August 11, 2014

8 Ways to Get a Handle on Paper Clutter

Paper seems to be most people’s biggest organizational struggle and it’s with good reason. If it isn’t dealt with daily or weekly, it can get out of hand in a hurry. I’ve covered a lot of ground in the paper department in the past, so I thought a little round-up of sorts would be a fun way to inspire you to do a little paper organizing this week. My challenge to you would be to choose just one thing to do this week – it might be one of these topics and it might be something else, but SORT some paper for at least 10 minutes.

1. Not sure what to keep and what to toss? Try this FREE printable to get you started.
2. Want to convert your file box or accordion file into a grown up file cabinet? Check out this post (there’s a free printable here too!).
3. Get a paper shredder. And use it.
4. Deal with your mail daily. The ‘clutter’ task on the free cleaning and organizing calendar relates to de-cluttering every day and for me, that means a couple things, but mail is big. I sort/toss/file mail every single day. Here’s how I keep it off counters.
5. Feel like you need to keep papers and lists in one place? Try a homekeeping planner or binder – my favorite method of organizing paper. This post shows how I set up a filing and budget/bill paying system.
6. Wall calendars and planners are great ways to keep dates and appointments straight. Using one that works for you is the only way this will work – otherwise it’ll just be more paper.
7. For me keeping the kitchen counters clear is the number one clutter busting trick I have. See how I do it here.
8. Go paperless or paper-less. I’m definitely more of a paper-LESS person – I will never go completely digital. I love pens, paper, notebooks, planners, and all things office supply related. I do paperless billing when I can and online banking, but I still write down all my bill paying in my homekeeping planner. I don’t do a digital calendar or planner – I write it down on the wall calendar and in my homekeeping planner. There’s something about the pen to paper that makes sense for me and is more conducive to how I’m wired. Here are a couple ideas for paperless or paper-less living (I am not an affiliate for any of these, just putting the info out there:

• Evernote – a way to digitally remember everything
• Doxie Mobile Scanners – great for small items like receipts and checks
• Neat – digital scanning and cloud storage
• Want to send cards and invitations digitally? Paperless Post is adorable and they have a free section too.
• Digital photo storage? I’m sure that this is another post, but I use Shutterfly and DropBox, but there are lots of options out there for slimming down the picture stacks.
• How about pdfs and printables? I store those on Dropbox too. Did you know that if you have a tablet, like an iPad you can use printables paperless with an app like Notability that lets you digitally write on your pdfs and take notes with you anywhere? If you have a Kindle or Android you can use Note Everything for similar results.

What’s your best tip for keeping paper clutter away? Share it in the comments!