Summer break is officially over, and it’s back to school this week. For my young daughters the beginning of the school year is always a fun time, a chance for a fresh start and exciting possibilities.
For me it’s another year of having to deal with the inevitable bombardment of school paperwork, from reminders of campus policies, class expectations and fundraising responsibilities to completed homework, holiday artwork, monthly newsletters, report cards and so on.
All contribute to my biggest-ever organization problem: paper clutter. My girls’ school papers add to my already growing collection of unopened mail, receipts, pay stubs, coupons, recipes, newspaper clippings, birthday cards and photos. Piles of these papers live throughout our home. They’re on my desk, under my desk, beside my bed and under my bed. The stacks have spread from our bedroom to the dining and living rooms, too.
In general, I am a tidy person. I arrange the clothes in my closet and dresser by color. I alphabetize the spices in my kitchen cabinet. I have a well-kept desk at work and a clutter-free car. I keep a calendar to stay on top of family activities and appointments. In all other aspects of my life, I’m organized and fairly pulled together. It’s my paperwork that’s out of control.
Like most working moms, my main problem is I lack precious time. When I do find time, I lack motivation. When I do find motivation, I lack focus. I sit there, papers before me, and either get too sentimental to toss or too overwhelmed to file. Then I walk away and take care of laundry or go through email or nap or eat Chips Ahoy cookies or do anything else but purge papers.
My paper hoarding hasn’t reached that maybe-a-psychologist-should-get-involved point, but it’s definitely an issue that needs to be addressed soon. Since becoming a mommy to three, the paper clutter in our house seems to have multiplied by as much. And now I see my girls — 9, 7 and 3 years old — growing their own little piles of papers.
I know I need to start setting an example for them. I already have solid systems in place that I just need to implement. My husband and I share a four-drawer file cabinet for our personal and joint paperwork. For our girls I recently bought them their own plastic filing bins (pink, of course) that can hold hanging folders for each grade level and other categories, including “important documents” and “health records.” We’ll see how everything works.
I think I’ll start small, perhaps with this pile beside me right now, my oldest daughter’s papers from last school year. Then I’ll continue with my middle daughter’s school papers. I’ll move forward with baby steps and a vision of my goal. How wonderful it would be to eventually conquer this paper clutter and live in a clean, beautiful space. I remain hopeful.
It is, after all, that time of year for a fresh start and exciting possibilities — not just for my girls, but maybe for me, too.
“She Speaks” is a weekly column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.
