You have no doubt read articles in women's magazines on paper clutter and how you need to touch each piece of paper only once, set up a file system, get your name off mailing lists, purge old papers, save tax papers, yada yada yada. Sure you've done some of that, but you're still on the brink of a full-blown paper panic: the feeling of impending doom that sweeps over you when you throw your car keys down on the kitchen counter at the end of a hard day's work, and glance at the stack of today's mail, on top of yesterdays' mail, on top of who knows what else.
Do you want a simple and easy to use method to upgrade your paper handling skills? Here are three basic steps to reduce the piles on your counter and your stress level simultaneously:
1. USE THE SHREDDER. Shred anything with your name and address on it to deter identity thieves. Just rip off the small section and shred it. I shred envelopes too, that carry my banks' names on them, to leave no paper trail for identity thieves. The majority of identity thefts still occur with real paper, not on the internet.
2. USE THE RECYCLING BIN. Once you rip your name off catalogs and magazines and shred those little pieces, toss the rest of the catalog/magazine in the recycling bin.
3. USE THE TRASH. Whatever can not be recycled or does not need to be shredded, throw away. Yes, just do it.
THESE ARE NOT DIFFICULT OR TIME-CONSUMING STEPS.
If you follow these three steps each day, your paper processing stress will plummet, and your piles will shrink.
Want more specific ideas on what to do with the papers you choose to keep?
We'll get to that soon. But you GOTTA GETTA GRIP ON THE CURRENT MESS BEFORE SETTING UP A BETTER SYSTEM. Shredding, recycling, and trashing are the first three steps. So get practicing. It will only take a minute or two each day.
Just do it.
