As students or parents of students, our lives are filled with a constant stream of assignments, notes, and handouts that accumulate over time, often leading to a cluttered space and a cluttered mind. Learning how to effectively declutter school papers is a skill that can save time, reduce stress, and create a more conducive learning environment. In this blog post, we’ll explore practical steps to help you declutter school papers and get organized, ensuring a smoother academic journey.
Welcome to the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series! We will be starting decluttering specific tasks. Each day is dedicated to spending only 30 minutes decluttering your specific daily task. We will be working 5 days a week, so you can take 2 days to enjoy time with your loved ones.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.
Struggling with the daily housekeeping chores? Check out my ebook on this topic, entitled Make Over Your Homemaking. Use this link to get it at a discounted price.
How to Declutter School Papers
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
Before you dive into the decluttering process, gather the necessary supplies. You’ll need folders, binders, paperclips, labels, a shredder (for sensitive information), a trash bin, and possibly a scanner to digitize important documents.
Step 2: Sort Papers
Begin by creating distinct categories for your papers. Some common categories could include:
- Class Notes: Divide these by subject or course. Use separate folders or binders for each subject to keep notes organized.
- Assignments and Homework: Create a designated folder for pending assignments, and another for completed ones. Sort them by due dates or subjects.
- Handouts and Worksheets: Group these by subject or topic. If you can, scan and digitize these to reduce physical clutter.
- Reference Materials: These could include study guides, textbooks, and important resources. Arrange them in a way that makes them easy to access.
- Personal Notes: Keep a separate folder for any personal notes or reflections related to your studies.
Step 3: Set Criteria for Keeping Papers
As you sort through your papers, ask yourself these questions:
- Is it Relevant?: Keep materials directly related to your current courses and academic goals.
- Is it Important?: Hang on to papers that contain crucial information, such as study guides, formula sheets, and research notes.
- Is it Duplicated?: Discard duplicates or outdated versions of notes and assignments.
- Is it Sentimental?: While sentimental papers can be hard to let go of, try to limit them to a reasonable amount to avoid clutter. As a parent of three, I recommend keeping just one memory box per child for those special papers.
Step 4: Digital Transformation
In the age of technology, consider digitizing your papers to save space and improve accessibility:
- Scan Documents: Scan important papers and save them as PDFs. Organize them in digital folders mirroring your physical categories.
- Cloud Storage: Utilize cloud storage solutions like Google Drive or Dropbox to store and access your digitized documents from anywhere.
- Backup Regularly: To prevent loss of digital documents, back up your files regularly and ensure they are easily retrievable.
Step 5: Establish a Routine
Maintaining an organized academic space requires consistent effort. Incorporate these habits into your routine:
- Weekly Check-ins: Set aside time each week to sort through new papers, file them appropriately, and discard what’s no longer needed.
- End-of-Semester Review: At the end of each semester, go through your materials and decide what to keep, what to digitize, and what to recycle or discard.
- Digital Maintenance: Organize your digital files regularly, creating folders for each semester or academic year.
Step 6: Streamline Note-Taking
To prevent future paper clutter, adopt effective note-taking strategies:
- Digital Notes: Use digital note-taking tools or apps to create and organize your notes electronically.
- Mind Mapping: Visualize concepts using mind maps or diagrams to condense information onto a single page.
Decluttering school papers is not just about tidying up your space; it’s about creating an environment that supports your learning journey. By following these steps, you’ll free up mental space, reduce stress, and pave the way for a more organized and successful academic experience. Remember, the key is to strike a balance between preserving important information and letting go of what no longer serves you. Happy decluttering and happy learning!
A few guidelines to keep you on task:
1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.
2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.
3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina.
4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. Recruit help if you are stuck in the decision process.
5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later.
We are working in the home office this week. Your task today for today, February 18th is to: Declutter any unnecessary school papers.
According to the IRS, you should maintain and keep the last seven years of your tax records.
Bonus tip: Scan all your paper files all with your smart phone into my favorite “paperless” phone app – Evernote. Even if you plan to keep some important documents, this a great way to keep those items stored digitally in case of a fire or natural disaster.
Need to deep clean? I have lists for you to guide you along.
My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.
My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.
You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Below is a sample page of what you’ll get in my Housekeeping Schedule for Home printables.
Also, to keep up the general housework, you may need to create a daily housekeeping schedule that suits your specific needs. To do so, I have created a helpful series you can read here.
Need to Declutter Every room? I have declutter checklists for every room and every space in your home to guide you along below.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Struggling to decide if an item is clutter? Use these questions below to help you determine whether to keep or toss any item.
How to Declutter the Guest Room or Your Kid’s Room checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Laundry Room and Patio checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Coat Closet/Hall Closet/Linen Closet checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Home Office checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Attic checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Garage checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Living Room checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Kitchen Checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Entry/Foyer/Mudroom checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Clothing checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Bedroom checklist can be found here.
How to Declutter Your Bathroom checklist can be found here.
Happy Decluttering!
To Subscribe to this Declutter Series, drop me a comment below. Your email will be sent to me but will not be posted publicly. You’ll receive a daily declutter task via email for the daily task we are working on. You can unsubscribe at any time.
New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:
Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.
Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can sign up here.
Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.
Step 3: How do you remove clutter?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.
Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.
Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.
Check out the most popular posts on deemiddleton.com:
14 Things That Make Your Home Look Cluttered
How to Create a Daily Housekeeping Schedule
How to Clean House When You Are Completely Overwhelmed By Clutter
What is Preventing You From Getting Organized?
Also, check out a great post on decluttering over here from becomingminimalist.com. Joshua Becker has some great tips on decluttering and minimalism.
For further reading, check out the fly lady here. She has some great cleaning and kitchen decluttering ideas plus excellent organization tips to get you started.
I hope you have benefitted from my declutter checklists. Leave a comment below to subscribe to my daily declutter task email series.
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