Welcome to day 7 of Blogmas! Do you have that pile {or piles} of paperwork lying around that doesn’t really have a home to live in? Stuff that clutters up your surfaces but if you put away will likely be forgotten about? I know I do. And it’s taken me the majority of my adult life to finally find a solution. The Sunday Basket!
I first heard about this concept from The Minimal Mom on YouTube. As some of you may know I am a HUGE fan of my “bung-it basket” and this system triggered another one of those “ah ha!” moments for me. The “Sunday Basket” was created by Lisa Woodruff from Organize 365 to help organise household paperwork. And the system is as simple as it sounds – a place {or “basket”} where your paperwork lives and gets dealt with every single Sunday {or whatever day of the week you decide}. It’s a routine which creates a simple “command centre” which allows you to locate papers when you need them with the idea that eventually the time you spend sorting and actioning the items within your Sunday Basket becomes less leaving you more time to do the things you want.
Here I’m going to share with you how to set up your own Sunday Basket and and how to make it work for YOU:
Setting up your Sunday Basket
There are loads of great examples of Sunday Baskets on Pinterest – all you need is some kind of box {it doesn’t have to be fancy} and a simple filing system – labelled plastic wallets, a concertina file etc. Then collect up all the random papers, post, lists etc. cluttering up your space and put them in the basket. You could also use it to store your diary, a pencil case, a notebook and/or your budget information {like these FREE budget resources}.
Establish your system
On Sunday {or whichever day you decide} sort your papers into actionable categories – for example, to action this week, this month, to file, to pay etc. then dedicate some time to completing those tasks which need urgent attention {whether it’s half an hour or an hour a week}. Establish your system by re-visiting it every week ensuring those papers which need urgent attention are dealt with during your “Sunday Basket hour” and everything else is moved into the correct folder.
Expand your system
Start using your Sunday Basket to store projects or ideas – all in separate files to ensure you keep coming back to them for review. Use your “Sunday Basket hour” to complete your weekly meal plan or review your diary for the week.
Create a “time will tell” folder – this is something The Minimal Mom suggested which I think is a really great idea to store things that don’t require action – for example it may be a letter letting you know about some upcoming road closures etc. which you don’t necessarily need to do someting with but want to keep around for reference until that work has been completed.
What goes in my Sunday Basket
For my Sunday Basket I’ve been using a Kallax storage box. Inside I have a concertina file with coloured plastic wallets labelled “this week”, “this month”, “time will tell” and “Budgets”. I will also add in projects etc. over time. I also keep a notebook and my paper diary {which I am starting to phase out use of in favour of my digital planner – find out more here} and some post-its to jot down thoughts and ideas. Every week during my “Sunday Basket hour” I then gather up my various white boards {find my FREE monthly and weekly planner templates here} and update them with the week ahead.
This is a process I’m still refining to make work for ME but I’ve definately found it really helpful in dedicating not only a space for all those loose bits of paper and notes but to also sit and dedicate some time to keeping on top of my life admin.
What would you put in your Sunday Basket? I’d love to know if this is a system you find useful!
Ellie x
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