Nine tips for cutting down paper clutter at home
By E.B. Solomont, Mother Nature Network
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Paper clutter poses a challenge for the most organized among us, with seemingly limitless amounts of junk mail arriving daily.
Short of going paperless (a great and eco-friendly option, if you can pull it off), managing and filing paper can reduce the clutter currently occupying your desk, dining room table or kitchen counter. (And by the way, keeping your papers in shoeboxes isn't the best answer either.)
Though there isn't a "right way," the following are nine tips from the experts on how to manage the paper stream in your life.
1. Sort by verb, file by noun
Believe it or not, grammar can help differentiate between papers you need to deal with now versus those you are finished with and can store away, according to Renee Kutner, a self-described "chaos advisor" and founder of Atlanta-based Peace by Piece Organizing.
Generally speaking, documents that require action should be sorted by verb - such as: pay a bill, RSVP to a party, call someone back, mail the form. In order for the system to really work, you shouldn't have more that 4 to 6 verbs, says Kutner. She suggests you pick actions that are broad enough to encompass all your needs, but narrow enough to differentiate from one another, such as "to pay," "to do," and "to read."
Use a noun to file away papers that you're done taking action on, but that you may need to retrieve for future reference. File these papers by category - such as: recipes, insurance, kids' report cards, tax information. There is no right way to label the system, Kutner says. "The question is, what are you going to look for when you want to retrieve it?" she says. For example, Kutner says some people might file away copies of a birth certificate under "important documents" and others might file them in a "kids" file.
2. Enlist help in getting off mailing lists
Sure, you can place dozens of calls and emails to get yourself off those mailing lists … or you can hire help through websites like www.41pounds.org and www.stopthejunkmail.com.
The average American adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year, according to www.41pounds.org. "We'll contact dozens of companies on your behalf to stop your junk mail and protect the environment," the site boasts.
Related: How to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive
3. Open your mail over the recycling bin
Opening your mail over the recycling bin stops junk mail before it can clutter up your desk. "It saves so much time," says Dahlia Bellows, a licensed master social worker and founder of New York City's Your Amazing Space.
Head straight to the paper bin when the mail comes, Bellows says. When you're finished, you'll have fewer items to go through.
4. Pay your bills online
In this day and age, most bills can be paid online. Many utility companies and credit cards have paperless options to stop the paper bills from coming via the post office altogether. Set up an auto-pay system, and you'll save time while reducing paper waste.
"You can set up an email account solely for your bills," says Bellows. "That way it won't share your private email address."
Related: The carbon footprint of your e-mail
5. Scan paperwork and toss the originals
Use electronic filing and then "make the trash your best friend," advises Peggy Umansky, founder of St. Louis-based It's About Time. Pretty much any information you receive is accessible online.
And if you scan documents and business cards, you can tote electronic files with you next time you're working at a coffee shop or airport.
Just make sure you back up your system, black out personal account information off documents you recycle, and don't ever throw away original copies of your lease or financial or legal papers.
6. Spend 10 minutes a day organizing your papers
Whether you toss, follow up, or file something away, a few minutes each night helps you stay on top of growing mounds of paper. "Do everything in bite-sized morsels," says Bellows. Have a time limit, she adds.
If you're not a naturally organized person, it takes practice. "It has to become part of your day," she says.
7. Create "daily" and "long-term" filing systems
No matter how you store your papers - in a binder, drawer, or in trays - separating documents you need to access easily and those you want to store for reference is a way to keep the paper flow under control, says Bellows.
Keeping a small file on your desk is one way to organize the papers you need daily. "The more cluttered you are, the less productive you're going to be during the day," she says.
Umansky recommends a "tickler" file that is used for anything with a due date. The file can be an accordion folder with dates that you check daily, weekly, or bi-weekly. "It should tickle your mind, to remind you that you have to do something and there's the paper to do it," she says.
8. Purge your old papers
Face it: Most information is Internet-accessible anyway, so ask yourself this, advises Kutner, "Is it worth this much space in my home for the slight chance I'm going to want to see a phone bill from five years ago?" Pitch it in the paper recycling bin (shred sensitive documents first).
But don't toss everything out. Keep the last seven years' worth of tax statements. Each year, rotate the files by throwing out the old and filing away the new.
9. Integrate a filing system with your home décor
If your dining room table has become your favorite workspace, who says a sideboard cabinet can't act as a discreet file cabinet? "No one else needs to know what's behind those doors," says Kutner. "If you have a file right there, you'd probably clean off your dining room table."
This does not mean you should place a large, metal file cabinet in the heart of your formal living space. Rather, find a way to add decorative bins to your kitchen, if that's where you work. "Don't get hung up on what's supposed to happen" in the room, Kutner says. "Build your life around it."
Related: A sofa designed for organizing, not misplacing
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