Incredibly Useful Purchase for Paper Control

I do not know anyone who would not agree to this statement, “I hate paper clutter.” I grew up in a house where paper was a serious problem. 80% of our dinners were spent at a table with piles of paper at the opposite end (sorry mom). As a teenager, if my parents went away for a day or so I would get the clean bug and gather up all the papers sitting in various piles around the house and put them in a plastic sack. I was so proud of how clean the house was when they returned but now I realize how much work that meant for my mom because then she had to sort out the one gigantic pile into her previous piles before my clean bug destroyed her mountains.


My mother wants me to add that her house USED to be like that BEFORE she was diagnosed with ADD and that now her house has no paper clutter or piles of paper anywhere. I must admit, I haven't seen any paper messes in her home for years.

Four years ago I purchased a wall mounted magazine rack from this company . This purchase works miracles in our home and effectively eliminates the paper problem. It is opposite my basement door so it is mostly tucked away and it is within close proximity to my trash can. So every day I take the mail to the kitchen counter, throw away 90% of it (recycle bin of course, ah hem) and then file it in the correct pocket of my magazine rack. My friend Jodi (fellow paper hater) was visiting one day and remarked at how I disposed of my mail when it arrived in about 60 seconds. It has become so routine and takes up so little time and effort that I don't even think about it. I have 7 pockets on my magazine rack to distribute my mail:

(1) “to be filed” (those go to the basement once a month where my filing cabinet is)
(2) Bills (I pay those on pay day twice a month and then they get put in “to be filed”
(3) Daddy (he never looks at his mail but it’s there and it is no longer my problem)
(4) Uncle Mike (I was shipping my brother-in-laws mail to him in Iraq but for now it’s a free pocket)
(5) Grocery Fliers (I write the expiration date at the top left for each flier so I can clearly see when they are to be tossed)
(6) Coupons
(7) Magazines/catalogs (most just get thrown out around here)




When I have all three kids in grade school I would eventually like more pockets so I can assign a pocket per family member and have additional pockets for coupons, grocery fliers, etc. My oldest is in 1st grade so I’ll hold off on upgrading my magazine rack but I definitely will get one with more pockets in a couple years.

If paper clutter is getting the best of your home I urge you to take a peek at that website, it has a lot to offer and a lot more than what I have seen at other stores. There are wall mounted magazine racks with various numbers and configurations of pockets and made out of various materials. Mine is wood and I will warn you that you can lose small pieces of paper at the bottom of some pockets. I have wasted a bit of time using kitchen utensils to retrieve a water bill a couple times. The wall-mounted racks free up counter and desk space. Heck I like anything that can be mounted to the wall. It opens up space on horizontal surfaces. Resting my eyes on clean and clear clutter-free space makes me happy.