Piles of smiles
Keeping up with the kards.
Are you one of the more organized people in your group of friends? I would say I’m pretty organized at home, but have no problem with my friends taking the reins on social plans. I will usually get around to making travel or get-together plans, but I have some friends who are extra on top of their shit, getting the ball rolling first and doing it better and more comprehensively than I ever could. I benefit from that and to you Cruise Directors, I say thank you:
If you are one of those socially organized witches may I recommend you check out how to put together your own Witchmas, I.E. some merriment for yourself after you’ve made everything merry for everyone else around you. It’s really fun to get a just-for-you present from a fellow witch and to open it in total privacy.
If you lack organization skills in the other way, I.E. the piles of shit that grow faster than our children, today’s issue is for you.
Q: Organized Witches, hear my prayer! What do you do with all the mail, the magazines, the coupons, the "this is important and needs to be filed or remembered” paperwork and marginalia? I'm looking at making a teeny, minimalist "command center" (gag) for all this shiz to live and be the dumping ground in one place.... and when I Pinterested "'command center" my eyeballs had a stroke from all the #LIVELAUGHLOVE painted pallets and Joanna Gaines-clones. Not my style. With my kid starting pre-preschool, I know the tidal wave of paper is about to get biblical. What do you guys do?
Some attainably-organized witches responded:
“We have a mail sorter from Target because we’re fancy, but I also had a magazine problem. I bought a larger flat basket to put on the shelf underneath the mail sorter to stack magazines (laying flat) in. Also, I bought a two-tiered magazine holder which we keep near a cozy reading chair from the Basket Lady, who I love for my clutter (shoe basket next to door, etc).”
“Mail sorter and pretty file folders. One for bills exclusively and a file for all the stuff that I need to respond to or do something with. Other stuff I recycle immediately.”
“I have a coffee table with a shelf underneath for two wicker baskets that all the paperwork goes into. One for stuff that needs to be dealt with but is low key, like park district catalog or preschool schedule. One for things that are done, like paid bills, statements, etc. Next to my computer, I put papers to be dealt with ‘RIGHT NOW’ so that their presence bugs me and I have to deal with them. Then they get moved into the ‘done’ basket. Once every few months I go through the baskets and shred the hell out of them. Not ideal, but seems to work ok?”
“For school stuff, I have a magnetic clip on the fridge for each kid. School related stuff (calendars, permission slips, etc) hang there so it is easy to find/reference. In terms of school artwork that comes home - garbage! Unless it's REALLY special. I have a file system on my desk for more important stuff, but I'm also a pile person. Don't listen to me.”
“I got six of these wall file pockets (one for each of us, one for outgoing, and one for mail supplies) and screw-mounted them on the side of our hot hot cubbies”:
“I have three main areas for stuff: (1) mail sorter for things that need to stay in view by the whole family (includes school stuff); it lives on the island counter where we eat breakfast; (2) for magazines, a deep tray from West Elm on the coffee table in the living room, (3) a shallow tray next to my desk for bills and other papers that need to stay in view by me only. I also have a bulletin board in the kitchen for the school calendar so it's always accessible/viewable. Oh and I'm a ruthless immediate recycler. We have a bin just steps from the front door and stuff goes in there right away.”
“I splurged on this Pottery Barn set: I needed specific dimensions because my kitchen is stupid. My system involves being ruthless on the spot. if I save things for later it does not work. I put mail in a pile by the door, but instantly take out the things that never need to be opened / kept and recycle them. I don't bother putting them in something pretty because this will only encourage me to leave them there. I want this pile to be obtrusive and ugly to me so I open the mail or throw it at my husband if it's his. I also have a more attractive sorter on this by the door table where I keep paper items I may want to grab on my way out like coupons or receipts. But I know these items may live there forever, which is why they are allowed to have an attractive home. In my kitchen I have a magnetic white board from Pottery Barn where I keep a kid-related calendar (mine is digital), put any notices from school write things like "feed fish." I put kid related things there but I also want this pile to be obtrusive and ugly so I quickly move 'em out. Basically I'm kinda anti-cute baskets for items that I need to take action on. Baskets are for things to live in imo. If I need to sort, fill out, give to kid to take to school or remember to put in my car, it should not go in a basket. I will not remember it there. It needs to be sitting in the middle of a counter or bench by my door and hurt my eyes so I'm like ‘WTF is that doing there?’ and then I'm like ‘Oh yeah - remember to ask the kid if he wants to do basketball during dinner.’ This is also my philosophy about items on the stairs. They are meant to be taken up or down and put away. My parents have a basket on the stairs that has things in it from 1992. They've never made it out of stair purgatory.”
“Piles 4eva. I live under one of them. Help me.”
“We use this Container Store letter tray, but let me tell you, it is a little short for those days/weeks/months/years when the stack of unread magazines includes specimens dating back to 2016.”
End credits
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One witchy thing
Consider today’s OWT, which someone posted last year, as an advisory on the next month of your life:
