Organizing Tips for Managing your Paper Flow
Brought to you by Joan Kosmachuk, Professional Organizer
and Personal Life Coach
Where Does All The Paper Come From?
In this information age, paper still enters our homes all the time and in seemingly increasing numbers: newspapers, magazines, catalogues, brochures, calendars, flyers, coupons, advertisement, bills, statements, notices, invitations, letters, subscription renewals, tax receipts, legal papers, medical reports and updates, post cards, greeting cards, free offers, tickets, business cards, computer printouts, seminar notes…the piles of paper are seemingly endless.
Even with recycling programs and computer technology allowing us to both retrieve and store information electronically, we still find it hard to let go of the paper that piles up on our desks, inboxes, kitchen countertops, tables and bookshelves. We cram it into file boxes and drawers. You may even find paper piling up in your car.
The average American spends 1 hour per day searching for missing information in messy desks and files. Whether it’s your child’s permission form, bills past due, tickets for the show or that business proposal that was due last week, misplaced papers cost you time and money. A foot high pile of paper can contain up to 1,000 individual pieces of paper – it’s no wonder the task of clearing your desk often seems overwhelming.
But if you want to have a simplified, organized life, managing your paperwork is critical. The following tips will show you how to get control of the paper before it takes control over you.
1. Just say NO! The first offence in managing the volume of paperwork that comes in, is to keep it from entering your home in the first place.
- Read your newspaper at the coffee shop, on the commuter train or at the office and recycle it there. Or choose to read the news on-line.
- Limit magazine subscriptions to 1 or 2 per year that you know you will read and enjoy.
- Contact companies who are sending you unsolicted catalogues and request your address be removed from their mailing list.
- Before you leave a seminar or meeting, sort through the papers you’ve acquired and keep only those notes that you know you’ll need to refer to again. Have a specific plan for where you will store these papers once you get them home.
- Leave your church bulletin at church (note any upcoming events in your calendar/planner while you are reading it)
- Leave your theatre program at the theater, your museum guide at the museum etc.
- Politely decline any flyers being handed to you on the street
- Where possible, request account statements and bills be accessed via your computer to eliminate paper copies. (many banks and utility companies are now offering this option)
2. Handle the paper that does come into your home as efficiently and quickly as possible.
DAILY: Corral all your paper into one “inbox” as soon as it comes through the door. Choose a portable decorative box/basket for all “incoming” paper including mail and papers collected by various family members. Set aside a specific time for routinely dealing with this paper – once a day, every other day, or at the most, once a week.
ROUTINELY: Sort through the paper in your inbox. Set up a sorting station for this task. This area should have the following equipment at hand:
- Recycling bag/bin
- Trash bag
- Shredder
- File system
- Scissors, stapler remover
- Personal planner or family calendar
Pick up each piece of paper from your inbox and decide where it should go.
- Junk mail, unsolicited catalogues and advertisements can be placed directly into your recycle bin.
- Any documents containing personal information (such as credit card offers) should be shredded.
- Important dates from invitations, upcoming events, activity calendars etc. should be transferred to your primary calendar/planner along with other pertinent information such as address, phone number, what to wear/bring etc. The original correspondence can then be tossed.
- Coupons and special offers should be clipped and placed in an envelope or coupon book and put in your wallet or purse for your next shopping trip.
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Grocery Coupon Holder: Holds up to 150 coupons, velcro latch quickly attaches to shopping cart. www.organize.com |
- reference material should be filed in the place where you’ll need to refer to it, ie take out menu’s in the kitchen, stationary supply catalogue in the home office etc.
- Bills to be paid should be placed in a “pay me” file or Bill organizer under the appropriate due date.
- Any statements, tax receipts, insurance or health records can be placed into their respective files
- Set aside reading material in a “to read” pile and plan times/places where you will read these materials
- Correspondence for other family members should be passed along to them.
- Correspondence that you need to address or action items should be placed in either a “to do” file or in a “tickler file”
3. Keep your files up to date: Regularly (at least annually) sort through your files and purge information that is no longer relevant.
- Personal Income Tax files should be kept for 7years. When you place the newest income tax file in your drawer, remove the oldest one (8 years) and shred.
- Bank Account and Credit Card Statements should be kept for 1 year. Shred these documents before disposing.
- Utility bills should be kept until the next bill arrives with proof of previous payment. (for Home business deductions, keep all utility bills in your business expense file for preparing your income tax return)
- Insurance documents should be kept for the term of the insurance
- Toss warranties for items you no longer own, statements for accounts that have been closed, loan statements for loans that have been paid, vehicle information on previously owned cars etc.
If you need help with managing your paper flow or other organizing solutions, consider getting professional input by hiring a professional organizer. To hire the services of Joan Kosmachuk, please email your request to info@simpleeffects.com or call 617-784-0707.
If you found the information in this newsletter to be of value to you, please feel free to forward it to your friends and colleagues; you'll be helping them simplify their lives.
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