Mission 2 Organize

The ABC’s of Conquering Paper Piles

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Every house has them. Piles of paper accumulate really quickly.

We all deal with different types of paper. You may have lots of schoolwork from your children whereas someone else may have a number of medical records. Whatever you are dealing with, it is all handled universally.

Setting up a system is the key. Here, we take you through the basics of paper management and lay it out as easy as ABC.

 

A) IMMEDIATELY – Right when you receive a piece of paper, decide where it should go. If you have an electronic copy of something, get rid of the physical paper. Shred and recycle anything you deem “garbage” plus any advertisements. Most circulars and catalogs can be found online more quickly than in your filing system. Create a mail center so you have a place to keep all your mail until you have a chance to process it.

B) PROCESSING – As you go through your mail (or pile of paperwork), take notice of the files you have already created. Those papers can be filed right away. Set up a 3-tier inbox. We suggest using the labels ACTION, TO PAY and TO FILE. Pick one day of the week to go through all of the paper kept here. Pay bills or decide to set up online/automatic payments to avoid the paperwork all together.

C) LONG TERM – Create a digital or physical filing system for your documents. Continue making files for new accounts and cleaning out existing, outdated files. Use banker boxes for old files that you don’t need to access frequently, but still need to keep. Store these boxes in a basement, attic or crawl space.

 

Get step by step guidance on creating a filing system with our video, “How 2 Organize Your Office Paper Files“. You can manage your own paper piles or you can call the experts to handle it all for you!

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