Friday, April 30, 2010

It's in the Mail

Image Source: D Sharon Pruitt


It's been almost two weeks since I've started this little project, and our countertops are still clean!  It's such a simple thing, but it makes a HUGE difference.  I no longer have a lingering sense of dread every time I am in my kitchen.  That's a major feat; I literally spend 80% of my day with my kitchen in sight.  And the few minutes here and there I spend keeping things neat don't even feel like work. 

One of the greatest sources of kitchen clutter in our house has been mail.  I do a great job of opening it right away and throwing out any junk, but some things just need to be kept around for a week or two.  And then there's the filing.  I know we probably hold onto more than we need, but every month we get mortgage statements, pay stubs, insurance documents, etc. that need to be filed.  Our filing cabinet is in our downstairs office, and I don't make a habit of going down there to file 10 times a month.  Instead, I keep a little stack and deal with it once it's developed a "critical mass," as they say.  The file pile used to sit on the corner of our counter.  I've always wanted something to hold this little collection of mail, but I knew I didn't want something that would sit on our counter looking cluttered and taking up space.  So where is our mail and filing now that our counters are clean?  After giving my husband an idea of what I was looking for, he came home from Target (yes, Target again!) with a great solution called a Post-it Pocket.  It is now stuck on the side of our refrigerator and holding our Netflix envelopes, a couple of bills, and our filing for the week. Problem solved!

While we're on the topic of making the side of the refrigerator useful, last summer I picked up some super-strong magnetic hooks similar to these at Digs, my favorite store in town. There are probably some more attractive options out there, but I like the strength and functionality of ours.  I love that they hang (I'm beginning to see a trend here) and that I didn't need to drill any holes in our walls.  I've got one holding up our calendar.  They've also been great for keeping our car keys handy.  We even remember to use them...at least 50% of the time!

2 comments:

  1. I've been wanting to get some of those post it pockets for some time but just haven't made the leap yet.

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  2. Okay, so where's the picture? You realize that's now a requirement for those of us who have to see to believe, or who just can't visualize worth a darn:)

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