Unclutter the Paperwork at the Office

Uncluttering and organizing the paperwork at your place of employment involves the same processes as uncluttering and organizing the paperwork in your home (or is it the other way around?)  The biggest difference is that at work you probably have to get permission from higher-ups to go through and organize paperwork.

If the clutter at work is horrible, you could be suggesting an action that everyone thinks should be done, but that no one wants to take on.  You too may be thinking that the people at work should be more organized, but unless someone (perhaps you) suggest ways to get organized, you are just going to be frustrated.

• Everyone should have an inbox on their desk which represents the things they need to work on (not just the day's mail).
• Decide (this could require a meeting or some guidance from others), what paperwork and files are no longer valid and can get shredded.  Pull this old paperwork from the file cabinets and be surprised by all the space the office cabinets now have. 
• If some files need to be held for a certain number of years, remove them from the active files and put them in boxes that are labeled with the year, contents, and the date when they can be disposed.  Move these boxes to a room where these files won't be confused or mixed up with the stuff that is currently important. 
• Be prepared to go through file folders page-by-page in order to have the most current and relevant information in each folder.
• Use a label maker and make neat, printed labels for each folder.  This is a simple technique for adding to the organized appearance of your filing system.
• Create a uniform filing system.  For example, if you are using hanging file folders, will you put the plastic tabs along the front of the file or the back of the folder.  Folders should be the appropriate size for your file cabinet - if the cabinet holds legal-size folders is it because you have legal-size paper in those folders?  Otherwise, you are wasting space.  Also, avoid a mix of letter-size and legal-size file folders in the same cabinet as it makes it too easy for folders to end up in the incorrect place. 
• As the new system develops, talk to people about how to find and then put away folders in the cabinets. 
• Encourage everyone to clean their own files.  When someone starts organizing things, with hope, this inspires others to create a similar organization. 
• Know that you and your coworkers will need weekly, monthly, or yearly time schedules to clean up and update files.

Uncluttering and organizing the files at work doesn't make your company money, and so this may become a low priority.  However, your company can save time and stress when they can get their hands on the most current information that they need, when they need it.

I can help you organize personal or business paperwork, including the files associated with elderly relative or their estate.  If you live in Massachusetts, in one of the following towns, contact me at SusanCaplanMcCarthy@gmail.com to discuss how I can assist: Canton, Foxboro, Franklin, Holliston, Mansfield, Medfield, Medway, Milford, Natick, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, and Wrentham. 

15 Minutes to Organization

If you are struggling staying organized, one of the first things you need to figure out is where to put something.  After you can answer the question, Where Does This Go?, you next need to come up with a system that will encourage you to maintain the organization you create by decluttering. 

• Know where something goes.  Don't accept, "Oh, this will go in the file cabinet" as an answer.  Know that you have a labeled file so you can file a paper and then retrieve it when necessary.  Yes, it takes time to create that file; but, once done, you will be more organized because in the future you can put things in their proper place.
• Buy organizing materials only if necessary.  Think about reusing or repurposing drawers, bins, baskets, etc.  If you declutter, you'll find that you have a lot of empty containers that used to hold and organize stuff that you no longer need. 
• Put your organizing tools in the correct place.  (If you've answered the question, where does this go, you know where the correct place is.)
• Devote 15 minutes every day to putting stuff away.  If you get too involved and get tired pushing yourself to do more than 15 minutes, then set the timer on your smartphone or computer and make sure the volume is turned up high. 

Fifteen minutes may not seem to be enough time to get organized or maintain organization, but this is nearly two hours a week.  Would you rather spend two hours on Saturday putting stuff away?  Although it takes time to get organized and to maintain your system, a little bit of effort every day can remind you of your goals for organization.

Where Does This Go?

I find organizing easy and maintenance hard.  When I stop and ask why I have a more difficult time maintaining organization it usually comes down to having a place to put the things that I otherwise just "dump."

Look around your house and notice what items end up in disorganized piles on tabletops, counters, and the floor of closets as well as things that swirl around inside your drawers. 

Next, ask, where should these items go if they weren't just dumped where you found them.

If you don't have an answer to that question then you've discovered your problem, that you own items that don't really have a proper spot within your home. 

To solve your problem, you need to figure out an answer that may or may not involve some sort of organizational tool.  Before you go out and buy anything, decide where your stuff should go, one item at a time.  Ask, where would I (my partner, my kids) go looking to find this item?  Why isn't this item already there?  What do I need to do or provide so the item goes where we are going to look for it?

If you want shoes by the front door, do you have a shoe rack or a basket for every member of your household to store their shoes by the door?  Also, do you have a chair, bench, or stool where people can sit to take off their shoes without wandering into the kitchen or living room in search of a chair (and then leaving their shoes where they took them off)?

Instead of accusing housemates of slovenly habits, ask them what they need in order to put something away.  You might have to ask a series of questions in order to solve some issues.  Why don't family members hang up their coat ... oh, because there are no empty hangers or hooks where they can hang their coat. 

Although an obvious question, where should this go, it is a question that can reveal clues to maintaining organization in your home or office. 

When Life Leaves You Disorganized

It happens.  Life gets in the way of living and you are faced with your own, or a loved one's hospitalization, illness, death; job loss; returning to school; caring for children, grandchildren, or parents; moving, etc., etc.

You devote all of your energy to getting through each day with its added demands.  Every so often, you take a breath and realize that you've lost your routine and things are piling up and you don't know where to start. 

• Bring all your paperwork together in one place, be it a basket, bin, corner of your desk, table, shelf, floor in a room.
• Go through your current files and pull out out-of-date statements, bills, policies, etc.  Tossing stuff doesn't take that much time and you'll clear up some space for the stuff you need to file.
• Pick up a piece of paper from your pile and glance at it.  Do you need to do something with it, like pay it, mark an event on your calendar, call someone, etc.? If you've already handled that task, file the paper (or toss it).  If you have to do something, do it now.
• One piece of paper at a time, file everything.  Set a timer and stop after 15 or 30 or 60 minutes, whatever you can handle.  You know you are pushing yourself when you start to feel uptight or you are losing your focus.  You don't have to play days/weeks/months/years of catch-up in a single evening.

If working through your paper clutter on your own is too much, you can hire me to help you declutter paperwork and set up a filing system.  I can help at your home or small business.  I also understand the challenges of going through paperwork when a relative leaves their home.

At this time, I am available to go to the following towns in Massachusetts: Canton, Foxboro, Franklin, Holliston, Mansfield, Medfield, Medway, Milford, Natick, Norfolk, Norwood, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood, Wrentham.  Email me at SusanCaplanMcCarthy@gmail.com

Maintaining Organization

At some point, you've probably buckled down and organized your paper clutter.  You got rid of irrelevant papers and files, you started new file folders, you put paperwork in its place.  Two weeks later you couldn't find your desk for the new mess that had accumulated. 

While getting organized is tedious, it isn't difficult.  I've always found that maintaining organization takes more effort. 

Why?

Because once you force yourself to sit down and get organized, you can get through the task in a few (or perhaps, several) hours.  Maintenance requires daily effort.  Like maintaining weight loss, maintaining organization isn't about willpower.  Instead, think of keeping organized as a habit, similar to brushing your teeth. 

Chances are that you don't complain about spending two minutes brushing your teeth every day; so, your goal in staying organized is to make it a habit. 

• Make it a habit to put all paperwork (mail, school notices, ads or articles torn from the newspaper or a magazine) in a single box/bin/basket.  This isn't a clean-up technique.  This means, you tell your kids, spouse, roommate, etc. to put paperwork in this basket instead of handing it to you.  This also means that you don't drop the mail on the kitchen table, you drop it in the bin.
• Select a time, say while the dishwasher is running or after you've said goodnight to your kids, to sit down and go through the papers.  If the bin isn't already at your desk/file cabinet/checkbook/calendar/recycle bin, bring it to this location and sit down.  Don't sit in front of the television as a bribe for doing this task - it will take you longer. 
• As you touch each piece of paper, record dates into your calendar, write checks, file papers you need to refer to again, toss those papers you don't need.  As you file papers, you can update the folder by tossing out older paperwork. 

You may grumble that you don't have time for this.  This habit of going through your paperwork will take no more than fifteen minutes a day, five days a week - you can probably give yourself the weekend off.  You can also avoid feeling overwhelmed by paperwork because you haven't maintained your organizing system and now you have months (or years) of paperwork to go through.

One bin + 15 minutes of daily effort = less stress and more organization

Everything in Its Place

If you've ever struggled to find a piece of paper that you needed and then considered yourself hopelessly disorganized because you made a mess trying to find it, I have a question for you, "Why couldn't you find the piece of paper?"

Was the document misfiled?
Was it filed at all?

If paperwork is overwhelming you because it is piled in stacks throughout your home, does that paper clutter have a proper home?  By that, I mean, do you have labeled file folders that fit in a file box or drawer? 

This may seem like an obvious solution; but, if you don't have a place to put a piece of paper that you want to refer to again in the future, then you are missing an essential element to getting and (perhaps more important) staying organized. 

Start by getting a box of file folders and a cardboard box to temporarily store the files.  I say a cardboard box because you don't really know if you need a small bin or a four-drawer file cabinet.  Don't spend money on the wrong thing. 

Then, find and bring every piece of paper in your home into one room, on or near a single flat surface where you can work.

Next, pick up whatever piece of paper that happens to be sitting on top and ask if it is something that you would ever need to refer to again. 

If the answer is "no," toss the paper.  If the answer is, "yes," then take a folder and label it with the topic.  Specific is good; general is bad.  "My Town Credit Union; Checking" is better than "Bank Stuff."  Remember, a file folder is a place to hold paperwork that you want to find again quickly and easily. 

Never label a folder, "Miscellaneous."  Really, what would you put in there?  If you want to find it again, even if it is a single piece of paper or a half sheet of paper, give it a folder with a specific label. 

Keep going through each and every sheet of paper.  Eventually, you'll be able to file papers into file folders.  As you do, you are creating a file system that will work for you.

Although this is time consuming, it isn't a complicated task; but it can be overwhelming in the beginning and prevent you from seeing how you can start.  Just work your way through each sheet of paper and you'll find your own sense of organization.

Never Touch a Piece of Paper More than Once?

You may have heard the tip that you should never touch a piece of paper more than once.  This suggests immediate action, open a bill and pay it, record information on your calendar, file a page for reference.

Although this is a lovely, useful tip, it is one that I've never managed.  As I mentioned the other day, an in/out box is a fantastic solution to gathering in one place the papers that you know require a second step. 

The next important step is to have a place to put those papers after you've handled the task associated with them.  In some cases, the next step is to toss the paper in the recycling bin.

However, if it is your home owner's policy or a receipt you need for your taxes, then you need a file dedicated to those papers.

If you need to get your hands on a piece of paper in the future, then you need a place to file it so you can get to it quickly and without a lot of stress because you don't know where it is.

Setting up a file system can take more time than you think it should.  Going through and tossing unnecessary papers is the easy part.  Organizing your papers, so they aren't clutter but accessible files, can take two-to-six hours, depending on what (if any) system you have. 

So, more about how to create a filing system another day ... along with the one file label you want to avoid.

In and Out with Paper Clutter

Even if you do your banking and a lot of your communicating online, chance are you still feel overwhelmed by all of the paper in our "paperless" society.  At the moment, I'm working on settling my father's estate and buying a house.  And that doesn't even include work.

Although I have a lot of information stored on my computer, I also find it helpful to print out copies of documents ... and I have a lot of paperwork that people hand to me ... not to mention paint chip samples and pages torn from magazines. 

I have a plastic tote filled folders.  If my husband comments on something, I can pull out a file folder in the time it takes me to walk over the file box.

I've also learned that my stack of unfiled papers can go from nothing to I-can't-see-the-top-of-my-desk within hours.  Most stuff doesn't get filed right away.  Sometimes, it doesn't even get filed within a week (and I start to get anxious ... isn't there something there that needs to get done?).

I've made a conscious effort to keep all the paperwork in one place so when I do have time to go through it, I can evaluate everything at one.  I keep one pile, in one place, of paperwork that needs to get filed.

One pile/one place may not seem like a big deal, but ask yourself where your piles of papers are?  Do you have a stack on the kitchen or dining room table ... and your desk ... and your bedroom bureau ... and on a countertop in the kitchen ... and ....

I'm not talking about your filed papers (although you should have your files in one place), I'm referring to that paperwork that needs to be read or paid or filled out before you can mail it or file it or do something to it.  It is all to easy to allow numerous stacks of papers to form around you house.  This can equal missed deadlines and the stress of seeing all these papers demanding attention whenever you turn around.

So, today, buy an "in/out" tray at the office supply store, grab that basket or plastic bin that you already own, heck, take a shallow cardboard tray and move all your paper clutter into this box.  This doesn't put the paperwork where it ultimately belongs, but it does allow you to see what needs to be done.  Think of it as pre-organizing.

The next step, is to address each piece of paper ....

A Year of Files

Ever wonder where to put that bill that isn't due for two months or the coupon that won't expire until the summer? 

One of my favorite paper filing tips comes from David Allen's book, Getting Things Done.  Although a lot of his tips are geared to executives, I've used his system of monthly files for two or three years.

Basically, you label one file folder for each month.  If you have to file a piece of paper that you need to refer to in an upcoming month, you tuck the paper into the appropriate folder.  If I have something that is due or expires within the first few days of a month, I usually file it in the previous month's folder, so I respond in a timely fashion. 

These twelve folders sit in my active file box and I always keep the current month to the front.  When the month is over, I tuck the folder to the back so the files are always being rotated. 

I've found this filing system useful not just for bills and coupons/gift certificates, but for magazine clippings for crafts, recipes, and other sundry details than I want to remember to take advantage of next year.

David Allen also suggested keeping thirty-one folders, for each day of the month, but my work doesn't require anything that exacting.  However, the twelve monthly folders are a tip I'd highly recommend you take advantage of.

Important Papers to Keep

I'm all for uncluttering your paperwork (and the rest of your home), but that doesn't mean that you should get rid of every piece of paper.  Some of the things that you should hold onto are obvious - like birth certificates, passports, and the title to your car.

However, there is a lot of other paperwork that not only should you hold onto but that you should also have filed in a way that you can easily access the information.  If a lot of your "paperwork" is stored online, you should still be able to go to this information when you need it. 

Check out the government's suggestions for what you should keep in Managing Household Records.  Have a file bin or cabinet with folders where you can keep these documents.  If you and your partner have two credit cards, make a file folder for each individual card as opposed to a generic "credit card" folder.  Even if you pay your credit card online, do you have something that would guide your partner regarding account information if something happened to you?

Make a folder for receipts for large purchases - one (or more) folders for computers, one for bedroom furniture, one for each large appliance.  You can keep warranties with the purchases.  If something goes wrong, you won't waste time looking for the paperwork you need.

Organize your gadget's owner's manuals with this plan from my article, Organize the Owner's Manuals for All the Appliances and Gadgets in Your Home on Squidoo.com.

Organizing your paperwork isn't about trying to create a perfect system.  It is about saving time and frustration when you need to access something.  You don't have to worry about forgetting the last time you had a physical because you'll have a file folder with the printout from your last series of blood work.  You'll be able to take those tax deductions because you've kept the receipts for your donations in a file folder.

Make your files work for you.

Don't Hide Your Clutter

Don't hide your clutter.  Figure out how you can eliminate it.  Yesterday, I showed off my storage closet that holds files, yarn, craft show display items, writing idea notebooks, teaching props, etc. - and how I cleaned and organized the space.

One of the problems with the space is that it allowed me to hide things from view.  I could toss an item on the floor of the closet and close the door and - ta dah! - the mess I just created was "gone."

Think about the places around your home where it is really easy to hide your clutter:

• the junk drawer
• the closet by the front door
• your clothing closet
• any closet
• any and all drawers in your bedroom, kitchen, office
• the attic
• the basement
• the laundry room
• any place where you can close the door and ignore what is in the room!

No, clutter that's out in the open isn't "better," but you probably have more incentive to clean the top of your desk than you do to organize a desk drawer that can stay closed. 

• Ask yourself if you are shutting away things that you don't really need, which is why they can stay hidden.
• If you can't find your sneakers at the bottom of your closet or a pen in your junk drawer, then you need to organize those items.  Think of ways to make your shoes more visible and accessible.  Consider if a jar filled with pens, pencils, scissors, and other office supplies could sit on your countertop or desk so you can grab the items when you need them.
• "Fence in" your clutter.  Have an in-box for mail, receipts, and any other piece of paper that enters your home.  Go through the box each day.  If the stack of paper becomes level with the top of the in-box, it is time to work through your papers and file what you need to keep.
• Have uncovered bins, boxes, buckets, baskets, etc. where toys, craft supplies, magazines, and other things that take over the surfaces in your home can be slid into when you are done with the items one day and yet found quickly the next time you want the items. By not putting a cover on these storage containers, you can see the items and they aren't hidden away.  They remain easy to access.

When I hide things, after a while they cease to exist.  I forget what I have and then I wonder why my closet or drawer is so messy.  Every time I rediscover something that I forgot about, I feel guilty for owning something I'm not using and then I start to wonder if I really need the item.

How about you?

Before and After Storage

Before
Unfortunately, the closet in our spare room has become my personal dumping ground.  Because I can close the door, I can avoid having others see the mess.  We don't have a lot of storage in our apartment, and I have a lot of stuff from the different aspects of my life. 

• I teach nature classes so I have a tote bag that I carry on fieldtrips.  I also have an assortment of props that I use for different classes.
• I make and sell crafts on Etsy (WeeCatCreations.etsy.com), go to craft shows, and sell items on consignment at a few gift shops.  This means that I have a supply of yarn and finished items, plus display items.
• I keep a file box for managing my father's estate. 
• I have memorabilia from my parents that isn't stuff that I'd keep on display but that I can't get rid of (both of my parents have died in the past five years).  (Dad worked for the Post Office, hence the mail bin, which he received when he retired.)
• As a writer, I have a box filled with ideas written in notebooks.  I hope to get around to working on these projects someday.
• I also keep my personal files in a file bin that sits in my closet.
• And, I have some costuming in here, as well.

Analyzing the Problem
Fortunately, this isn't the same closet where I store my clothing.  I realized that I was literally tossing things in the closet because I had some boxes stacked so high that it was a pain to move everything and put things away properly.

After

I moved the bin of memorabilia to the shelf because it was a bother to move out of the way. 

Although I have several stacks of bins in the closet, all but one stack is three boxes high.  The bottom bins are those filled with items I don't need to access on a regular (weekly) basis.  The larger bins in back of the smaller front bins contain the items I don't need on a daily basis.  I can move a top bin out of the way to get to the second bin down, if necessary.

I put more stuff in the bins that I already had in the closet (some weren't in use and had full bins set within).  Things like the display stuff for craft shows is in the bottom boxes because right now I'm not using those items. 

I grouped my teaching stuff in a bin instead of keeping it in a tote bag.  The problem with the tote bag was that I used it while I was teaching, so it wasn't the best item for storing items I wasn't using. 

I also moved mailing supplies for my Etsy shop into the top bin (sharing space with a new shipment of yarn) instead of letting it sit in a pile under my desk.  If this proves to be the wrong space, I'll have to move it. 

I didn't buy any organizing or storage supplies; I put to use what I already owned.  I realized that I could toss several years of old taxes, which allowed me to condense a couple boxes of paperwork into one. 

As I work through the yarn, I'll empty some of the bins.  This isn't a perfectly organized space, but my goal was to keep it neater by storing things is a way that would encourage me to put stuff away  immediately, instead of tossing it on the floor. 

Take Away
When you organize your files and belongings at home, don't think that it has to look magazine-shoot ready at all times.  Ask yourself why an area got messy and then figure out how you can solve that problem.  If your solution doesn't work, ask yourself what the problem is and keep trying to solve it until you hit on a solution that works for you.

Declutter This

When it comes to decluttering paper, there is the fear that you'll get rid of something you'll need.  However, there is a lot of stuff that you can clear out of your active file without a second thought.

Get rid of:

• Old copies of bills.  Keep the most current bill.  When you get a new bill, pay it and then file that copy while tossing the previous month's bill.  Or, go paperless and do your bill paying online.
• Past investment statements.  Again, you should keep the most current copy but the past copies do you little good.  Okay, you may want to track how your investments are fluctuating, but you could also talk with your advisor about your investments and allow them to look up your account.  No need to keep past paperwork.
• Bank statements more than a year old. 
• Expired warranties.
• Pay stubs after you've reconciled them with your W-2.
• Manuals for appliances you no longer own.
• Tax records more than a seven years old. 
• Pages torn from magazines and articles printed from online that you've never read or referenced for the past six months.

Yes, there is stuff you should keep, like your social security card and titles to vehicles.  You likely also have paper memorabilia that you want to keep.  Over the next few days, I'll focus on clearing through my own files and talking you through how you can do this on your own. 

I've started my own business, Paper Clutter Help, to assist people who don't have the time to declutter and organize their paperwork.  If you live in the vicinity of Canton, MA, USA, contact me at SusanCaplanMcCarthy@gmail.com.

Declutter First, then Get Organized

Whether you walk into a store geared to home or office, if they are encouraging you to spring clean and get organized, chances are they are suggesting that you purchase some of their handy organizing tools and systems. 

This is quite the temptation.  "If I got this item, then I know I'd find all of my stuff and I'd finally be organized," we think wistfully.  My parents were caught up in this mentality.  "If I buy this tool box, I can keep my stuff together."  Yet, my father had three nearly empty tool boxes.  He probably bought them on sale.

My mother loved office supply boxes, which I have to admit are a perfect size - not so big that if you fill the box you can't lift it; not so small that nothing fits inside.  However, the boxes were meant to "hide" stuff and convey the appearance of organization.

Instead of a random clutter of objects, she had stacks and stacks of boxes.

Before you buy a single organizing tool, container, gadget, or system, declutter your stuff.  Don't buy the four-drawer file cabinet because you have so much paperwork to organize.  Go through those papers and decide what you need to keep and what you can toss.  After doing this at my parents' house, the paperwork that would have filled several four-drawer file cabinets (had I been inclined to purchase them) winnowed down into a single plastic file box that I can carry around.  The rest of the paperwork was no longer important.

When you start decluttering your paperwork, I'd suggest that you start with some file folders.  That's it.  Maybe a label maker, because I love the neat look of the printed labels.  Don't buy a box or file cabinet.  Plan on using what you already have. 

Declutter first, getting rid of the stuff you don't need to keep.  Then look at what you have and decide how you'll organize that.  Chances are it will be a fraction of what you thought you needed to organize

Start Small

The other day when I said that to declutter anything you first should empty it out, I knew that would be an intimidating action to suggest.  Clearing off an entire shelf, removing the contents from a drawer, or emptying your closet can seem like a really big step because you have to start and finish the project.

For example, if you empty out a drawer and then get called away to do something else, you now have a brand new mess, which could be discouraging to rediscover when you finally make your way back to the task.

So, start small. 

Although you may have a lot of stuff on that one shelf or in that one drawer, chances are that you can clean and declutter that one small area in 15 minutes ... 30 minutes tops.

You may feel that one neat drawer won't do much for your house overall, but 15-to-30 minutes a day will add up the accomplishments faster than if you tried to convince yourself that on Saturday you'll clean an entire room for three hours. 

Three hours?  That sounds like too much time.  Fifteen minutes?  That doesn't seem like enough time.  But, really, what would you rather face, fifteen or thirty minutes of decluttering after dinner or the loss of your Saturday morning? 

Slow and steady.

First, Clear It Out

It doesn't matter whether you are clearing through your paper files, tackling the junk drawer, or reorganizing your closet, the one tip you consistently see on decluttering sites is to empty out whatever you are trying to organize. 

So, if you are cleaning a drawer, take everything out of that drawer instead of trying to clean around the stuff that is still in there.  If you are trying to organize your paperwork, bring it all to one place if it isn't already.

Although this may seem like a time-waster, emptying that drawer/closet/shelf gives you a blank slate.  You can swipe a rag around and get rid of any dust and get a closer look at what you really have.

• Look for duplicates and toss the oldest.  If you keep bills or bank statements, ask yourself (or an accountant) if you really need to keep every piece of paper or if you can get away with keeping the most current information
• Toss the stuff that you are wondering why you've kept for as long as you have.
• Put sentimental memorabilia (paper or objects) in a box dedicated to memory keeping. 
• Decide if you can repurpose items from around the house to organize your stuff.  If you cleared out a lot of paperwork, you may now have empty file folders that you can reuse.  That basket could be perfect for holding the mail; that vase for holding pens. 

Removing everything from a shelf, drawer, or closet lets you see what you are trying to organize.  Chances are you'll find that you have a lot more room once you get rid of the things shrouding what is important. 

Why You Should Organize Your Paper Clutter

It may seem easier to store old paperwork in boxes and bins and then tuck those boxes into some unused, dark corner than to spend hours sorting through which papers are important and which aren't. 

However, it is worth the effort to declutter your paperwork and establish a workable filing system.

Why go through all that effort?

• You'll be less stressed if you can find what you want when you need it.
• You'll potentially save money if in the past you've lost track of bills that incurred finance charges or if you couldn't find receipts for items you wanted to take tax deductions on. 
• You'll save time finding what you need.
• You'll save time filing your paperwork because you'll know where everything goes.
• Your house will look cleaner (even if it isn't) because guests won't be distracted by piles of papers everywhere.
• You won't have to worry about shoving all of your paper clutter into hiding when guests are coming over.  And you won't lose track of the papers you hastily hid and then didn't pull back out. 
• People won't perceive you as scatterbrained or thoughtless.

Where to start?  More to follow ...

Clutter for the Sake of Clutter

My parents were both hoarders.  Not as bad as the folks you see on some of those television shows, but hoarders nevertheless.

 

I offered a few times to help clean and organize, but my mother would get nervous that she wouldn't be able to find her stuff.  Yes, there was a lot of clutter, but she could tell you where she put something with pinpoint accuracy. 

 

When I'd push my offer to help (or, more accurately, take over and do things my way), mom would tell me that dad also complained about her clutter and that he'd tell her to throw out stuff. 

 

Her response was that she wasn't going to get rid of any of her stuff because dad wasn't throwing away his clutter!

 

Although I've heard about sentimental clutter or aspirational clutter, my parents' house was filled with spite clutter, things they didn't feel that they should get rid of until their spouse got rid of some of their things. 

 

After mom died and dad had to go into assisted living, I did clean through the house.  I found cancelled checks from when they got married in 1964 (and every year after that).  There were envelopes from the electric company with the informational inserts that they mail with your bill.  There were cash register receipts so faded they appeared to be nothing more than yellowed pieces of paper. 

 

I realize that at some point, the paperwork became so overwhelming that they didn't know where to start.  Papers would get shoved into bags and boxes and tucked up in the attic or down in the basement or in corners of the living room or beneath furniture. 

 

You may be thinking, "At least I'm not that bad," but it doesn't matter.  If you feel as if you are fighting the battle against paper clutter, I want to offer help, through this blog. 

 

Get ready to get organized.