Video

@@dineomotlalepule4586 it sounds like you have been through a lot. It must have been a long series of difficult decisions to let go of so many things. It sounds like you’ve found some peace through the process. You did an amazing job!

Thank you! Happy Mother’s Day to you too 💖

Thank you! In the end, I’m glad I shared my oops because there were lessons learned (for me) from both a decluttering standpoint and as a content creator. Thank you so much for watching.

Thank you so much! You are so sweet. I’m working on the follow up video but not sure when it will be ready, so stay tuned!

I’m so glad you found this helpful. I know you can conquer your papers too! You’ve got this!

Yes, I suppose it would have 😳. What I meant was I tried to discard anything that could be replaced online or with a phone call: user manuals, account information or menus, among other items. Sorry for the confusion.

It’s amazing how easily unnecessary papers pile up, isn’t it? Thank you so much for stopping by!

The problem was, I didn’t wait for the footage to completely upload onto my laptop, then I removed the memory card from my laptop and reformatted it in the camera. Bringing it back at that point was waaayyyy beyond my expertise.

@@andrea.adhdhouse sorry to hear that. Are you going to make more videos?

@@brendalg4 I’m always working on new videos. Getting them ready enough to share…well… let’s just say the last year and half have been insane! Recently, I’ve been focused on editing a batch of videos that I hope to have ready soon so I can resume uploading. Stay tuned!

Getting it done in your own timing is still getting it done. I’m in no position to judge - trust me! Good job on your progress!

@@andrea.adhdhouse I was reassured there is no magical way to do the decluttering of papers 😂 Just piece by piece 😀I didn’t get it all out at once. I learnt from your insight 😀 there is still more for me to do in boxes, but I went to bed with a clear space, which is awesome

@@LightFigure888 aww 🥰 I’m glad you found helpful info and that you’re making great progress. Yay!

No, no it’s not! Yikes!

That’s awesome! I know you can do it. You’ve got this!

Woo hoo! Go Aries!

Thank you!

Your comment made my day. Thank you and best of luck on finding a planning system that works for you. You’ve got this!

Thanks for your question Marie. I didn’t keep careful track of the time invested but here is a guesstimate: I started on a Friday and spent about 3-4 hours going through papers. I’d say I invested another couple of hours on Saturday and another hour or two on Sunday filing the papers I kept. I was able to recycle most of the papers because they didn’t contain sensitive information. Depending on how many papers contain sensitive information, it’s safe to say you’ll probably need another couple of hours shredding or redacting papers. My husband graciously took care of the shredding by taking the papers to work and feeding them to the industrial strength shredder there. I hope this helps. Best of luck to you on your paper declutter - you’ve got this!

Thank you for your feedback. I’m always looking for ways to improve video content. What advice would have made this video more helpful? Thank you!

Thank you and welcome! I'm glad you're here!

Im trying to transition to Google calendar and solely use it. The first planner I ever learned to use was a Franklin Covey, so letting go of writing it down is a challenge

@@andrea.adhdhouse I’m a Franklin Covey planner enthusiast. And although some appointments get put on my phone; I need my old school rustic hands on agenda

@@yavrum22 same! I love the portability of a planner on my phone but need a physical calendar to feel confident about scheduling things.

I'm so sorry for you loss. You've been through a lot and I'm happy for you finding a system that works for you. Good job!

@@andrea.adhdhouse Thank you so much! I also am a Breast Cancer survivor. I feel blessed I can continue my life.

Thank you! With tax forms, it’s recommended we keep them for 7 years from the date of filing. If anything was audited or reviewed, it’s probably best to double check with someone like a CPA to make sure you’re safe to purge old tax returns. I’m not an expert, so I don’t want to give you bad information. As for bank statements, its always good to make sure your receipts and statements match. If there are charges that shouldn’t be there, the bank should be made aware so they can correct the problem. Hope this helps.

Thanks!

Aww, thank you! I have lots of material for more content, just struggling to carve out enough time to get it together and uploaded 😬

Welcome Anna! Good job on your own paper declutter! The best way I've found to stay on top of papers is regular maintenance. I'm not perfect at this, but generally, I sort the mail right away by discarding junk, putting my husband's mail in his mail sorter and put my mail near my planner. Next is to go through the mail and any other papers at least once a week. I tend to plan on Sundays or Mondays so I make sure I have my papers handy at that time too. Then I set things in piles: one for action - anything that I need to respond to or follow up on; one for papers that should be saved/filed and one for recycling. The piles help organize things by task and it makes the papers less intimidating and more manageable. I hope this helps. Thank you!

@@andrea.adhdhouse it sure does! Thanks for the tips and the welcome 👍😁

Good job! Doing the task is not always fun, but getting it done feels amazing!

That’s awesome! I still have loads of stuff to declutter, so stay tuned! Thank you!

Anything that had sensitive information on it was shredded. My husband has an industrial strength shredder at work, so I was able to delegate. Here are alternatives if you don’t have access to a shredder: check in with your local municipalities to see if they ever host shredding events in your area. They basically do all the work for you at little to no charge. Option 2 is FedEx Office - they used to be Kinkos but they have shredding services. I’m not sure of the cost. Option 3 is a security stamp that obscures your private info making it safer to recycle. If I had the ability to share a picture, I would. If you’re not familiar with them, you can search “stamp roller for privacy protection“ in Google or Amazon and you’ll see plenty of options. I hope this helps!

@@andrea.adhdhouse Security stamp rollers don't last very long

@@kathyhill9251 It sounds like those might be better for regular maintenance rather than a full house purge. Thanks for the info!

I recycled most papers and shredded anything with sensitive information on it. Luckily, my husband has a big paper shredder at his office, so I got to delegate that task 😁

Awww, thank you. That made my day.

You are definitely not alone! When I realized we had papers that dated back to the 90s, I knew it was worth mentioning because there HAD to be others out there who could relate.

Thank you! I've since abandoned this habit because, well, life and stuff. It was a good experiment and I learned a bit about myself, so I still consider it to be a positive experience overall.

Glad you like them!

Thank you Emu! While I think there will always be *something* that needs to be decluttered in my home, I do have plans to diversify my content. The intention has always been to include a variety of things pertaining to our homes and ADHD: organization, decorating, DIY projects - in case anyone likes that, cleaning products and tips/hacks for motivation or productivity. Although I have been working on another decluttering video over the past few weeks, I felt I needed a little hiatus from it. I ended up filming a video where I present some of these ideas to see what viewers want to see more of. Please stay tuned...😁

@@andrea.adhdhouse also remember you don’t need to do videos like other people. You can do it your way. Edit the videos the way you experience things/life. And be unapologetic about it. They will resonate with who they resonate with.

@@andrea.adhdhouse also, I am not trying to put pressure on you😳you will create things in your own timeframe. But I have a sense you have got a lot of information/knowledge to share, that is unique. I know I am a complete stranger on the other side of the world. 🙄sharing my unsolicited opinion. Am trying to be encouraging 🌻👩🏻‍🎨best of luck with your channel

@@LightFigure888 Thank you Emu! I appreciate your feedback and it came at a time where I was feeling burned out on creating decluttering videos. I still plan to make them, but was thinking of uploading a couple of videos that were a little different. Then I second guessed myself, as we sometimes do. Your comments came at the perfect time, a sign if you will, that now is a good time to create something a little different. I'm really excited about the latest video I recorded and am looking forward to editing it. Your comments are very much encouraging and I look forward to any feedback you have for my videos. Thank you!

Same! I don't know why routine maintenance on not just papers, but with most things in my daily life, hasn't occurred to me before. I didn't get to my annual paper declutter until September, but I did it and it's so empowering to know that I'm taking small steps to avoid a huge paper declutter later on.

Thank you for your comment Chris. You are very correct in the thought of attacking the pile in small, manageable pieces. It's great to have a plan that works best for you. In the end, if it doesn't work for you, you're not going to be all that motivated to do it (at least I'm not). Best of luck to you on processing all the papers. You've got this!

I love the Minimal Mom! She explains things so well and her reasons for decluttering certain things really help me feel more comfortable about decluttering my own things. Congratulations on clearing out your papers. Good job!

This declutter was no joke! Thank you so much for watching!

Even scarier in person. Yikes!

That’s awesome Gina! Sometimes a big purge is great motivation to maintain the mess more frequently.

I’m so sorry for your loss. That must have been a very difficult time for you. I haven’t heard of Freedom Filer so I’ll have to look into it. Thank you for sharing!

@@andrea.adhdhouse Go to www.freedomfiler.com/ and you'll find out about this system. It's a great system and even if you "fall off the wagon" it's easy to get on again.

I actually put a small recycling bin next to me to make for easier clean up. I guess I’m finally learning to work smarter on this stuff. I did fill the large recycling bin that goes to the curb for pick up. I knew it was a lot but I didn’t know it was THAT much!

@@andrea.adhdhouse what a good idea. I toss them on the floor lol. And them have that mess to clean up

Isn't it amazing? I thought if i worked part-time, i would be able to have a perfectly decluttered, organised and clean house, a tidy oroductive and pretty garden and time left to discover hobbies. Lol.

In some cases, it makes sense and easier work to leave things where they are - especially if they’re already in an ideal location and declutter as time permits. In other cases, I have no choice but to gather everything thing up in one spot because that variety of stuff is squirreled away all over the house and I really need to see it all in one place before I can do a serious declutter on it. I have a couple of categories that need that kind of work and I’m not looking forward to it 😬

@@thatswhatisaid8908 I’m a stay at home mom and I can’t seem to find the time to get to all the things either 😂

That’s so true, I had to empty the loft (attic) which is our only storage place, for insulation 6 weeks ago. It’s only just being sorted now..

I find this to be the case with certain things too - if I tuck it away and don't see it, I won't remember to do it. Since the file cabinet was usually in the garage instead of in the house, I didn't think about it. I'm finding that each declutter needs to be handled differently. Not EVERYTHING needs to be pulled out of it's current home and into a pile in the middle of the room. I clearly didn't approach it that way, but want to mention when I could have done it differently.

I agree! Routine maintenance is much easier that dealing with everything at once. I’m hoping that I will never have to deal with this many papers again!

I find the only way I can develop routines is by just adding one thing consistently. Any more than that, I get burned out and scrap ALL the tasks or steps I'm trying to complete.