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 ....