Organize Your Loose Papers, Once and For All
When we work in a client’s home, it doesn’t matter if we’re in an office or kitchen or bedroom, there is always a stack of miscellaneous papers. From coupons and bills to invoices and forms, we can always count on a random piles of papers to pop up. Most of the time, these items can go straight to the trash bin. However, there are times we find ourselves with extra papers that can’t be tossed, so here are some of our tried and true tips for storing these items.
REVIEW PAPERS
Approach the processing of organizing these papers assuming that 9/10 of them are heading to the shredder. This is the reality in most of our client’s spaces and here’s why — you just don’t need them! Doctor’s offices and other vendors typically offer online billing, and almost all invoices are digital and can be looked up online if you need to reference it. These items do not need to take up the valuable real estate on your counter and table tops.
CREATE A DESIGNATED AREA
After you’ve gone through your papers, you’ll have some that you absolutely must keep like birth certificates and passports; which need to be accessible. Yet we tend to hold onto papers as a reminder of something that has to get done. We keep a bill to remind us to pay it, an invite so we remember to RSVP, or a business card so we don’t forget to call a new connection. We recommend using magazine holders or shallow boxes to hold these items. Label one “Important Documents” another “To-Do” and place items accordingly. Every other week or even once a month schedule a time to sit down to get caught up. When you complete the task, toss the paper!
ORGANIZE BY CATEGORY
If you are self employed, or have other reasons you need to store receipts and document expenses, store these papers by type and/or month. We love the Poppin file cabinets at The Container Store, but you can also find very handy portable filing bins that take up less space. Organizing by month is specific enough for you to find something if you had to reference back to it, but isn’t so complicated that you may fall behind in your system.
GO DIGITAL
We have solutions when you absolutely must hold onto these papers, but we definitely recommend a digital solution above all else. There are plenty of apps like Quickbooks, Zoho, and Expensify, that are designed to help self-employed individuals track their expenses and stay organized. We use Freshbooks to manage all proposals, contracts, and invoicing to eliminate unnecessary paperwork. If you are considering going digital for the first time, set aside a few hours to get yourself set-up and get your existing receipts uploaded, but in the long run it will save you so much time!
If this doesn’t convince you to dump that drawer of miscellaneous instruction manuals in the recycling bin, we don’t know what will. Hopefully you’ll be entering the weekend with some fresh spaces, clear of any paper clutter. Plus, below are a few of our go-to paper organization supplies we love and love to implement in our clients homes.
