Anonymous wrote:I wish I could help. I deal with this on a daily basis. My husband has junk mail from 20 years ago. I keep big baskets all over the house in a vain attempt to limit the chaos. I've learned to check the mail before he does and throw out 90% of it. Ive tried to be polite and have him check to make sure that I'm not throwing out anything important. But then he retrieves most of it 'just in case'. I finally decided to devote the entire second floor (all the bedrooms) to his mess and that of our son (who is even worse than he is), as long as he leaves the first floor alone. I don't even go up there anymore. It's not a great compromise, but it's the best I've been able to come up with. This truly drives me crazy.

Your husband if he's willing needs to seek professional help. This is a sign of hoarding. Don't try to throw out the paper. Confrontation makes hoarding worse. GL

I keep my receipts in an IKEA storage box. It holds everything. Newspapers can be cut. Pick out your favorite stories and place them in a folder or like I do , an IKEA box. With kids artwork I buy under the bed storage plastic containers and they go under the kids bed or guest bedroom. With mail, I have a mail sorter. As soon as it comes in trash goes in the trash. Bills go with bills. Magazines get placed on the counter and once a year or more like three times a year whatever is still around gets donated to a school for arts of crafts. School stuff goes in a folder and then into a magazine file holder. Label them by quarters with the year. jan to march 2015 and etc.

I wish I could help. I deal with this on a daily basis. My husband has junk mail from 20 years ago. I keep big baskets all over the house in a vain attempt to limit the chaos. I've learned to check the mail before he does and throw out 90% of it. Ive tried to be polite and have him check to make sure that I'm not throwing out anything important. But then he retrieves most of it 'just in case'. I finally decided to devote the entire second floor (all the bedrooms) to his mess and that of our son (who is even worse than he is), as long as he leaves the first floor alone. I don't even go up there anymore. It's not a great compromise, but it's the best I've been able to come up with. This truly drives me crazy.

What about school work, school calendars, permission slips, order forms, cute pictures your kids draw, etc. That's the stuff that gets me all cluttered!

We are horrible with paper, too, OP. We tend to let the shred stuff accumulate way too long... then shred several years worth of paper over a couple months (typically burning through a couple shredders). I just discovered that there are free places that will shred for you!! Guess who went through a ton of papers last week to take stuff to shred? This paper hoarder! My biggest issue now is the medical papers for my special needs kiddo... so many medical reports plus weekly things from each therapist. But, now that the shred stuff is under control, at least all that is out of the way.

Also, read the book "life changing Magic of tidying up". It's actually life changing. I think it works best of you are -ready- for it, where you really want the change you just don't know how to get started. Thank your things and let them go!

Take pictures of kids art work and make an album.

Anonymous wrote:What if you have piles of paper because you are an "information hoarder" - you want to read and know everything? I'm not talking about receipts. I'm talking about books, newspapers with certain articles I want to read, health tips, magazines with particular articles I want to read (too busy - got three SN kids). So all the reading goes into piles. I know, I need to be ruthless.

Just posted...I am the organized hoarder. I also have piles of books to read! Small articles are a problem for me, too. Take pics of these on your phone, maybe? Grab a stack for when you are in a waiting room, parked and waiting for a kid, etc. and then toss out. Take a few to work and browse through for a quick break? Again, toss as soon as you are done. I end up taking a bag full of articles, magazines and other reading material I've "saved" when I go on vacation...lots of time to read waiting or at night to relax.

I am an organized hoarder. I rip up magazines for recipes, project ideas, home renovation...think Pinterest with paper and sorted in OCD- labelled files.

I spent this weekend taking photos of recipes "to try" that I have yet to try in over ten years. So, I sorted thru a file where I must have had 75 ripped out recipes and began snapping pics. As soon as I got a decent picture, I tossed the paper in the recycling bin. Satisfying!

I didn't finish this project, but suspect that within a few weeks, I still won't get around to trying any recipes, but at least they aren't cluttering up a cabinet.

Thanks 19:39. - information hoarder.

Anonymous wrote:What if you have piles of paper because you are an "information hoarder" - you want to read and know everything? I'm not talking about receipts. I'm talking about books, newspapers with certain articles I want to read, health tips, magazines with particular articles I want to read (too busy - got three SN kids). So all the reading goes into piles. I know, I need to be ruthless.

That is hoarding too. Toss 95% of it and start fresh. Review your subscriptions and cancel most of them.

Don't keep it in paper. Toss your newspapers our every week, magazines every month.

Spend more time reading things online than in paper and develop trusted sources so you know where to go to hear about new treatments, for instance, and to answer questions. Email yourself articles you might want to find again and save in folders in your email. The gmail search function is very handy.

What if you have piles of paper because you are an "information hoarder" - you want to read and know everything? I'm not talking about receipts. I'm talking about books, newspapers with certain articles I want to read, health tips, magazines with particular articles I want to read (too busy - got three SN kids). So all the reading goes into piles. I know, I need to be ruthless.

If none of these strategies work for you, OP, consider therapy. Hoarding is an insidious illness, and if you can see you have a problem now and address it so much the better.

Any chance you also have low grade anxiety? ADHD? These often go along with hoarding.

Best to you.

My solution for throwing away most Kid Art without the guilt...

tl;dr

2-3 times a year I take photos of almost all of the art with my iphone. I use the Project Life app (.99) to make a couple of collages. I print the collages for $1.99 on Pernickity Prints and stick them in a scrapbook. I throw everything out after photographing it, except for 2-3 pieces I really, really love or that demonstrate some big progress. At the end of a school year I have 5-8 pieces I really adore. Those I keep in a file box with a folder for each grade. We have a designated box set aside and DD knows to put her art in it when she empties her bag. It might take me 30 minutes outside on a sunny day to do all the photos - and I can make the collages while I'm in line at the grocery store, riding in the car or watching tv. It takes minutes to make a collage in that app. My daughter loooves looking at her work in the scrapbook.


More info..
I was inspired by this video by Becky Higgins (creator of project life) about sorting kids work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvFjiDcbpXg

Now, I don't feel guilty about throwing all the art out. I used to do this all by hand - taking pictures with my digital camera or using the scanner. Putting them in photoshop and using the project life templates for the computer. Some people even print the pictures. It took me HOURS, it was great, but it took a lot of time and I used to dread it. The app has been life changing. I look forward to it, it's fast. Doing it 3 times a year really helps me to only keep 2-3 pieces each time.

FWIW, I scrapbook other things with the app and my iphone. A recent camping trip, vacations, etc. I finished all the pages from our Disney trip on the 2hour flight home. Seriously, so stinkin' easy.

Video on how to use the app:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1Wpmm-wUmQ

I battle paper too.

What about signing up for email alerts to your business magazines? Then you (and me too!) could skim TOC and if you know nothing is of interest to you, pitch the print issue when it arrives.

I keep only 3 business magazine issues at a time. In other words, I can't keep up but I know that I will occasionally read one or two when waiting at dentist/doctor. So I keep three on hand in my car, but displace 1 when a new one comes...

I've started recycling coupons. Seems like a loss, but I truly was never able to use them. I'd find them after due date OR worse go to the store and not have coupon or forget to use it. So, it's not worth the real estate space now and I categorically recycle flyers and coupons.

My kid's school forms, art work, seems so endless. I have a huge pile. Can't wait for someone to give me a suggestion that works.