You may have guessed from posts like this or this that I’m not a tidy kind of a gal.
This half term break has been a chance to get on top of a bit of the paperwork and stuff that so easily takes over when you have a real live house that real life people live their real lives in.
I have a hate/hate relationship with filing. Most household jobs leave me with a sense of satisfaction, even if I haven’t enjoyed them. Filing, on the other hand, leaves me with a sort of dark rage. I just cannot bear it.
I read this book ‘Organising for the Creative Person’ a while ago and I have to admit I love it. One of the things the writers talk about is how ‘creative’ people like having their stuff where they can see it. That is so true of me. I create little nests of mess wherever I go. If it’s out of sight, it really is out of mind.
To me, our filing cabinets may as well be vaults. The process of going down into the basement and finding the piece of paper I need is like an arctic expedition both in terms of challenge (big) and appeal (small). Here’s the process:
- Walk down the basement stairs.
- Unlock the little door.
- Remove the box.
- Open the lid.
- Find the right drop file.
- Finally (hopefully) get the item I’ve searched for.
Yeah. I know it’s lame, but that is mountainous in my mind and the thought of having to do it make me mutinous. It goes without saying that I’m utterly rubbish at putting anything in the filing cabinets too.
But having all my stuff out all the time doesn’t really suit anyone – and in reality it doesn’t suit me. I like tidiness, I just really struggle to be tidy.
So here is our solution. We’ve tried it for a year or so and added to it and I looooooooove it.
The drawers mean I can sort things into a system and find things easily and the gorgeous, beautiful bonus is that I can put stuff away without even having to slide a drawer open – I can just sort of shove it in and know it’s away.
They’re not the most beautiful things (it’s kiddie-storage from Ikea) but they work.
We still have the dreaded box-files in the basement for all the yawny stuff, but the day-to-day stuff is up in the kitchen.
I sort of feel like I could kiss those drawers.
p.s. Hey, thanks for the bottle solidarity. After some real sadness from little Mimes for the last couple of nights, she went to bed with a smile on her face this evening. Thank you and thank God!
Alice I hate paperwork, I can’t believe how much stuff we have to keep in case it’s needed in like ten years! It’s hideous! Love the drawer system! Xx
That book sounds great!
I too hate the process of filing and wish that it could be more ‘fun’ to do! I like to be organised yet seem to have too many different systems in place to actually be organised! It is soooo frustrating!
Well done with persevering with the bottles! Praise God she’s getting used to being without! x
I now have storage envy, and may drop into Ikea soon! So glad the bottle situation has improved xxx
I SO need to read that book! Filing drives me crazy! The last time I looked in one of my old filing boxes I found one of my shoes! Thanks for sharing this post!
I’ve just solved a filing-related issue with equipment from the Big Blue&Yellow too! In my case it’s the pile of things that mustn’t be filed yet because I’m still using them or if I put them away I’ll forget to do them on the necessary day – you know the kind of thing! Ikea just brought out a letter tray/in-tray thing with slide-out open trays. Now the heap is separated into categories and I can still see them and reach them without opening my filing folders. Hurrah!
On a totally unrelated note I dreamt last night that I was helping Mikey and Jemima play hide and seek at my house! We had a great time, just so you know