderful tips Natalie 😊

@Debbiesdilemmas 3 жыл бұрын

I had kept a lot of my son’s school work over the years and had containers for each year. Now that he is a grown man I asked him what he wanted to keep. He really didn’t want anything so I looked over everything and was able to let go most of his work. I did make a scrapbook that included his school portraits and class photos as well as his report cards and any photos I may have taken on school trips with him over the years. It has been such an amazing way of containing all of his school years in one book.

@ForHisGlory222 Жыл бұрын

I am not exaggerating when I say that paper clutter has stolen my happiness and that of my family for years now. I just have not been able to get a hang of it despite so much effort. I haven't watched your video yet except for your intro and it just spoke to me so much. We homeschool and I have BINS of artwork from over the years that I have let pile up. So many good intentions in boxes and baskets. It's such a mess. But I'm not going to allow the clutter to interfere with our lives anymore. This is war. Thank you for all that you do. You are such an inspiration! 💗

@NatalieBennett Жыл бұрын

The war cry of a fed up Mama! I LOVE it! You got this 💪

@ForHisGlory222 Жыл бұрын

@@NatalieBennett Haha thank you!! 🤣💗 Oh, Natalie! Your story spoke to me so much and on so many levels. And honestly, this has been something that I have been suffering silently with for years. It has been depressing, embarrassing, frustrating, even infuriating.... how embarrassing when my kids ask why their friends' homes don't have paper clutter like ours. 🙈 We also married young and struggled financially. I also had so much anxiety and used the out of sight out of mind method. My husband would find stacks of unopened envelopes and be furious with me. And it was a compulsion I did almost mindlessly. Like it was fight or flight mode. I'd like to say that it is all behind me, but I am a work in progress. You sharing your story really helps me to not feel so alone. My kids and artwork are an entirely different issue. My mom pretty much threw away all my childhood artwork, etc and I have severely overcompensated with my own children. We homeschool and I have BINS that I have planned on going through and making into art albums. But the boxes have just grown and grown. I'm going to try your method. I saw Dana talk about the container method years ago but failed to implement it. That's the hardest part. Breaking old habits! But of all the youtubers I've watched on the issue of decluttering, I definitely relate to you the most. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your story! 💗💗💗

@micaparsons546 2 жыл бұрын

This has helped me so much, your story about shoving all the mail away somewhere and worrying about it is exactly what I do now! I sadly have way more that a small cabinet .. Thank you so much for sharing this, this does make me feel a little more empowered about tacking my mess of papers lol

@ambernix7313 3 жыл бұрын

When my children were little, they too, had a lot of "art" projects that they had completed. Most went into the trash after being displayed on the fridge for a week. There were also times that my kids were very proud of their artwork, and on those occasions, I would take a picture of their artwork, or them with their artwork, and store it in a digital folder on the computer that they could access and view their "art gallery" at a later time, and then could recycle the actual piece. It also made it convenient for when they wanted to send the pictures of their artwork in emails to their grandparents and other family members that lived far away from us. There were a few special pieces that I saved and put off to the side for my children to decide for themselves what they would like to do with them when they were older, such as pieces that they got some sort of recognition from their school for. I didn't feel that those were mine to discard. I also have a few of their pieces that I felt were really good, so I framed them, and they are still hanging up in one of the rooms in my house. Oh, and a clay sculpture that one of them did, that's still on display on a shelf in my office.

@annadavis4683 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much. I am at this stage in my life right now and this video was just what I needed. God Bless.

@emilyw2790 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video those tips and tricks are definitely helpful! You mentioned about moving the box of papers to your new house... I still have that to sort and it's moved with me to 2 uni houses from my parents house AND to 3 houses since being married!! Motivation for SURE to sort it out!!

@RaeC5280 3 жыл бұрын

Fab video! You always seem so zen and mature and wise, it's nice to hear your story about the box of papers! Definitely humanizes you in a positive way ❤

@michellet.6414 3 жыл бұрын

THANK YOU Natalie! This was a very needed video for me! The paper piles I have are overwhelming and thus helped so much. I can’t wait for the sentimental video. That’s also a difficult subject. Love your videos!

@lauraalvarez-munoz386 3 жыл бұрын

Super helpful video. I have watch Dawn from Minimal Mom and she said how many times do you go back and pull something from your filing system. It’s so true. Your tip about dealing with it as soon as it comes in is something I will start today! Thank you.

@tonyharden5562 3 жыл бұрын

📚 I’m OCD when it comes to paper organizing- glad to hear someone else is like that too👍🏻

@ChristopherSmith-gv4yc 3 жыл бұрын

Paper clutter always kicks my butt watched your video during lunch today... when I got the mail today followed your advice .... thank you for this!

@eileenh1 3 жыл бұрын

I have been loving reading Dana's book! The container concept is a great thing. I feel I have our main filing system and homeschool files under control; but when it comes to the kids keepsake papers and my own personal letters etc from over the years, those 2 areas are the things I plan to be to working on this week before I have surgery on Friday.

@susie7336 3 жыл бұрын

📚 I always look forward you your videos, Natalie! My children each have designated wall space for their art. When it gets full, I give them a couple of options of what to do with it all. They can remember how much fun it was to create and then recycle it, leave it up on the wall a little longer, or add it to their art box, which are pretty boxes I picked up at Hobby Lobby. I keep those in the garage- and to be honest- I go through them once in while and help with keeping room in them. 😬 Oh m, yes, my children do tiny scribbles on paper. I started it I g the paper in half for them to doodle. Double the paper!

@TP-ij8vb 3 жыл бұрын

thank you for addressing the paper clutter "anxiety," it's wild but it's so real!

@anahewett9338 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for this video Natalie and your honesty. It has been very helpful. We have not been given a spirit of fear! Great tips to deal with paper clutter.

@samanthab.3236 3 жыл бұрын

Paper clutter is a thorn in my side but slowly finding the system that works for me. What really works well is having a shredder in the corner of our dining room. It's a random spot and sticks out but it's easily accessible for shredding the mail. My husband has his own business so we get SO MUCH mail! I'm always curious how other people are handling their paper clutter problems! I recently came across your channel and I'm loving all your videos!I love that you are unapologetic about what's best for you and your family. I find it refreshing. Too many times people try to do what everybody else is doing and that doesn't always work. It's just a nice reinforcement that what's best for everybody else may not be best for us and we just need to claim that! Keep up the awesome videos!

@samanthab.3236 3 жыл бұрын

Also, I am interested on how you store things digitally. This is something we are trying to do. Do you start on Google docs? An external hard drive? What is that system you use?

@daniart3909 3 жыл бұрын

Oh my goodness you homeschool! I was homeschooled my entire life and I’m so glad I was! I love learning. I just found your channel and I’m definitely subscribing. I love seeing how homeschool moms organize and their routines because I plan to homeschool oneday when I have a family ☺️

@NatalieBennett 3 жыл бұрын

We love homeschooling! My husband and I were both homeschooled and loved it!

@hannahbentson9374 3 жыл бұрын

I can’t wait to watch all of this! I have finally gotten a handle on the mail system but tax paperwork is still a wreck.

@sarahscheenstra7 3 жыл бұрын

I can so relate to your story! We just moved into our first home & I literally have 3 or 4 boxes (currently in the basement) of paper clutter to go through. It’s overwhelming! There are things in there like gas receipts from 10 years ago along with investment info & past taxes. 🤦‍♀️📚

@susanbarclay7906 3 жыл бұрын

📚can't wait to see how to streamline kids art and paper crafts such an informative channel, made such a difference to our home decluttering alongside you x

@ericairizarry6563 3 жыл бұрын

Totally inspired me to clean up two cabinets full of papers. Lol thx!!!

@louiserichardson4880 3 жыл бұрын

😊 Thanks for sharing your past paper story!! And Yes, “Coloring is a verb”

@monicagutierrez2458 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Natalie for this thoughrough video! I saw many videos before yours and they did not worked for me. I appreciate you talking about the different paper piles, sentimental ,your past error which I did as well and now I'm so glad I found this video. I can relate to everything you went over. ❤thank you so much! God bless your family .