Decluttering PILES OF PAPER and Getting ORGANIZED! 📑

[@pattik8335]

Oh, Erica, I felt that grief come over you and cried along with you. It's those little things that jump out at us and can take us over the edge for a brief moment. It's been four years since I lost my Mom and miss her terribly. Hugs to you.

[@mountaingarden8823]

Lost my Mom this June 😥 My husband lost his stepfather in August 23, and father this April. So much grief while we try to focus on the happy memories of times shared.

[@dianegriffen2756]

Crying with you (had to stop the video). Yes it still hits at unexpected times. Thank you for your authenticity. Hugs to you Erica. xx

[@lorainkyusa]

Bless you, Erica!!! Thank you for leaving in your grieving part. I still have these moments. I cried with you today!! I have been married for 42 years to my best friend. He has helped me so much through life! As I him. But when these moments hit, it's hard. I just take what time I need to calm down. I go with it. Don't fight it. It needs to come out. I helped my mom take care of my dad til he passed away in 2016. Then I became my mom's full-time caregiver til she passed away in 2019. Dad was my rock, my go-to guy since childhood. Mom was my strength (because she was tough) much tougher than me. I miss them both so much!! At times, it takes my breath away 😞 But I thank God every day for the time I was blessed with them on earth. And I thank God for the wonderful man he matched me with! God really knows what he's doing!! I'm sending you hugs and kisses from Kentucky... You got this!! ❤😊

[@EricaLucasLoves]

Hugs in return to you!

[@amykotlarski9250]

Aww Erica...a hug for you...a prayer for you...a thanks for you...for sharing such a personal and emotional moment with us.

[@sbelcher4651]

Pensive chuckle from me as you shared your mom’s letter . . . second anniv. of my mom’s death is the 6th. Been there many times . . . The out of nowhere, sucker punch ones are the strangest. I’ve been fortunate to be alone when they hit, glad to see you had time to sit and process this one. In the past two yrs I’ve gone from a hoarded 2,300 sf house & garage apt (both of us) to a 390 sf tiny home and 10x10 storage unit. So much to go thru, so many “pause” moments. Don’t forget to breathe . . . “waiting to exhale” has a whole new meaning. Much love and best wishes!

[@kristinagrace1536]

As one who has also lost a mother and a brother I can so relate to your grief. I still cry out of the blue sometimes and my mother has been gone 20 years. Grief is a funny thing. Hugs friend

[@EricaLucasLoves]

It’s rough. Hugs to you!

[@deborahmagnin2471]

❤🙏🙏Hugs and prayers to you Erica.. I am so sorry for the loss of your beloved, beautiful, gourmet chef, and amazing Mom; and your gifted, intelligent, and funny brother Adam!❤️🙏🙏

[@allieblank5992]

Thank you for leaving the vulnerable clip. My dad passed two years ago and I still have random moments that catch me off guard. But that's grief isn't it? ❤I take the time to cry- feel it, then let it go, and try not to let it consume me.

[@anitastocker7315]

Girl we're SO going through grief together crying hurts but it's a healthy hurt

[@EricaLucasLoves]

Healthy hurt. I like that phrase.

[@arianbhagat5349]

Thank you for keeping your moment of grief in the video. Grief certainly hits us when we’re not expecting it. 😢

[@serenitynoworganisingvanco8220]

The journey of grief cuts our breath - not easy. 💔

[@aliceb4070]

Grief can come over us at the most unexpected times. I feel for you. Sending hugs and prayers.

[@MyBlessedNest]

I love the “real life” of this video! Ty!

[@wewemcrhyne]

Grief sucks! I’m so sorry about your mom and your brother. I’m sure you’ve already learned this, but for others that haven’t yet; the grief has to be gone through. Even if you push it down and push it away, it will hit you when you aren’t prepared for it. If you can, when it comes, allow it. Lean into it. Experience it. And you will be one step closer to healing. And once we’ve let come, it will be, then it will ease. You are an excellent example of walking through grief. Thank you

[@ellielizhavenofbless945]

Crying with you Erica, 13 years for me without my mom , and I still cry when I come across her things or anything that reminds me of her. Big hugs to you ❤️❤️ I hate that you joined the "motherless mother's" club.

[@shelleydavies1639]

How generous of you to share that emotion

[@sheilahaner9124]

Hugs to you, but put the Girl Scouts items in a GREEN bag (I’m sure you have one already - ha!). I use color or bag pictures to help me remember what’s in each one.

[@sharonhenry2820]

On the back of a Yahtzee score pad, my mom recorded each person's personal best (high score). Herself, children, grandchildren and extended family who visited and played the game. I still keep it and she has been gone almost 10 years. It means a lot to me to see her handwriting and it is a physical reminder of the connection she had with loved ones. (Not to mention her love of games.) So no I don't think it is odd for you to be hit with strong emotions when you came across the game instructions that your mom wrote. Especially since it was for a game he invented. ❤

[@melissastoltenow9683]

You are not alone. I just went through 7 totes down to 5. One of them was one with my mom's papers,when she passed away in 2022. My friend's mom just passed June 16th and it brought all the emotions back. Big hugs

[@DM-ym9jh]

I appreciate your open honesty. I had a dresser full of paperwork and notes from when I went through cancer. It took me a long time to finally tackle it. Emotional paperwork is not easy. I still have a large tote of things that belonged to my mom that I haven’t opened for 20 years. Thank you for this transparent video.

[@judyellen4412]

Thank you so much for how real your videos are. I am sure you helped a lot of people today by talking about your Mom. It’s funny because I always wonder what it would have been like to have a mother that was nice. My Mom passed away 6 yrs ago and I don’t really feel much about her. I always try to be a better Mom to my sons, than my Mom was to me.

[@DipityS]

The paper declutter follows the same rhythms as a normal declutter - the same roadblocks - then categories becoming clear - then sort sort sort - then take everything back to its home - to do - or trash. You're going through a brutally hard time - and allowing yourself to be vulnerable to maybe help others is a beautiful act of grace - I can only send my love to you and yours.

[@kathryngarcia8800]

Yes, we are in this together. I have a voice mail saved from my Mom wishing me a Happy Birthday. She sounded so frail so its difficult to listen to, but I can't delete it. ❤ Oh, paperwork can be a real burden!

[@donnafleisher]

Erica, thank you for being so real

[@brendadigiacomandrea547]

I love the artwork hanging in the windows. 😍 hugs my sweet friend ❤❤

[@sharonsomers5513]

You broke my heart watching you about your mothers hand writing. I wanted to give you a hug.

[@Heather.C.ButterflySage]

This is excellent. I have paperwork I'm needing to sift through again, another layer of the onion. Thanks for your vulnerability regarding grief and your losses. Heartful appreciation for your work in the world. Blessings to you and your family.

[@kims914]

Thinking of you Erica. Thank you for sharing your grief. Most of us are feeling the same way. ❤

[@josephdaly2015]

Erica you did great going through so much paper. You are brave to leave in the raw emotions of grief. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. Mary, Joes wife 🙇‍♀️👏💪👍🙏💐

[@pameehanson3866]

Thanks for sharing your moment with your mom’s note. As I go thru papers, books and mentos of my hubby I felt your pain🥲 it hits at odd moments. Liked your taking us thru a process to sort and organize. ❤

[@fbz2415]

Dear Erica, huge hugs for you. I lost my father this year, he was 96 and was really well for his age but one month before he passed away he had a stroke, it was time for him to met the Lord, but it doesn't make it easy, I still think that he will come home anytime, love from southamerica

[@wyattperry557]

Thank you so much for leaving the grief in. This is also my life after losing my daughter Sarah, F29 in November.

[@janego2018]

I am so sorry for your loss ❤

[@EricaLucasLoves]

I am so sorry for your loss.

[@3TXSisters]

Grief will strike at the strangest times. My beloved sister passed away in 2014. I still find myself in unexpected tears without any particular reason. It's not as often as the first two years, but it still occurs. Great inspiration for cleaning off my desk. Take care, Linda 🦋

[@joannafoster3423]

Oh grief. I lost my birth mother and paternal grandmother who raised me when she couldn't in the last year and a half. My best friend, mother of 3 young children, is fighting stage 4 cancer. Grief. It can come at unexpected time for sure. God be with us!

[@amy03755]

Thank you!

[@sandrafromscotland]

You are not alone Erica. I can relate to keeping handwritten pieces from my Mum and seeing the changes in handwriting. Thanks for keeping that in 💞 Well done sorting through those papers bag lady 🙌 p.s. I'm sure I've said bag lady before and I say it with a smile because watching you I see that bags work for you 😊

[@tanyajohnston8262]

Hugs ❤

[@juliecombs462]

Thanks for taking us along with you. 😊

[@bethstratton3391]

Oh Erica, well done for dealing with your desk and pushing through, both when you hit indecision and when you found the note from your mum. I can really see how much you love her and she is with you in your heart. She must have been such an amazing lady. I know this from the way you have talked about her in your previous video’s. I just wanted to say, I watched your video literally straight after I found out someone I have chatted with online with for over ten years has late stage cancer. Your crying gave me a release to cry for them, their family and what they are going through. Thank you for being so raw and honest in your videos and giving us real genuine emotion. Sending you a big hug. 🤗

[@marilynshelton2371]

Cute glasses frames. I think gold vintage eyeglasses are super cute. ❤

[@phyllischavez6662]

I saw the title of this vidio & got excited❤😂!0

[@jenniferbarney4220]

Sending a virtual hug. Grief is tough...

[@jennyjenkins877]

Thank you for sharing all of it. Decluttering can be such an emotional rollercoaster sometimes.

[@jacquelinejordan1588]

Love to you 💖💖 I call those my steel magnolia moments, where crying jags just come over you. Best wishes

[@WatchingtilJesusComes]

My Mom passed away June 11th…the grief is real. I am still processing…it doesn’t feel real. ❤❤❤

[@EricaLucasLoves]

Hugs.

[@pppetra]

Grief is the strangest thing ever. I am not attached to stuff. Except for stuff i made 5 years ago for my son. Not because he came around after 10 years of infertility (A whole world of grief as well) but because my mother helped me. For the first time in my life i actually had a mom. (Childhood grief) Not even a year later i buried my mom while having a 10 months old baby. Grief is still at least a weekly thing. It just hits sometimes a little and sometimes i am swept of my feet completely.

[@terryruiz7417]

I had to smile when I heard what you were doing. I began the day tackling three dresser drawers, then a bit in a closet, and on to my desk to sort through paperwork. I cam to a stopping point at lunch, just short of filing. The job, not finished, but better than things were. Full bag to donate, full trash can to empty. Now, enjoying you, and after loss of my dad and oldest brother, I get it. Big hug to you!

[@valmc9652]

Found a note from my dad today on the back of an old envelope. He died in 2008. It says 'Enjoy your day Val'. What are the chances?

[@Funtime39Richardd]

You are fun to watch ty erica, you are very organized

[@jacquelynmoloney6172]

Wow 15 categories, that would hurt my brain. 🤯

[@dewryce1121]

For things like your temporary file (I call it my HandleIt! pile) I like using a clipboard. It differentiates and gives them more of a physical impact than other piles, plus it’s useful for when I’m actually handling things. The ones that have storage are awesome because they can coral smaller items, and I only have what I’m currently working on out on top using the actual clipboard.

[@karenstairs8273]

I use the same bag for my Spark Life Binder. My Granddaughter just got married and I made her and her new husband a Spark Life Binder too.

[@dianamarsden1933]

Great video! You gave me the path to how to sort papers categories I had never considered. Thank you dear Erica you help me so much.

[@raymondmonaghan4112]

Maybe that little memory could be in a photo frame just thought love from Eugenie your friend xxx ✨💕

[@nolasavedmysoul]

I didn’t think I had paper clutter cause I always deal with everything as soon as it comes in the door. Well, boy was I wrong lol. I gathered all my filed papers the other day and decluttered yearrrrsss of papers. Digitized what I wanted to keep and got rid of sooooo much! Shredded hundreds of papers. It all took about 6 hours and I wondered what the heck I got myself into but now I’m free of the stupid paper!

[@MR-rw3vc]

😊

[@petrakihlstrom8163]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@limonade2684]

This was a tough task. I struggle with paper too and I would love, if you could share more of your thoughts and experience. Have you managed your work pile soon? This is the worst for me.

[@connieverbeck1110]

❤️🙏👏👏👏👏

[@pamelafreeman4548]

❤😊

[@suzannerockall4030]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@brg2743]

Paper cluttercollects faster than any other kind of clutter imo. Open it, put it either in do now, trash, or wait and see pile. As soon as mail comes, go through it and trash what can be trashed.

[@barbaraweber3084]

Busy mama. My mother was a war bride (German) and later in life a mean, nasty, demanding woman. She took out all of her life's disappointments on us five children, but you know what? I still miss her anyway but the sorrow is still there. We are all functioning adults now and when we get together we can laugh at it and shake our heads but no tears.

[@lauramitchell6725]

🫤

[@limonade2684]

I think your mom was very ungrateful. Living in a fairly rich country and raising five kids is nothing to be disappointed of. Greetings from Germany.

[@barbaraweber3084]

@@limonade2684 we all realize how hard she had it in the war and how all her hopes and dreams were tied up in our dad and our country. We all fall short so we understand and hold no disregard. It was difficult for her too. She had an expectation of her children that only one of us met (not me 🙂). I am the youngest at 63. I feel the worst for my brother. I think she expected the most out of him.

[@johnandkitty]

I'm so sorry, Erica. This is so hard.

[@sonyahubbard3226]

🫂🫂

[@siameseire]

💛😥💛

[@christinedisneyqueen5746]

Thank you for sharing. I know it was not easy, at times. 🩷

[@keyisme1356]

I never seem to finish my paperwork piles. I sort and file most of it, and let most of my deadlines pass. 🫣