Organize your Stuff Challenge: Week 4 Paper

Week 4: Paper. Arggghhh! I think that the theory with last week (Clean Slate) was to make us come to terms with and confront our Inner Hoarder. I think that I failed...

Instead, there was a small turf war between Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Me... or OCD Me, and Procrastinators Anonymous Me... or PA Me (I think that they will be visiting a lot over the next coming weeks), finally both ended up giving way to Plays Well with Others... er... Plays with Others Well/Follows Directions Me... or POW Me. I used pink square post-its, which made OCD Me happy, and really we didn't clean anything- we just shuffled it around a bit so that it looked neat, making PA Me happy, and we did as we were told and completed our task as any POW would.

Inner Hoarder Me and Creative Me were totally shut out and not allowed to play. Creative Me is OK with that... she gets to peek in the boxes during the week and make a layout. This one was made with memorabilia from 2007 unearthed during Week 3 and set aside. Inner Hoarder me was rocking in the corner in denial... and that is where she stayed until this week...

...Because, as a grown-ups, we can only be a POW for so long and then something snaps. It could be that broken "No" button gets tested one too many times, or that "work flexibility" to cover shifts is taken advantage of one too many times, or...you get the idea. When the pile of papers went down stairs to be measured for posterity before the Big Purge, Inner Hoarder suddenly perked up, made a bee line (no pun intended) for PA Me and began a coup against the POW! (I need help... got a good therapist? Anyone?)

Anyways...Week 3 was finished by Monday, when I posted last. I walked by that stack-25 inches high with another 18 inches in Cropper Hoppers, many times, every day. Yet, I did not touch that pile of paper until Friday...Friday!, and that was only due to some grumblings on the couch by Fabulous Spouse, who had been out of town since Monday and noticed (to OCD & POW Me's horror!) that nothing had been done. I was sensing that the native was getting restless and with just two weeks left of football, he might fight for the territory that I was claiming. This dining room is MINE!

So, Friday, I made a real concerted effort...with the stuff that I was keeping no matter what. For four hours I sorted solids and patterns and florals and plads. Every time I came across something that I was not prepared to deal with...like that QVC color block paper that I thought was SO cool in 2002...You know it, its in your stash too...That stuff from 1999 that I got on clearance from JoAnn's because it would be perfect for...but never did....all those got set aside. Inner Hoarder had her heels dug in, and PA me was enabling. However, by 11 PM, this is what I had... (just under 10 inches left!)

Saturday, Inner Hoarder and PA Me were loving life! I had a noon to midnight church crop planned for Creative Me, and with all the organizing and packing required by OCD Me, nothing got done on my remaining 9+ inches.

Sunday, was horrible. Not really. The POW and Fabulous Spouse teamed up to help me through those last few inches. Fabulous Spouse turned up the TV, giving up video for audio only, and camped out in a chair with me to cheer me on, and get me back on task if necessary and OCD Me and the POW could not handle things. He even figured out my new toy that I got for Christmas 2008 (and was still in its original packaging)! It was a P-touch labeler. Wookiemouse, I can so understand that affair now!

So...This is my After- Paper, and my P-touch. Honestly, paper will be ongoing, because I purged 3 inches *gasp* (to the eternal delight of Girl Friday, who had been banned from the room), but cheated and put at least 2 into the kit category....& I ran out of Cropper Hoppers...and space.

To answer this weeks organizational questions from Zen Master Wookiemouse...

I store paper vertical, not horizontal.

I sort first by company, then by solids, patterned, graphics, plads, etc.

There are misc files for those papers that do not belong to my favorite companies, but there isn't too much of those.

Christmas has its own file, no matter the company.

In 7-10 weeks I may or may not finally finish that last inch...ok 2!