Written by Gayle Gruenberg
Are you maddened by mail? Crazed by credit card and charity requests? Overwhelmed by special offers? Inundated by bogus invitations? Besieged by bills?
Even in our “paperless” society, we receive over 120 billion pieces of mail each year in the United States. If you find it challenging to deal with the paper in your life, you’re completely justified in your distress.
The number one reason clients call a professional organizer is to help them manage their paper. The key to controlling paper is to have a system and do a little bit every day. Here are a few of my favorite techniques for staying on top of the daily deluge.
Stop paper at the door and go digital. Opt to receive bank and investment statements, bills, and receipts electronically.
When the mail comes in, sort it immediately, always in the same place, and near the recycling bin.
Toss the junk mail. What is junk mail? That’s up to you. It could be anything that doesn’t meet a need you have right now. If you don’t need a new credit card, rip up the offer and recycle it immediately. Not ready to make a donation? It’s OK to pass up the free return address labels and notepads. Those coupon packs? Do you really go to those places? If not, toss the whole envelope without even opening it.
“If you find it challenging to deal with the paper in your life, you’re completely justified in your distress. ”
Have a “landing pad” for paper bills you still receive, things you want to read, and invitations you receive. I like to have a small file system in the kitchen, a “command central.” It could be a drawer in a cabinet or a small desktop file box.
Create a file system that works for the way you think. Have five to seven broad categories and label them with titles that will let you find what you need quickly.
Color code the folders and label them clearly (everyone loves a label-maker). If they are attractive, you’ll be more likely to use them.
Schedule 15 minutes with yourself each week (put in your calendar) to address the items in the file system that have to be acted on – pay the bills, reply to the invitation and add the event to your calendar, purge anything expired. Better yet, if time permits, act on them as they come in, and then they won’t be hanging over your head.
Scan important documents and store them electronically – on your computer, flash- or external hard drive, or on a secure site in the cloud. Shred the hard copy. Share access with loved ones in case of emergency.
Read current issues of magazines and other publications when they arrive. Tear out articles you want to keep, scan them into a designated folder on your computer, then recycle the old issue when the new one comes. Subscribe to the digital version of your subscriptions.
Take pictures of your children’s masterpieces and keep those instead of every scribble, collage, or paper towel sculpture they bring home.
Gayle M. Gruenberg, CPO-CD®, CVPO, is the chief executive organizer of Let’s Get Organized, LLC, an organizer coach, and the creator of the Make Space for Blessings system.