Paper is just too easy to let pile up. Before much time passes a week and then a month goes by. By this time, the small pile of paper becomes a huge pile of paper clutter. The issues with paper organization include: what to keep, what to get rid of, what to do with it, and how to store it. Not appropriately organizing paper at home costs time and money. Organizing paper clutter needs to be done right, otherwise it will continue to pile.
Here are three tips to get the paper organizing problem under control.
Paper Organization: Eliminate as Much Paper as Possible
First you need to eliminate as much paper as possible.
The following can be stored electronically on a phone or computer:
- grocery lists
- to-do lists
- addresses
- emails
- phone numbers
In addition, scan as much as you can; even kids artwork, take-out menus, and other non-vital documents.
Get rid of junk mail by cutting down on paper coming to the home in the first place my eliminating unnecessary junk mail like catalogs and so forth. You can stop junk mail for free here.
Another source of paper you can get rid of are checks, and all the statements and envelopes necessary to pay by checks. Instead pay electronically. This is free, more secure, all records are kept, and statements, envelopes, and stamps are not needed for this.
Get the Family Involved in Organizing Paper at Home
Everyone in the family needs to take ownership of keeping paper to a minimum and in helping with proper paper organization. Each family member needs a place and a method to store their own papers with the goal of eliminating piles. Hopefully everyone will agree that no papers are to be on a flat surface at the end of the day.
Go Through the Papers Everyday
This is vital. One time every day. Paper organization needs to be a daily task. If this is done on a daily basis, this will only take minutes a day. Again, at the end of the day, no papers on a flat surface, but instead they should be filed in the correct location.
Now we have less papers coming in, the family involved in helping, and papers being purged every day.
Read How to Organize: - Office Organizing Tips for office organizing tips and go to How to Organize Files for file organization tips.
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