Paper Organization Ideas

We are heading into the new year and I thought y’all might be able to use these paper organization ideas! If you are anything like me, paper clutter may be taking over your home. Get that paper under control with these ideas and start your new year with a more organized workspace. These ideas are perfect for your home office and more!

Table of Contents

20 Paper Organization Ideas

Paper clutter is no joke! A few pieces of paper can easily become a crazy pile before you know it. So, to tackle all that paper clutter you may already have or want to avoid, I have rounded up 20 paper organization ideas that you will love!

To make things a bit easier, I divided all of the ideas by topic, so you can skip to ideas that interested you the most. When you see an idea that you like, click the ”read more” button and you will be taken to that idea’s blog post. Then you can pin or bookmark those that you want to learn more about later!

Incoming Papers

Stop the paper clutter before it happens with these ideas on how to organize your space for all those incoming papers!

Project Organize Command Center by Laura's Crafty Life

Create A Command Center

Establish a command center in your home where incoming papers go to until they’re permanently put away or trashed! Learn how to create a command center for your home by reading this blog post!

Create A Designated Box For Paper

Keep a designated inbox and to-file system to avoid paper clutter hotspots around the house!

Filing System Organization by A Bowl Full Of Lemons

Organize Your Filing Cabinet

Filing cabinets can quickly become disorganized if you don’t have a great system in place. Color-coded hanging files are great for sorting papers by category.

Binder Organization by So Much Better With Age

Orgnaize Everything In Binders

Use binders for everything from takeout menus to house renovation receipts! Learn how in this 5 part organized blogger series!

Decorative Baskets by Chic On A Shoe String Decorating Blog

Use Decorative Baskets

Never underestimate the power of a pretty basket to hold your file folders! Check out this post to learn how to combine a decorative basket with file folders to create a portable system for organizing paper clutter!

Paper Planners & Lists

If paper planners and piles of to-do lists have you down, check out these ideas that will help you to get organized!

Digital Calendar As A Planner by Theresa Cifali

Eliminate Your Paper Planner

Eliminate your paper planner, and use a digital calendar like Google Calendar for reminders and to-dos! If that idea scares you, check out this post to learn just how easy it is to make the switch!

Notebook by Sweet Tea and Saving Grace Blog

Corral All Your To-Do Lists Together

If to-dos are scattered all over your desk, put them in one handy notebook divided into categories!

Mail

Mail is never-ending! Stop it from becoming paper clutter by making a custom mail organizer for your home!

Create A Detailed Mail Organizer

Build your own mail organizer to sort mail as soon as it comes into the house! Learn how to make your own with this easy-to-follow tutorial!

Mail Organizer Tutorial by Fort Worth Fabric

Create A Simple Mail Organizer

This simple DIY fabric mail organizer will help you sort your mail easily until it’s filed away!

Documents, Manuals & Sentimental Items

Documents, manuals, and sentimental items are things we always need to have on hand. Check out the ideas below to learn how to organize all of them so you never have to go searching for them again!

Organize Your Files For The New Year by A Bird and Bean

Purge Documents

Purge your documents regularly to minimize clutter! This might sound hard to do, but with these tips and tricks, it's much easier to do than you might think!

How To Organize Manuals by Refined Rooms LLC

Organize Your Manuals

Organize user manuals in a large binder with clear sheet protectors! This blog post shows you how to create a simple system for organizing your manuals so you have them all in one place!

Organizing Kids Keepsakes by So Much Better With Age

Store Sentimental Items

There’s nothing wrong with being sentimental, but it sure can add to the clutter. Use file boxes to store your birthday cards and other mementos!

Kids’ Paperwork

We can’t forget about the kids! Whether it’s school work or artwork, we have some paper organization ideas for your little ones too!

How to Organize Kids’ School Papers at Home School Memory Box by Old Salt Farm

Organize School Papers

School papers taking over at your house? File them away using this yearly school paper storage method!

How To Organize Your Children's Art by Make Life Lovely

Organize Kids Art Work

Organize all of your kids' artwork using a binder! A binder is a smart solution for your kids’ artwork because it keeps the artwork protected, it can hold a ton of art pieces, and it can be organized by year, age, or grade.

Recipes

Do you love to bake or cook? Then get those recipes organized with these helpful tips!

How I Organize My Magazine Clippings and Magazines by A Cultivated Nest

Organize Recipes

A binder and sheet protectors are also a good fit for recipes that you’ve printed or pulled from magazines!

Switch To Paperless Recipes

If you want to go paperless with your recipes (scary I know), this post has several good ideas!

Crafty Items

It wouldn’t be a proper blog post if I didn’t talk about organizing those paper craft items! Check out the tips below to learn how to organize scrapbook paper and gift bags!

Scrapbook Paper Organizer by Our Thrifty Ideas

Organize Scrapbook Paper

You can never have too much scrapbook paper, right? As long as you keep it tidy, that is. This wire shelf is the perfect solution!

Organize Gift Bags

Ok, gift bags might not be a crafty item. However, whether you save them for crafts or gifts they can pile up! Keep them tidy in a paper sorter!

On The Go Paper Organization Ideas

Sometimes paper clutter travels with you! Keep yourself organized on the go so that paper clutter doens’t come home with you!

Purse Organization Tips by Two Twenty One

Organize Your Purse

Raise your hand if your purse is a mess. If your hand is up, check out this post that teaches you how to keep all the papers in your purse organized with a coupon sorter!

DIY Travel Notebook by Simple As That Blog

Create A Travel Notebook

Make a travel notebook with pockets to keep your papers organized when you travel!

Final Thoughts On Paper Organization Ideas

Whether your space is big or small, I hope the above ideas will help with reducing the paper clutter in your home! Try one of these ideas or all of them and you might be surprised just how well it works for you and your family.

Also, if you have an idea for organizing paper clutter, I would love to hear it in the comments below!

5 More Paper Organization Ideas

If you love these paper organization ideas and are looking for more ways to organize the paper clutter around your home, then check out the blog posts below!

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3 Comments

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Jamie

9 years ago

Thanks for including my keepsakes and blogging binders posts, Angie!
Hugs, Jamie

Barbara Trechak

8 years ago

I’m in Love with your blue and white file boxes. Can you please tell me where I can buy these. Thank you for creating a site for paper clutter. My daughter is all grown up with her own kids but I still have paper clutter of my own so your site is very helpful to me.
Thanks
Barbara

Angie Holden

Author

Reply to Barbara Trechak

You can read more about those here:
http://www.somuchbetterwithage.com/2013/06/organize-your-kids-keepsakes/