We have a desk?

That is what I told my husband when he asked me to get a pen out of the desk.  I think most of us have some kind of a desk or office area, usually it is hidden under all those piles of mail and paper we tend to accumulate over time.  I remember being told once that computers were suppose to cut down the amount of paper people used, but I think I have more paper now.  It seems like every website I visit has something I want or need to print off.  So what do we do about this paper problem?  If it is very overwhelming it can be broken down into 3 steps.  First throw out and shred, then sort, and finally file.

So lets start with the throw out and shred. I like to start here because it gives me instant gratification that I am getting something done and things are getting cleaner. You are going to start sorting through all the papers and make 2 piles.  One pile is a keep pile, the other is toss or shred.  Due to what seems like a insanely high risk of identity theft, I shred anything that so much as has my name on it.  Maybe I am a little too cautions, but that's better than applying for a home loan and finding out I already bought a house in Maui. If you have a lot of papers then you may want to invest in a good Shredder that will allow you to shred several papers at once.  If you are wondering what to keep and what to to toss the IRS has some good information for all those tax returns and The New York Times also has some information regarding things you should keep.

  

 After you have weeded out the garbage and spent a whole night doing some therapeutic shredding, it is time to take a look at what we have left.  We are going to make more piles and lists (Do you love lists yet?).  Depending on what you have left you will organize everything left into a few piles like "need to do", "bills", "medical", "financial records", etc.. These piles will basically be the way they will go into a filing cabinet.  While you are sorting though all this you will likely come across stuff that needs to get done or you forgot to do.  That is what the list is for, when you come across something like a disconnect notice for you electric, simply put it on your list and add it to the need to do pile.  You may come across stuff you want to keep, but really don't need the original document, make a pile for this stuff.  This is where a scanner can come in handy.  You can simply scan these types of items and save them on a flash drive, you can then toss the original (or shred).

 

Now for the fun part, it is time to pull out the pretty colored file folders and label maker. Start labeling your folders according to the piles you made, put the stuff in the folders, and file them in a cabinet, case, or drawer.  Ahhh, doesn't that feel good to have all those papers under control? Now sit down with that list you made and see if there are any very urgent things on it, if so mark or highlight them to do first, otherwise just start working your way through the list in whatever order you want.

Don't forget to have fun!  Turn on some up beat music and start sorting.