The Need To Organize

One of the most popular resolutions that people focus on in January is GETTING ORGANIZED.  I write that in all caps because for most of us, that task is a bit scary and overwhelming.  It is really easy to accumulate tons of "stuff", especially when you have small children.  I have to admit that I love organizing.    I try to organize things throughout the year, but I do seem to turn into an organization drill sergeant each year in January.  "DIDN'T I SAY NO MAIL ON THE KITCHEN TABLE!  DROP AND GIVE ME 20 SOLDIER!"

On our first floor, we have a living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, and family room.  I like to keep the living room free of toys, so the family room became our "playroom".  Since I pay most of our bills online, with the laptop, most of our paper clutter ends up in the kitchen or the playroom (the two rooms I seem to spend the most time).  We somehow ended up with an ugly, industrial looking file cabinet in the family room.  The files weren't organized, and it didn't work in the room.  It has bugged me since we moved in, (three years ago!).

We don't have a lot of space in the family room, so we decided to get file cabinets that could double as end tables.  We ordered them four months ago from Home Decorators Collection.  They said they were back ordered, and they would arrive in October.  Then October came and went, and we were told November, etc, etc.  (We ended up getting a nice discount for all the hassle, so I guess it wasn't all bad).

Ta-da!...

I know my organized files aren't that exciting, but they do make my heart swell with joy!  I would have liked to get pretty files, but I didn't want to spend more money, so I just used what we had for the first one.  Then, I ran out and decided to go to Target and get some pretty ones for the second cabinet.  Unfortunately, Target didn't have any pretty hanging file folder options, so I had to go with plain colors. But, my heart is still happy.  Plus, now I won't spend countless hours looking for this paper or that paper.
Now I just have to decide what to organize next!  How about you?  Are you in organizing mode this month?  Need some help?

Here are some "paper clutter" geniuses...
*http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2011/01/january-challenge-project-paper-step-1.html
*http://www.thenesteffect.com/2011/10/october-project-conquer-paper-clutter.html
*http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/2010/12/mobile-command-center.html