Things You'll Need:
- Six manila folders with tabs
- A file drawer or portable file folder box
- A garbage can
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Step 1
Label your file folders. Name them as follows: 1.To Give Away 2.To Be Read
3. To Be Filed 4. Bills 5. Dated Information 6. Unsure. Get your garbage can and set it close enough to toss things into without moving. -
Step 2
Sort the papers by categories. The file marked 'To Give Away' is for all the articles, recipes, notes and other things that you kept to share with someone else. All papers to share need to be put here so that when you are going to see that person you can get it to them and actually get rid of it.
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Step 3
Take the papers you want to looks over and put it into the 'To Be Read' folder. This is the place for credit card offers, church bulletins, club newsletters and car insurance quotes. You can grab this folder when you expect a long wait at the dentist or you're stuck inside not feeling your best. Read through it at times that would otherwise be a waste of time.
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Step 4
File old bills, pay stubs, medical receipts, and car repairs into the 'To Be Filed' folder. Anything that you want to keep for taxes or medical or school records will go in here.
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Step 5
Use your 'Bills" file folder only for the bills that you have not yet paid. When you sit down to pay bills, they will all be in one place. Once paid, put those that you need to save into the 'To Be Filed' folder.
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Step 6
Put things that have deadlines or expiration dates into the 'Dated' file. Wedding invitations, school field trip information, car maintenance schedules and school finals schedules will go in here. These are the things you keep meaning to write down in a day planner or on a calendar. To keep these things from getting lost, put them in this file and then when you grab you day planner or calendar, everything will be there.
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Step 7
Use the 'Unsure File' for anything you just can't bear to throw away but have no real use for. If you didn't have some of this stuff, you probably wouldn't this article. If you don't find a use for these after three months toss them.
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Step 8
Make the last file the garbage can. Think about what you are saving and unless it's an absolute can't part with 'Unsure', toss it. It helps to cut clutter down a lot if you open your mail right next to the garbage can. If you get a daily newspaper, these are a terrible source of clutter, so make sure and toss them as soon as you're done with them.
Comments
susu7 said
on 7/1/2009 Thanks for your comments. It is an easy formula for my clutter prone office.
bizzyliz said
on 6/5/2009 I like your plan to organize paper clutter. It is a simple system. 5* :o)
presnick said
on 12/11/2007 I'm going to give this one a try. It makes more sense than some of the plans I've seen, and it's flexible enough even for someone with pack rat tendencies.