Practical Way To Declutter The Paper Mess
💡 Did you know….
Studies show that 80% of the papers we keep are never referenced again
Today I want to talk about paper clutter! This is a such a HUGE problem for me. I am totally not the horder type but my paper obsession is out of control. LOL Seriously I am a such a paper person and I keep everything because I never know when one of the “others” in my house will eventually come and ask for it. Some of you may not be able to relate to this problem as I believe there are 2 types of “record” keepers in this world…. Paper People and Electronic People. As I mentioned I am team paper all the way but now my husband is team electronic so I do have to to merge the 2 teams at times to make it work. Since we aren't talking about team electronic today I thought I would help out my own team by sharing some tips and systems of how you can organize and eliminate some of your clutter.
My goal for this post is to help you purge and declutter all those papers that way you can start to create a habit of being selective on what papers you keep. This will also help you maintain your paper files.
ARE YOU READY TO DECLUTTER YOUR PAPER STASH????
Let’s Get Started!!!
The 1st thing you will want to do is create a system for the initial clean out and then later you will want to create a system for maintaining the clutter. For the purpose of this post we are just checking out some ideas and tips on creating a system for decluttering.
One of the systems I use for the clean out is the bin system. I get 3-4 bins and label them.
*Recycling
*Personal Info --- Anything that has our personal info on it
*Keep
*Misc.-- This bin is for all the papers I am not sure what I need to do with it yet
Once you have your bins labeled you will want to start pulling out your paper piles. Now you don't want to pull all the papers from the filing cabinet and kitchen junk drawer all at the same time you will become overwhelmed and end of with one large mess. Just attack one pile at a time and make sure that you allocate enough time for this project.
Now I am sure that you are asking yourself-- How do I know what to keep and what to toss?
Well just ask yourself these questions……
*What is it? ----> Is it a bill or something important?
*How old is it?----> Is it current or is it as old as your oldest child?
*Will someone ask for it again?----> Never fails my family waits til it's gone
These questions will help you decide if you should keep it or toss it. If you are still unsure do what I do….. Throw it in the misc. box. lol Once you get everything sorted and then filed you are going to be so relieved. Your work space will have a whole new energy and so will you.
