We know we start almost every article with, one of the things we see the most in our clients home is... but there is a reason for that. In general, people tend to have a lot of stuff in their homes and so there are common challenges and trouble areas in everyone's space. One such category is stationery. From envelopes to greeting cards to old addresses and baby thank you notes we see a lot of paper clutter from stationery.
The Pretty
One reason the people keep cards and writing paper is that it is often not only pretty and colorful but sometimes down right beautiful. With that in mind, think about letting go of the generic or plain stationery keeping only the truly special. Think about the total number of cards and letters you send in a year. Maybe it is time to recycle those bent, dirty, out-dated and pieces with missing envelopes.
The Future
People tend to keep cards and paper for aspirational reasons. Whether it be guilt or a sense of longing for simpler times, we see people hang on to stationery as wish fulfillment instead of action not to mentioned a feeling of "should". Once you have narrowed down the amount you have collected over the years, focus on the action. Take a letter or card out and write the address on it and stamp it as step one. Don't worry about writing the perfect message, people love getting things in the mail that isn't junk or bills.
The Kids
Donate your excess stationery to preschools, scouts or after-school programs for craft projects. Again think about how often you send cards and letters to determine the amount you need to keep. Kids love writing on envelopes and filling them with all manner of things. How about teaching children about the lost art of letter writing and personalized thank you notes? Think of the brownie points your little one will get for writing to the grandparents instead of texting.
