piles of paper
oh, piles of paper. what to do, what to do?
does anyone have the same problem as me?
the mail comes, i check it, and once again i find myself with papers piling up around my house. statements, flyers, journals, magazines, stuff. as i sleep at night, the paper piles have babies and i wake up to more stacks of paper. it never ends.
2012 solution? maybe so.
i received my january issue of better homes and gardens, who promise me the prescription for my clutter. i'm going to give it a whirl. after all, it involves super-cute files from one of my favorite stores, target.
the Rx:
INBOX: all your papers go here-- bills, magazines, fliers, etc...ideally, this would be all papers after you have initially triaged the paper stack and thrown out or recycled unwanted papers. each item in the INBOX goes into the DO NOW, DO LATER, or PENDING action files.
DO NOW: papers that need to be dealt with this week (i.e. bills to pay, receipts that need to be entered in the budget, invitations that need an rsvp, magazines that need to be read, etc.)
DO LATER: papers that need to be handled over the next three months (their examples include vacation fliers, refinance offer from the bank, or a catalog containing something you plan to purchase).
PENDING: papers that need to be dealt with, but require some sort of action before they can go to the next step (maybe a phone call or additional research that is needed before action can take place).
TRASH/RECYCLE: either the papers are recycled, trashed, or shredded. done.
any papers left in the INBOX should be archived. a file cabinet is a perfect solution.
FILE: papers that aren't trashed, recycled or shredded get filed. a filing cabinet (in our case) with labeled folders for various papers. there is great freedom here for categorization and to even create new files for papers that don't fit categorically in another file.
here is BHG's tips for maintaining these files:
every day or two-- sort papers from INBOX to the action files (DO NOW, LATER, or PENDING). also, visit your DO NOW file and take action!
once a week-- take action with any papers in the DO LATER file that need attention. also, take a look at the pending file to check up on the status of these papers.
once a month-- move papers to your long-term storage solution (i.e. file cabinet).
is it really that simple? could all those piles magically disappear with this new system? hey, a system is only as good as the one who actually uses it. let's get going!
does anyone have the same problem as me?
the mail comes, i check it, and once again i find myself with papers piling up around my house. statements, flyers, journals, magazines, stuff. as i sleep at night, the paper piles have babies and i wake up to more stacks of paper. it never ends.
2012 solution? maybe so.
i received my january issue of better homes and gardens, who promise me the prescription for my clutter. i'm going to give it a whirl. after all, it involves super-cute files from one of my favorite stores, target.
the Rx:
INBOX: all your papers go here-- bills, magazines, fliers, etc...ideally, this would be all papers after you have initially triaged the paper stack and thrown out or recycled unwanted papers. each item in the INBOX goes into the DO NOW, DO LATER, or PENDING action files.
DO NOW: papers that need to be dealt with this week (i.e. bills to pay, receipts that need to be entered in the budget, invitations that need an rsvp, magazines that need to be read, etc.)
DO LATER: papers that need to be handled over the next three months (their examples include vacation fliers, refinance offer from the bank, or a catalog containing something you plan to purchase).
PENDING: papers that need to be dealt with, but require some sort of action before they can go to the next step (maybe a phone call or additional research that is needed before action can take place).
TRASH/RECYCLE: either the papers are recycled, trashed, or shredded. done.
any papers left in the INBOX should be archived. a file cabinet is a perfect solution.
FILE: papers that aren't trashed, recycled or shredded get filed. a filing cabinet (in our case) with labeled folders for various papers. there is great freedom here for categorization and to even create new files for papers that don't fit categorically in another file.
here is BHG's tips for maintaining these files:
every day or two-- sort papers from INBOX to the action files (DO NOW, LATER, or PENDING). also, visit your DO NOW file and take action!
once a week-- take action with any papers in the DO LATER file that need attention. also, take a look at the pending file to check up on the status of these papers.
once a month-- move papers to your long-term storage solution (i.e. file cabinet).
is it really that simple? could all those piles magically disappear with this new system? hey, a system is only as good as the one who actually uses it. let's get going!
This made me laugh...not because I think it is funny...more because I have the same problem and the solution seems so easy but I have never conquered the paper monster either!!
ReplyDeleteHow long can I keep saying "someday"???? :)