2 Steps To Eliminate Your Paper Clutter For Ever
A sustainable way to get on top of your game
One of the greatest challenges of working full time and being a mom of two is the constant flow of paperwork.
Doctor referral letters, school excursion permission forms, prescriptions, contracts, bills, receipts…the list goes on.
You have to hold on to them whether you like it or not.
I have always preferred something automated or at least a system that would not require anything more than 5 to 10 mins of my time to run things smoothly in my household.
5 years back I just did that… I gave myself the gift of a self-sustaining system. …A system that did not feel like a chore but instead gave me satisfaction and a sense of achievement. It gave me the confidence that I was lacking previous years in our marriage when suddenly taking care of all documents and paper became my responsibility.
I felt in control of my household and it gave me peace of mind.
I knew exactly where to locate any document if and when it was needed.
I felt on top of my game as a mom and a wife.
This is how I created for myself a self-sustaining system:
- Categorize
Make a list of all the different types of papers and documents you get. For example medical reports, educational certificates, contracts, receipts.
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2. Personalize
Have separate binders for each of your categories. Also, create separate binders for each of your family members. Here is where you can have some fun with colours. Buy different coloured binders for different categories or have binders for your family members in their favourite colours.
I prefer to file documents like educational certificates and doctor reports in the respective family member’s binder. Make sure you assemble all documents in chronological order. I assure you this will save you precious time when you are looking for a particular paper.
This is by far the best way to get your busy life sorted for the long term.
But there is a twist…
This worked perfectly for me until last year.
2018 we moved houses and since then my paperwork has been out of control and I haven’t been able to get back on top of it since then. So why having these perfectly categorised binders stopped working for me.
The reason being that I had these binders sitting in a back shelf that was not accessible in one stretch. I had to move a couple of items to be able to reach to them and that made me put off the idea of dealing with my paper clutter straight away.
So, the first thing you will want to do is designate a place for these binders in your house that is easily accessible and then it’s almost smooth sailing after that.
Having them in a convenient place will require hardly 5 mins of your time every other day to take care of your paperwork. No more pushing that pile of paper from one corner of the table to the other.
You just need a simple system that works for you.
Happy organizing!
