January 15, 2016 by Krista

Declutter Paper From These 9 Things for a More Peaceful Home

This post brought to you by Fellowes Brands. The content and opinions expressed below are that of While He Was Napping.

Did you make a new year’s resolution to declutter your home? Yeah, me too. I started in my bedroom… the black hole of our home. Or maybe that’s the garage…? In any case, it’s where things go to die. It’s the catch-all room. People are coming? Quick, throw all this in Mom and Dad’s room and shut the door! Which is really sad, right?! It’s definitely a bit of a hazard at best. So, we are on a mission to declutter this year. I’ve already completed one ‘declutter paper’ mission!

One of the first boxes I came across in my room was full of papers. We’ve moved this box three times, and I’m not sure it’s been unsealed since move number one. Like, why do I still have this at all, right?! When I started looking at them, I realized why I didn’t just pitch the whole box. Some of the papers are things I do need to keep – hey, that’s where the car title is! – and some of them need to be disposed of in more than just a simple trash can. That’s where my Fellowes 79Ci shredder came in so handy!

I got to looking around my house and realized that we have a lot of paper clutter. With all the holiday cards we just received, Christmas and the explosion that comes with that, the end of year mail that companies like to send and things that Big J brought home from school, we had stacks of paper hanging around that didn’t really need to be there. So, I decided to clean out these 10 places one afternoon and I can’t believe the difference it’s made.

DECLUTTER PAPER FROM THESE 9 SPOTS FOR A MORE PEACEFUL HOME

The mail collection. This was a HUGE offender. Since we’ve been on Winter Break, there were more people bringing the mail in everyday. And we were getting more mail the last few weeks too. I try to go through the mail when I bring it in and throw the junk in the trash. My husband and boys bring it in and set it all on the counter top. We had little mail piles all over the counters before I realized what was going on. This is a pretty easy place to start to declutter paper in your home.
The junk drawer. I am the big offender here. I like lists. Lots and lots of lists. Shopping lists, to do lists, phone number lists, calendars, gift lists, food preparation lists, you get the idea, right? I’m terrible at taking my notes and just sticking them in the drawer to sort through later. So, I went through them and recycled the irrelevant ones. The ones that still had worth went into a small basket in my drawer so I can actually find what I’m looking for until I can come up with a better filing system.
The desk. Our desktop computer is in our dining room and is shared by the family, although Mr. Napping and I use it the most. We both are terrible at leaving papers on the desk. and it’s not a big desk to begin with so whether they are bills, misprints from the printers or doodles that the kids bring us, the paper clutters up the desk in a hurry. I filed the bills that needed to be kept, shredded the ones that were already taken care of and recycled the extra papers and envelopes. I put the misprints in our scrap paper collection and the kids will bring us more doodles on those some other time. The doodles spend a few days (or weeks) on our art board and then they are recycled or filed to save. It’s condition was not conducive to productivity at all!
The laundry room. The offender here was all the tags from new clothes my family had received for Christmas. I had a small pile on the dryer that never made it into the trash. It took about three seconds to throw them out and my boys stopped knocking the little plastic pieces on the floor every time they walked passed the dryer.
School papers. I never realized just how much paper I brought home from school, but if it’s anything like Big J brings home… my poor mama! And I’m dreading the day it gets multiplied by more than one boy in school. Usually I go through his backpack when he gets home and his Friday Folder as soon as he walks in the door. All through the course of Winter Break I kept finding more school papers though. I recycled the unimportant stuff and filed the things I wanted to keep in his school box.
My planner. I still use a paper planner. My husband balks at this, but I like the tangible aspect from holding the paper and physically writing things down. It helps me remember important dates and commitments better. But I had a lot of extras stuck in it too. So, I cleaned out notes, receipts, cards and invitations and my planner is much easier to carry around now. I can even see all the tabs now!
My wallet. I don’t save receipts if I don’t have to, but for big purchases and expenses that I need record of, the receipts get stuck in my wallet. Christmas put more receipts in my wallet than usual and it was a bit of a mess. I filed the receipts I needed to keep and put all the Christmas gift receipts in a ziptop bag in my planner. All the others I got rid of.
The car. All those receipts I don’t save… yeah, a lot of them are on the floor in my car. They start in the console with the plan to take them in and get rid of them. But, somewhere between leaving the store and getting everything and everyone inside it ends up on the floor of the car. My kids leave their papers in the car too. It’s awesome how much better cups fit in the cup holders when wads of paper aren’t stuffed in them.
Diaper bag/purse. If you don’t have a diaper bag, I’m mildly jealous. Sure I like being prepared for whatever might arise when we’re out, but it’s just one more place to collect clutter too. And the latter seems to happen more often than not. Our new rule is that no papers go in the diaper bag… we’ll see how long we can stick to that! No diaper bag? Apply it to your purse.

When it’s time to declutter paper, a good shredder is a must-have to ensure your information remains safe. I absolutely love my Fellowes 79Ci shredder! It is great for anyone balancing busy schedules and seeking time-saving solutions. The design is sleek and the power is amazing. It’s got a Patented 100% Jam Proof System that eliminates paper jams and powers through tough jobs and it’s heavy-duty cross-cut blades can handle up to 16 sheets of paper per pass in addition to staples, paper clips, credit cards, junk mail and CDs. Such a time saver when you can feed handfuls through at a time! And with an extended 20 minute run time for increased productivity you don’t have to worry if you’ll ever finally shred the whole pile of papers you have just waiting for disposal. You’ll be able to declutter paper and so much more!

My favorite feature of the Fellowes 79Ci shredder is the patented SafeSense® Technology which automatically stops shredding when hands touch the paper opening. It’s such a sense of peace to not have that concern hanging over my head with all my little ones around. I also really love the SilentShred™ Technology that offers ultra-quiet shredder performance. We can still have a conversation while the junk mail and paid bills are shredded. While we usually keep our shredder off and unplugged, the Energy Savings System feature maximizes shredder energy efficiency 100% of the time – both in use and out of use.

You can find The Fellowes 79Ci Shredder at Amazon and Office Superstores with a suggested retail price of $239.99. Are you on a mission to declutter paper from your home? You won’t regret using the Fellowes 79Ci Shredder to help protect sensitive information on my declutter paper mission!

November 25, 2015 by Krista

Get Company Ready this Holiday Season with Hoover AIR™ CORDLESS LIFT

You know what’s synonymous with kids? Mess. My three kids spend a startlingly large amount of time eating. I’m not sure if it’s a boy thing, or because they are growing, a little of both, or what; but, they eat a lot! Whether it’s because they don’t have as much practice as I do or the testosterone in their bodies doesn’t allow it, they are not dainty or careful eaters. To make matters worse, we have carpet in our dining room. I’m not sure who had that grand idea, but it is a terrible, horrible thing to live with. The last time I deep cleaned my dining room carpet, it stayed clean for an entire two weeks before it was stained again. Yep, that’s it.

Cleaning up the carpet after every meal is a must and, even then, I don’t always get it all. Then there are all the snacks all day long. It’s a full-time job just keeping my dining room floors clean. The new Hoover AIR™ CORDLESS LIFT UPRIGHT Vacuum line has made my job (well, one of them) a whole lot easier. I love my AIR™ CORDLESS LIFT UPRIGHT Vacuum. It’s perfect for after-meal clean up.

The Windtunnel 3 technology provides the perfect suction power to lift and remove dirt and food. I was mildly worried about the battery life when I first got the machine, but this thing is a tank. The LithiumLife batteries have double the capacity of Hoover’s standard 18-volt lithium Ion batteries which give me longer run time (about 50 minutes and an extra battery is included) and I get amazing power regardless of the battery charge. The LithiumLife batteries are interchangeable through out the Hoover Cordless line, making it easy to use the right machine for the job. There are three vacuums and a hard floor wet cleaner in the line and I’ve got a hankering for the Floormate® hard floor wet cleaner now…

My absolute favorite thing about the Hoover AIR™ CORDLESS LIFT though is the cordless part. The cordless feature means I can clean up multiple messes in multiple rooms in a fraction of the time I used to. I can vacuum up breakfast crumbs, grab the popcorn kernels my boys threw at each other during movie night last night and then zip over and get the dirt my husband tracked in from the garage in mere minutes. And it’s a dream in cleaning out the car. There is no unplugging and plugging back in, no winding that wretched cord back up (or driving my husband crazy that I don’t wind it back up). My kids don’t trip over the cord when I’m vacuuming or play tug of war with it anymore. And it’s easy to take out the to the car too!

The holiday season is here and it’s a busy time of year for most everyone. Simplify your cleaning duties and skip the cord. I also love the canister option on the AIR™ CORDLESS LIFT that makes dusting a breeze and stairs are so much easier to clean when you’re not lugging the vacuum behind you. Get the work done faster so you can enjoy more time doing the things you really want to do.

Whether hosting holiday parties or family is coming to visit, things can get crazy. I’ve come up with a printable checklist that can help you make sure you don’t forget anything super important before company comes. Then you can make the most of and enjoy the time you get to spend with your family and friends. Just click on the image below to be taken to it’s download page. You can save it to your computer and print it off. Hang it on the fridge so the entire family can help get the work done. No more “I didn’t know what needed to be done” excuses!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Kick the cord this holiday season, grab the printables, get the work done and enjoy making new memories with the ones that matter most! Happy Holidays!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Pinky promise.

October 29, 2015 by Krista

Controlling the Paper Clutter

This post brought to you by Fellowes Brands. The content and opinions expressed below are that of While He Was Napping.

I don’t know about you, but my house seems like it gets it hit by a bomb… or two… around this time of year. The kids bring home even more papers from school, stores are sending out sale papers, companies are doing their end-of-year policy updates, and we’re approaching a major election year so there’s all kinds of political mailers coming in as well. That’s a lot of paper coming through my front door.

We haven’t always been awesome at filing the mail when it comes through the door. It, often times, gets dropped somewhere on the kitchen counter. As if it isn’t hard enough to keep the kitchen counters clean… and, I hate to admit it, but I do have a box of old papers in my bedroom that is full of mail from our countertops. Clearly, I still have some improving to do in getting rid of paper clutter in our home, but I have been doing a lot better with this new system. Ready to cut down on your paper clutter? Here’s the how:

1. Start now with all the new papers that come in your home. Once you get in the habit of getting rid of the stuff coming in, you can add a step or two here and there to get rid of the stuff already there. It’s so much easier to get rid of stuff a step at a time, rather than a big purge. Now, if you have the time for a big purge, then by all means. But, shy of burning my house down and just starting all over, I don’t have time to get rid of every single paper in one sitting. Besides, I’d much rather play with my cute boys than go through tedious piles of paperwork.

When papers get brought into your house, go through them immediately. Take five minutes and just get it done.

2. I have two paper trays on my counter. Hey, it’s better than a stack of (unopened) mail! One for “things that need attention”, like bills, insurance things, a wedding announcement, coupons – if it has an expiration date or deadline. And one for “things to file”, like report cards, most DMV papers and other documentation, school papers or projects my kids bring home that I want to keep – if it is going to be kept long-term.

Once a week, I clear out the trays. I deal with the stuff that needs attending and then file the things that are being kept where they belong. My filing boxes are a whole ‘nother story! The paper trays actually work really well for me. If having them in the kitchen doesn’t appeal to you, put them somewhere else. Maybe putting them in your office or something would work better for you. If so, I’m totally jealous you have an office!

3. Now, think of all that stuff you got rid of. Feels good to not have it cluttering your home, right? Some paperwork shouldn’t just be thrown out though. Even outdated paperwork can have sensitive information on it. That’s where a good shredder comes into play.

I have been using a Fellowes 79Ci shredder and I just love the sleek design and advanced technology. The SilentShred™ Technology lets me work on getting rid of our paper clutter during nap time without fear of waking the babies. Its patented 100% Jam Proof System is fantastic and has completely lived up to the promise in all the shredding I’ve done with it so far. The heavy-duty cross-cut blades can handle up to 16 pages at a time and you don’t have to take out staples or paper clips either, which is such a time saver.

Another thing that I love is the extended 20 minute run time. I can get everything shredded all in one sitting and I don’t have to wait for the shredder to cool down. There’s also a cool little Energy Savings System feature that maximizes efficiency 100% of the time, both when you are actively using the shredder or when it’s in standby. If we ever get our bedroom office center set up like we want to, I will move this shredder in there and leave it on all the time. For now, it’s in our dining room and I unplug it after I use it, simply because I don’t want my kids to shred things! Which brings me to my absolute favorite feature: the patented SafeSense® Technology that automatically stops shredding when hands touch the paper opening so I don’t have to worry about little fingers. Obviously, you should still be cautious and not allow children to use the shredder but that safety feature allows me to feel confident in leaving it in our easily-accessible dining room.

4. Now that you’re getting into the routine of getting rid of the paper before it piles up, what do you do about the already piled paper? Well, you have to go through it. But, here’s my trick to do it quickly: sort it out by type of paper.

So, you have a pile of old mail: 3 pages from your insurance company, 2 medical bills, 3 utility bills, 2 credit card bills, some advertising pieces and a postcard from Grandpa and Grandma on vacation.

First, pitch that advertising in the trash! Anything that is addressed to … ” or current resident” doesn’t need to take up your space. Make an exception for coupons, if that’s your thing, but that’s about all the exceptions I can think of.

Second, separate the mail into the categories listed above: insurance documents, medical, utility, credit card and personal.

You can stop there for now if you need to or keep going.

Third, choose a pile and open up the main page. Depending on how much time I have, I try to start with the biggest pile. Get the worst done first. If it’s a bill that had already been paid, shred it. Your bank will have documentation of the payment and most companies have the option to look up your account online, including payment history. You don’t need the statement. If it had not been paid, it goes to the “needs attention” paper tray to be dealt with.

If the paper is something medical, legal or otherwise needs to be kept, put it in the “to be filled” tray.

If the paper is personal, decide whether you need to keep it or not. Something like a postcard from Dad or Grandpa and Grandma is something I will hang on the fridge for a while (like until they get back – not like months or years), share with my boys and then throw out. If it’s too sentimental, consider taking a photo of it and then discarding. You’ll have the photo to look back at later if you really want to. If you do keep it, file it away so it has a place. Don’t let it clutter.

Keep working your way through the piles, one at a time. I find I usually add to my piles before I ever get them all gone through completely. I still find the occasional box of papers that need to be sorted, but it’s getting better.

Mostly, I LOVE that my kitchen counters aren’t covered in old mail! I love knowing or personal information is safely destroyed with the Fellowes 79Ci shredder so I don’t have to worry. The 79Ci is available at Amazon and Office Superstores with a suggested retail price of $239.99. I love that I can use the shredder while my children are napping or when they are awake, I don’t have to plan getting rid of clutter papers that come into my home, I can just do it. This means I have more time to spend with my kids, doing festive holiday activities and that my house doesn’t look like a bomb went off. At least, not a paper bomb. We’re still working on a toy factory explosion problem. But that’s a whole different problem.

August 31, 2015 by Krista

Keeping Up With Our Filthiest Play

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Maytag for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I grew up with two sisters and one brother. When I was pregnant with Big J, I wanted a girl… because boys terrified me. I knew nothing about trucks, trains, dinosaurs and bugs. I wasn’t really afraid to get dirty, but it would be accurate to say that boys grossed me out. And intimidated me a little. Now I have three boys of my own, and it takes a real catastrophe to make me cringe at filthy messes now. It’s common to engage in the filthiest play we can. Did you really have fun if you didn’t get down and dirty seems to be a common theme within my four walls. And outside of them too.

To a young boy, everything needs to be explored. I’ve heard rumors of boys out there that are content to sit and color or read or paint, but those are not my boys. Things need to be tested – what does it take to destroy that? Into how many pieces can this napkin be torn? Is there really another tissue underneath this one? How many wipes are in one box? What happens when you mix mud and water? Can you add in some grass and rocks? Will all of my toys cover the entire floor? These are the things my boys seem to ask. My house is chaotic. It’s often disheveled and sometimes messy. Occasionally, it’s even filthy. Some of our messiest moments occur around the table.

Food is just one more thing that needs to be explored. My boys are not picky eaters. They will eat whatever is put in front of them because we have encouraged them to try new foods, sometimes more than once or twice or even thrice. Because they are allowed to explore their food before they eat it, they are comfortable with it and are willing to try things that they would otherwise turn up their noses to. Obviously, there is a time and place to encourage messy exploration and play. I love to provide those opportunities for by kids. They become more independent, curious and brave by allowing them the chance to get dirty.

We love to spend time together as a family outside. Whether we are camping, hiking, riding ATV’s or out playing in a lake somewhere, we love to explore the great outdoors. It provides to many teaching opportunities and it’s just plain fun. It can also be dirty. And that’s a wonderful thing. There are lots of ways to get your kids to explore some of life’s messier moments. Make mud pies or cakes and use sticks as birthday candles, play restaurant outside and see what your kids can come up with to “cook” for you, do science experiments together, find some rocks to climb on – the bigger, the better, make a mud puddle with a challenge to see who can get the dirtiest, build sandcastles at the beach or in the sandbox with recycled molds from around the house, like empty cans. Paint a picture together with watercolors or tempera paint, draw a picture or make a gameboard with chalk, look for bugs or lizards in the backyard or garden, go camping and get the kids to help pitch the tent and build the campfire, play baseball, kickball, or soccer and go all out! What’s your favorite way play in the dirt?

If the filthiest play is also a part of your daily lives, you know that you need something that will keep up with all the adventures. Maytag’s newest top-load washer and dryer can handle all the dirt and grime your filthiest play can manage to create. They are designed, engineered and assembled in America and have the power to clean big league stains. They are the official washer and dryer of MLB, which is filthy play to the core. Maytag laundry appliances will help clean up your filthiest plays!

Maytag is calling ball players of all ages to upload photos or videos of their sliding, diving or just “filthy plays” using the hashtag #MyFilthiestPlay” on Twitter or Instagram! There will be weekly prizes, and the opportunity of a lifetime – a grand prize trip to the World Series, plus a Maytag Top Load Washer and Dryer pair. Submissions will be accepted until September 14th, 2015. Come share your Filthiest Plays of the Week and you could win!

August 26, 2015 by Krista

Keep Track of Your Box Tops Labels With a DIY Collection Container

Thanks to General Mills® for sponsoring today’s post. All content is 100% original and honest. Pinky promise.

Last week I talked a little bit about why I love the Box Tops for Education labels program so much. It’s an awesome way for my family and I to be able to contribute to my children’s school without having to volunteer a lot of time and effort. While other volunteer opportunities are wonderful, I don’t always have that option with two other youngsters at home. With the Box Tops labels, I can still help out and it fits into my hectic and crazy life. All I have to do is buy participating products, clip the labels, and send them into school with my son. His school gets $0.10 for every label and the money can be used wherever the school needs it. Last year’s Box Tops money helped them keep their Physical Education teacher this year. Definitely a worthy use of the money to me. And I don’t have to go out of my way to buy special products I won’t use. The labels are on many of the things we already buy. And, right now, at Walmart you can score BONUS Box Tops labels, making each product worth $0.50!

But, with all these Box Tops labels being cut out and saved, it’s not difficult to end up with stacks and piles of small rectangles of paper. I know from experience, these are just begging to be eaten by little ones. I knew I needed a system to keeping them collected and all in one place (and away from the baby!) so that when it was time to turn them in to school, I would be able to do just that. So, I made a simple little collection box to help me, and the rest of my family, know what to do with the labels after we’d clipped them. It’s nothing fancy and it was pretty simple to put together. Ready to test out your origami skills?! It’s really quite easy, I promise there’s no mountain or valley folds waiting for you.

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION LABELS
DIY COLLECTION BOX

Materials:
– Small box or a larger box you can cut down
– Scissors or a box cutter
– Packing tape
– Ruler
– Pencil
– Magnets, if you’re going to keep the box on your fridge (reuse some old ones or check any craft department or store for blanks)
– Hot glue gun and glue sticks (if you’re going to put magnets on your box)
– Box label (optional)
– Scrapbook paper (optional)
– Scotch Tape (optional)
– Any other embellishments or decor

Directions:
– I knew I didn’t want a huge collection container hanging around my kitchen; because, after all, those Box Tops labels don’t take up a lot of space so my collection container didn’t need to either. I decided to cut up an old empty box to fit my size needs. I used a cereal box and it was perfect.
– If you want to make a box like mine you can use the following steps to make your box from the back of an old cereal box. Make adjustments if you need to or make or find your own box. I searched for “box template” on Google and the results were a little overwhelming, so I’m sure you can find something that will work for you.
– Use the scissors to cut the back panel off the box. You can use the front panel too, but mine had a hole in it (where I’d cut out a Box Tops label…). Lay it out on a flat surface in portrait orientation.

– Fold the box as shown in the image below. Just a single straight across fold about an inch and a half before the two edges line up.

– Make another fold just like the last one but about two inches before the two edges line up. This will create the bottom of your box.

– Measure in an inch on each side and mark it with the pencil.

– Cut off the inch you measured to create the front of the box. Then, cut in an inch on the first fold line you made to create a tab.

– Measure the bottom of the box and then take the same measurement on each of the sides of the box.

– Fold the cardboard back where you made the marks and put a strip of packing tape on it with the sticky side up. Repeat this step on the other side of the box too.

– Fold up the front of the box and secure the tape by sticking your hand or the ruler inside the box and pressing down down firmly.

– When your box is all assembled you can take your scrapbook paper and cover up the old box print. Fold it around your box and use the Scotch tape to hold it in place. It’s like wrapping a present.

– I wanted it to be incredibly obvious what the little box was for, so I found a large photo of the Box Tops logo and printed it out to put on the front of my box.

– Attach the magnets to the back of the box with hot glue. Hang on your fridge or other metal surface.

You’re now ready to begin collecting those little Box Tops labels! Or transfer your current collection into their new home for safe keeping. This will help make sure we don’t have Box Tops labels floating aimlessly around our house and that they get turned into cash for our school. I can’t wait to see what they decide to do with the money they earn this year! Guess I better go eat another Mint Chocolate Brownie so I can turn in that Box Tops label. <Wink, wink> Right now, you can score BONUS Box Tops labels on select General Mills® products at Walmart! What are you waiting for, fill up that collection box!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of General Mills®. The opinions and text are all mine.

DECLUTTER PAPER FROM THESE 9 SPOTS FOR A MORE PEACEFUL HOME

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION LABELS DIY COLLECTION BOX

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BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION LABELS
DIY COLLECTION BOX