How to Organize Your Papers? Marie Kondo’s Brilliant Tips & DIY Ideas

Living room, bedroom, hallway, office, kitchen… you probably have a corner reserved for documents in every room of your house. Don’t you? But when the time comes to find something, you panic, feel stressed and waste precious time searching through all those drawers and shelves. It doesn’t have to be that way. Keep calm and spend an hour organizing your paperwork. Believe me, it is totally worth it. We’ve collected Marie Kondo’s best tricks in this article and added some DIY organizers that can help you do it without investing a penny. Let’s go! Here’s how to organize your papers!

How to Organize Your Papers at Home?

No one likes to see chaos in their home. It stresses people out. Family book, pay slips, administrative documents, letters, check stubs, receipts and other papers, they can create a huge mess if they are not organized properly.

So let’s start by getting rid of what you no longer need. It will take some time, but will help you eliminate at least half the papers. Set them aside for recycling or add them to the compost. Then apply the methods described below to organize what is left.

How to Organize Your Papers in a Filing Cabinet?

In this case, you need sticky notes or different-colored paper to sort the documents by category. It may sound like a cliché, but that’s only because it really works. You can create different folders for each family member or divide them by categories: health, work, car, etc.

If you don’t have file folders, get creative and use baskets instead. You can even make envelopes from old clothes If you live in a small apartment, use the vertical space. This means you can hang the filing cabinets and organizers on the wall.

Also read: How to store toys? Marie Kondo’s solution to tidy up by organizing

How Do You Organize Your Papers When You Don’t Have a Desk?

Who said you needed a desk to organize your papers? You can use any piece of furniture you own and even make organizers from shoeboxes, for example. You can even use an old shoe rack. IKEA’s basic collection works perfectly (STÄLL or TRONES)! You can also transform the bench in the bedroom or put everything in boxes under the bed. But do not forget to close them, because they will accumulate a lot of dust.

Also read: How to fold fitted sheets according to Marie Kondo?

How to Organize Your Papers According to Marie Kondo?

The KonMari method has become very popular in recent years and it’s not just about marketing and PR. It really works, simply because it’s well-organized and focused on one thing: making you happy. Here’s how to apply to organize your papers at home:

“I might need it someday.” Not true! Live in the present and throw away anything you don’t need right now. It’s not your birth certificate, so don’t look for a reason to keep an old newspaper or brochure.

Now it’s time to sort out what’s left. You must establish two categories: papers to keep and papers to process.

Organize documents such as pay slips (to be kept forever) in boxes because you don’t need them every day.  Others, like bills and mail, are stored in a vertical filing cabinet. They need your attention for a limited amount of time, so after that you either throw them out or put them in the “Forever” box. This will save you a lot of space.

The hardest part is putting the sentimental papers away. That’s why Marie Kondo suggests saving them for the end of your tidying up hour. This is when you will feel most inspired and motivated to think realistically. Do you need all your children’s drawings? You can keep the first and some of your favorites, but not all!