Do you have one?
You know what I’m talking about. The stack. Most homes have it. The stack of papers consisting of a couple bills, fast food coupons, a picture colored by your toddler, a political ad (or 15), a few flyers from your kid’s school and who knows what else. It might be on a kitchen counter, dining room table or entry table. And it just sits there. Gathering dust. Until a few new papers get added the next day. And then those just sit. And then a few more get added. This continues for days, maybe even weeks, until the stack has become a nuisance. It’s getting rather deep now. It’s falling over. Papers are getting blown off the stack as you walk by. No telling what’s even in it! “Why do I even have all these anyway,” you might ask.
You decide once and for all you need to go through the papers. Today is the day. You gear up. Get your glasses on. Grab a glass of water and sit down to tackle the stack only to find the bills that are now past due and the flyer talking about picture day that’s TOMORROW. Eek!
Papers can quickly get out of hand and feel overwhelming. They are also one of the most common forms of clutter! Here are some quick tips and tricks to stay on top of the papers.
- Have a designated holding place for your papers.
Have a folder, a paper tray, or some sort of gathering place for your papers. Even if you like having your papers out where you can easily see them, using something to corral them together will look more intentional and won’t give off the cluttered look. A more “mindful stack” you might say.
- Immediately trash papers you don’t need.
When new papers come in, quickly glance through and immediately trash everything you don’t want. Don’t stack everything together and worry about it later. Do it now while you have only a small amount to look through. This will save so much time later!
- Take any “actionable papers” and set them aside.
Actionable papers are those that you will need to “take action on”. These could be bills, something to be mailed off, something to RSVP to, etc. For these papers, I use a filing system that hangs on the wall. It’s an area I walk by every day and so I see the papers often, reminding me that I need to do something with them sooner than later.
- Store away “keep papers” immediately.
These papers might be birth certificates, receipts, warranties, etc. I use an old school filing cabinet for these. As soon as I get them, I take them right back to the filing cabinet and file them. It takes 10 seconds to do this when I am only filing 1-2 papers. It’s much faster than gathering two dozen over the course of a year and then filing them. Put them away as soon as you get them and don’t think about it again!
The main take away is this: Take care of the papers now.
You will save time (so much time) and save counter space! Don’t put it off and look at your papers year round. Store them away now and move on. You’ll thank yourself later.
