The Paper Challenge!

Several of you have mentioned having issues with paper, magazines and/or books. I think this will be a great challenge for you. If you have a greater than average volume of these items, you may want to do this challenge one part at a time over a couple of days. I think the best suggestion is not to take a lot of time and go through them inch by inch, especially for "disposable" items like newspapers and magazines. If you haven't read newspapers in 2-3 days, it's time to let go of them. The same things for magazines - if they're more than 3 issues out of date, they aren't important enough for you to make time to read them.

It might even be helpful for you to cut back on your newspaper and magazine subscriptions. I take the Sunday-only newspaper and I have cut back my magazine subscriptions to the only two magazines I will actually read - People & Oprah. It cuts way down on the paper clutter.

Dear FLY Olympians,

Today our event is in the weight lifting arena.We all have magazines, newspapers, catalogs, phone books and booksthat we need to get out of our home.

I want you to set your timer for 3 minutes and we are going to do the clean and lift with the bags and boxes of paper clutter. Now don't beconcerned about what you are going to do with them right this minute.

I want you to start bagging them up or boxing them up. You may have to double bag them if you don't have canvas bags to put them in.

We are going to do this in several classifications. Each one is just 3 minutes!

1. Gather up the newspapers! Take the bag to your car!

2. Now for the Magazines. Do not stop an look at them! you have had them for a long time it is time to pass them along. Take them to the car and you can either recycle them so we don't have to cut down more trees or donate them around town to waiting rooms or to a charity. The library does not want them! PS: Have your husband take them to work and leave them in the breakroom. That's what I do with mine and they always go fast! I think it's so wasteful to only read a magazine once and then throw away.

3. Next go for that stack of catalogs that you get in the mail everyday. Do not open them up! It is time to save your money for something that you really want! Out to the car they go!

4. Do you have some old phone books hanging around? Four or Five years worth of them. Out they go! Straight to the car! They will recycle too.

5. Now here is the tough one! None of you like to do this one! If you don't love a book, you don't have a place for it or you have two of them; it is time to pass them along to someone else. Your library loves these books. They sell them to raise money for the library. Most libraries have a donation box. Go put the box in the car.(Now...if you have your own household recycle containers that get picked up..place your paper items in the recycle container..and mark your calendar so you can put the container out on pick up day!) Now set your timer for 3 minutes for each one. Get on your Mark, Get Set, Ready, GO!

FlyLady