8
Steps To Conquer The Paper Monster
Remember a few years ago when we all got excited
about a paperless society? Well, I don't know about
you but I seem to have more paper now than ever before.
But where does it all come from? Mail, magazines,
newspapers, printed emails (I don't do this but I
know there are lots of you who do), birthday cards,
takeaway menus, brochures, notes from school teachers,
e-books, and the list goes on and on.
If you don't have a system, you are going to get
overwhelmed. And you know what happens when you become
overwhelmed? You don't do anything and things get
worse.
Here are my steps to organise your paper:
1. Start by throwing away as much as possible. Paper
should earn the right to be in your life. Don't just
hoard everything. Before you hit PRINT, ask yourself
if you really need to print it.
Tip - if you're in the habit of just printing everything,
then put a post-it note on your computer to remind
you to STOP AND THINK BEFORE PRINTING. 2. Decide
what needs to be stored near and what can be stored
further away. Items that you use on a daily basis
should be stored near you while those you use less
often should be kept further away.
My Household Organising File is literally at my
fingertips while my old tax returns are filed at
the back of my filing cabinet. See?
3. Determine your organising style. If you're a
visual person, you might need your accounts visible
until you've paid them but if you like the minimalist
look AND you will remember to pay it, you could file
it away. If you work with your style instead of against
it, you will be much happier and you're more likely
to keep up with the system.
I write the due date in my planner and file the
account in a temporary place until paid, and then
permanently file it. Until decluttering time, that
is!
Tip - there is a great resource to help you find
your organising style. Keep reading ;)
4. Decide on a home for each type of paper so you'll
know exactly where to find it later. You should have
a system so that everybody in your family knows how
to find any documents.
Magazines go in the lounge until the next one arrives,
newspapers (once read) go in the recycling bag, children's
artwork goes in their scrapbook, all financial documents
go in the study, etc.
5. Sort into categories - first broad and then narrow
File so that YOU can find it. It's no use filing
by name if you think by category.
For example, I remember by category, like coaching,
organising, writing, etc. So I don't have folders
that say Jenny, Susan, Lisa. If I'm coaching Jenny,
her emails go under coaching. Susan is a personal
friend so her emails go under personal. Lisa and
I are working on a joint venture so her emails go
under... joint venture. That's it ?
Article
continues below
6. Then do the actual filing. This
can be fun if you play to your personality.
I like bright colours and nice, clear dividers and
pretty files. It does help to have cute files so
you're more likely to keep up your system. Let's
face it - would you rather file documents in boring,
grey files that are falling apart or in lovely, colour-coded
files? Of course you'd rather have the beautiful
files.
Make sure you label clearly and keep your system
simple. If you decide to change the categories, you
don't want to have to buy whole sets of stationery.
7. Maintain. This is the most important part of
any organising project.
You have to set aside some time every week to get
the paper under control.
Schedule 15 - 30 minutes every week for filing and
throwing away newspapers, magazines and notes from
school. If you run a business from home, I'd suggest
that you schedule 15 minutes a day.
Remember the old saying; a stitch in time saves
nine. This is so true for paper. Ignore the paper
for a month and see how it takes you hours to sort
out.
8. Control the clutter If you are serious about
getting a handle on the paper in your life, put some
personal rules into place. For example, each child
gets a clean pizza box for all their art every year.
When that box is too full, they have to go through
it and decide which to keep and which to toss.
I have a memory box for all love letters, birthday
cards, anniversary cards, notes and so on. When it
starts getting too full, I go through it and see
what I can declutter. It's amazing how each time
you look though it (every couple of years), it is
easier to decide on what's most important to you
at that point in your life.
As with everything else in life, it is always more
work setting something up than maintaining it. It
will probably take you a couple of hours to do steps
1 to 6, and then 15 minutes a week for step 7.
You will save time by not looking for things and
money on interest charges from missing invoices and
by not buying duplicate items.
by
Marcia Francois
