Reduce Home Paper Clutter

Avoid the chaos caused by misplaced bills and important documents by setting up a filing system and reducing paper clutter.

I’m sure that paper, like paperclips and wire coat hangers, replicates itself overnight. I clear off a countertop or coffee table and the next day the paper has returned and it has brought along friends.

For some, dealing with junk mail, newspapers, magazines, newsletters, personal mail, and bank statements is a simple task. For the rest of us, we need to make a conscious effort to sort, file and discard paper appropriately to ensure that countertops, tables, sideboards, coffee tables and couches remain paper free.

I’m not referring to hoarding, which is a more significant and complex issue. This is simply the inability to quickly and efficiently deal with household clutter.

Take a good look around and if you can see magazine articles, newsletters, junk mail, children’s drawings and bills all mixed together in piles, then it’s time to declutter!

Step 1 – Set up a Filing System

Establish some sort of filing system. After all, there is no point sorting through all that paper if there is nowhere to put the documents that you need to keep.

Step 2 – Reduce Paper Clutter

It’s time to tackle the mess. Separate into four piles – Important, Filing, Sort and Rubbish.

Deal with the papers in the important pile as soon as possible – pay bills, make phone calls and copy information into address books or other locations. Take care to dispose of documents containing personal information carefully. Shred or otherwise ensure that personal details such as date of birth and account numbers cannot be later accessed by others.

Pin any important coupons, sales information or activity details to a noticeboard to keep track of them.

This Week’s Challenge: Deal with Mail Daily

Make sure that both personal and junk mail are dealt with each day.