Several things make Cathy's system unique from what I was previously doing.
First she uses a color system to help you organize.
Second, she has wonderful preprinted tabs, so everything is neatly labeled. This alone automatically makes my files look uniform and organized!
But it's more than just neat looking, it's well planned. With her filing system, you get a booklet that helps you think about how the files should be organized and where. There's also help with what papers to keep and not to keep!
I confess, when mine arrived, I was a bit resistant to rework the current order of my files, but I decided to give in a little and try what Cathy suggests. After all, she spent 3 years developing this system and working out the kinks. And hey... mine wasn't working so hot for me, now was it? What did I have to lose?
Cathy is offering a Homestead Revival™ reader the opportunity to try out both her Filing Joys and Tickler Joys for FREE! So if your desk is in need of some dire attention, here's what you need to do...
Give Away
1. Visit Just Organize Your Stuff: JOYS and look around for a little while. She has some wonderful information and a free download as well if you sign up on her site. Oh, and did I mention she has a system for notebook organizing, too?
2. Come back here and in the comments section, tell me something helpful that you learned on her site. You must leave an email if you do not have a blog, so that I can contact you if you win!
BONUS: Blog about this give away and link back to Homestead Revival™ , then leave a SECOND COMMENT and you'll be entered again!
This give away ends Friday night at 11:59 pm PST.
Happy organizing everyone!
I am a customer of JOYS and have not been compensated for this post.
This filing set looks really great! I think my husband and I could both use it! Right now I teach a Mommy and me class, and a Sunday school class. Come this fall I will be homeschooling my daughter as well! Their school paperwork always gets piled up with no where to put it. I really liked how she said about her husband worries about the bills, but if you look at them in a different light (as a gift) it all becomes more peaceful! My husband could really use that idea! Thank you so much for this giveaway!!
ReplyDeleteI really like her post "The Long-term Benefits of Getting Your Papers Organized." It makes sense and is exactly what I am in need of especially for peace of mind!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this giveaway opportunity :)
This is the first I've heard about Cathy's system (except for the brief reference you made the other day). I was very interested in her 3 folder tickler system and keeping it near the place where your pile of papers already is because it's obviously there for a reason. I definitely need to seek out more help from her. :0)
ReplyDeletewow, that a tremendous offering!!! i am in such desperate need of help, this is amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI just returned from her site, and the second thing tat I went to made me laugh -- I have this thing about saving cards, you see. That list was great !
I love the idea of a beautiful, dedicated home notebook - that would help me so much to keep all the various "systems" organized and smoothly running.
ReplyDeleteKate in NY (kateonah@msn.com)
I've just spent four weeks making a household notebook, yes I said FOUR, and although the filing system is a bit more customized than JOYS it would have been far cheaper and less time consuming if I had found her site first!!! Next on my list of organizing is my household filing system and trust me I could use the guidance her system brings! PLEASE enter me in the drawing and thanks so much for your wonderful site! bellesgal@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI shared on Facebook! About to take a look around her site and comment back.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Austin-Homestead/124581504260351
I like the action/tickler file idea. I am indeed a piler - but i tend to be a piler of established things. I'm good with taking the mail, dealing with it, putting the bills on the fridge or just paying them asap, filing the info sheet and popping the paid bill in the mail. When we have the money to pay them asap. It's great that she, and so many savvy women have husbands who pay the bills to facilitate us doing the rest of the work (which is definitely work!) filing and organizing and running the house. But there are those of us whose husbands are scraping by at $1,000 a month and need us to scrape right along with them. It's not nearly as fun. So, any help would be welcome. :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked her container system for organizing - that may be something that would work for us!
ReplyDeletedeb . heerema (at) gmail . com
I'm so excited about this giveaway and finding...Joy. This makes organization relaxing instead of taxing. colors are used so appropriately. I like how she views bills as a gift!...i.e. gas bill...gift of warmth!
ReplyDeleteBlogged about the giveaway!!!
ReplyDeletehttp://mickfam.blogspot.com/2011/03/organize-your-stuff-joys-on-homestead_3445.html
Oh my gosh...I think the question is "what didn't I learn?" I don't usually get worked up about giveaways...but this is an area of my life that seriously needs HELP!! Thank you for the chance to get it together! lol
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that made getting her papers organized for good was expressing gratitude. That's an interesting thought...
ReplyDeletegingeroo616 at aol dot com
Cathy's thought that "organizing papers for good is a means of expressing gratitude" sums up her unique approach to organizing.
ReplyDeleteI would SO LOVE to win her system! Thank you Amy,
deb meyers
I was so excited about the tickler file post that i was all ready to get it organized and start....but I haven't. I am horribly buried with paper and am overwhelmed with the task of putting the files together. This would be an answer to a paper-clutterer's desperate plea.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great giveaway! I also like her idea of starting with just three files. So simple, I just might be able to do it.
ReplyDeleteJust blogged about it. :)
ReplyDeleteI looked around the site and was impressed. I like the idea of color coding. Thank you for the give away.
ReplyDeleteJodi
From her post I learned that how you feel about an item (especially papers) plays a big part of how you treat it and whether or not it becomes clutter in your life. If you can express gratitude you will treat it with respect.
ReplyDeleteFoundational direction....that's what I saw on her site. I have the know how, but being able to sit down and sift through everything without first having the foundation direction takes waaaay too much brain power and time that I don't have to devote to this. Having the foundation outlined would help to get me started. I am starting on getting our files in shape.....and its a daunting task!
ReplyDeleteI like Cathy's attitude of gratitude. It makes all the difference in the world! Anything is possible!! Best wishes, Donna in Winston-Salem
ReplyDeleteI wrote a post that will go live tomorrow morning. http://dogsmom.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/additions-to-my-share-post/
ReplyDeleteI have a filing system that works . . . for me. But my husband can never find anything. This might work for both of us. Maybe I could even get his business files organized, too.
ReplyDeleteI can always use some organization!
ReplyDeleteI really love the idea of "grooving prosperity" to help bring me back to acknowledging the abundance I have!
ReplyDeleteAlso, that Household Notebook looks terrific.
If being organized gives grooving prosperity, then I want to be organized so I can have GIVING prosperity.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I thought I had posted earlier but maybe I forgot? But the one thing I can say I learned from the site is how much I need this product in general. It fits so perfectly into my life right now, especially with all the army moves coming up in our future. It seems like a great and practical way to keep everything in order.
ReplyDeleteI also blogged about it at:
ReplyDeletewww.moogiemama.blogspot.com
if my earlier posts went through please ignore these ones my computer is acting up.
I visited the site and spent some time reading about her idea about getting rid of greeting cards and organizing them. This is something I could stand to apply to my life!
ReplyDeleteI am new to your blog but I am really enjoying it. Checked out Joy's website on organization, love the way she makes it a manageable chore to keep your papers organized. What a great giveaway! The simpleness of making three piles of your papers is a great way to start.
ReplyDeletehi,
ReplyDeletethanks for this giveaway! i really enjoyed the advice about veiwing the bill as a gift! i also love the creativeness of the organization systems. i learned that a little creativity will inspire a lot! thanks
I am new to your blog but I am really enjoying it. Checked out Joy's website on organization, love the way she makes it a manageable chore to keep your papers organized. What a great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI like the notebook the best, I think, but I keep most of my records in a file cabinet, so that would be handy. I don't really have a desk to use a tickler with but I wonder if I could hole punch them and use them in a binder? At any rate - the thing I learned from her website is that it sounds as though she's reading 1,000 Gifts too :-) That gratitude is the most important thing to focus on and that every bill is an opportunity to praise the Lord for something in our life.
ReplyDeleteHer Tickler File sounds and looks fascinating..very creative..can't wait to try!
ReplyDeletealnurse19@gmail.com
I really like the color code files. It sounds so easy, but I had a hard time with old cards and want to hold on to them. did not think
ReplyDeleteof recycling. Nice give a way that I would love.
I have always filed alphabetically "when I have the time". I love the look of this system. Seeing a Vital Records section, made me realize this somehow got over-looked in my filing, and is in too many different places right now. Great idea(s)and system!
ReplyDeleteI never considered the creative thought process of filing. It makes sense to use colors. We could really use this as I just went back to work and now my husband will be in charge of the household paperwork (oh boy!)
ReplyDelete"Consistency builds familiarity. With familiarity comes confidence and with confidence, well, anything is possible."
ReplyDeleteAside from being a determined survival-homesteader, I'm involved in a non-profit that's geared to securing food and energy sources for our entire community. Our myriad projects, programs, contacts, and events desperately need organizing (and prioritizing!) so badly it's actually strained our personal relationships. We need consistency!
What a great mantra. Thanks for sharing.
swaggerihardlyknewher.blogspot.com
Hi! I am a new follower - here from Prairie Flower Farm - and I really like what I see! Thank you for this opportunity. I went to her site and liked her idea of an action station. I have a terrible time with piles and my husband hates them! I think he would love to see me win this even more than I would :> Heather
ReplyDeleteThis looks great. I really want and NEED to get organized with my household papers. I don't know if I can get to the point of considering bills to be blessings like she says, though. I gathered stuff in January to make a household folder. It is now March and nothing is done. Guess I need a coach to walk me through and get it done. Thanks for the tips.
ReplyDeleterdgwrites at AOL
oh, to be organized!She makes it sound so fun!
ReplyDeleteI loved her family joys. I made a book like that...once upon a time...definitely needs some updating. Think when I do, I'll just use hers to save myself some time...
ReplyDeleteVery inspiring! Thanks for sharing about JOYS and the give away opportunity!
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Kathleen
I like the idea of the "Action Center Tickler File." I just have a pile of stuff sitting around. Actually, I have a bunch of piles sitting around. I would be so much better off if I organized the stuff, and I even have some beautiful things that will make it work. So excited for this giveaway! thank you! kdchoo at gmail dot com
ReplyDeleteOh my! I can always use some organization, especially when it comes to papers. I learned quite a bit at Cathy's site, but the one thing that caught my eye was the Vital Records section. I realized that mine are not all together and in desperate need of being organized properly. Thanks so much about sharing about Blueprint JOYS.
ReplyDeleteHaving a plan for every piece of paper that comes through my front door (even if it is straight to the round file) would remove so much clutter & stress!
ReplyDeleteI love organizing--just wish I could actually do it more!
ReplyDeletePeace,
Elizabeth
I want this give-away so much that I finally learned how to post and link back so I could enter twice : )
ReplyDeletedeb meyers
I like the filing system the best. I could really use that and benefit from it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteDear Amy...save me!!! Love the ideas and thank you for this fantastic giveaway.
ReplyDeleteKathy
Just blogged about it! Thanks again :)
ReplyDelete