Lesson 14,
Applying minimalism to your paper.
This lesson is all about helping you tame your paper monster.
I am going to share a practical method for decluttering and organizing all your papers.
Paper is one of the most challenging kinds of clutter.
You may be able to declutter a whole room in a few hours,
But you may only be able to go through 1 to 2 inches of paper in one hour.
After decluttering a room,
You may feel accomplished and empowered.
After spending a few hours dealing with paper clutter,
Most likely you will notice the difference,
Or you may feel frustrated and overwhelmed.
Do you find yourself wasting a lot of time looking for papers you need,
Paying extra money in late fees,
Or feeling stressed and frustrated due to lack of control over your paper?
Please do not let paper clutter win this battle.
In this lesson I would like to share our experience dealing with paper clutter.
Hopefully these tips will help you conquer the paper clutter and set up a functional paper management system that you feel comfortable using and maintaining.
These are some basic principles that I recommend you follow.
The first goal should be to clear your working space from paper first.
Making this space inviting and functional will empower you to use it.
While clearing the space,
Have ready a small box for important documents to take care of immediately.
Bills to pay and other documents that require immediate action will go in this box.
Keep an ongoing to-do list so that you can take action later and don't miss anything.
Please don't try to remember everything in your head.
Have the recycling bin and a to-shred bin ready.
You can store the to-deal-with paper in boxes.
You can label them and you can stack them nicely in the corner or out of the way in another storage area or another room.
Schedule time to deal with it later if you can't do it all now.
When you are ready to go through your paper,
If you have space on the floor,
You can start creating piles.
Use posits or masking tape to write the name of the categories that make sense to you.
For example,
Car,
Hydro,
Utility bills,
Insurance,
Groceries.
After doing many paper sessions with different people,
We have found that coming up with your own labels and names will help you maintain the paper system better.
If you force yourself to follow a pre-made system with names that you don't normally use,
You may have more difficulties remembering and putting everything in the right place.
You can also use a temporary filing system.
You can use a bankage box,
A collapsible filing box or similar solution.
Start creating temporary folders with categories.
You can always change them very easily as you go.
Once the project is done,
You will know how much filing space you need.
You can decide then if you require additional filing space.
Don't forget to measure before purchasing any product.
And always account for future expansion.
Normally 20-30% is the minimum that I will recommend because your paper will grow over time.
Some financial papers need to be kept for up to 7 years.
Some others you will need to keep them forever.
Make sure to double check with your accountant or other professional before discarding anything that you are unsure of.
If you can't do it all at once,
Break your paper project down into several sessions.
No one likes to spend too much time dealing with paper clutter.
Make sure to deal with it in stages.
A good idea could be to spend time dealing with it while watching your favorite TV program,
Watching the kids,
Listening to nice music,
Radio station or interesting podcasts.
It can take around 1 hour to go through 1-2 inches of paper.
Some people like to do it all at once.
We have done paper sessions for up to 8 hours straight.
Follow your best judgment and be realistic.
Keep a to-do list.
Every time you find a paper that requires an action from you,
Make sure that you add it to your list.
Schedule it later in your calendar so that you don't miss it.
You can reduce your paper by signing up for electronic correspondence when possible and unsubscribing from services you no longer need.
Most owner's manuals and instructions can be found online.
You can digitize documents and go paperless and store them on your computer or use a cloud service.
Be aware of the time that this will require.
Maybe you can start doing it from now on.
Some tools to do this could be using the Tiny Scanner that is a free app or similar product.
When using digital solutions to store your files,
Make sure to create a simple system that is easy to follow.
If some papers are stored physically,
Make sure to use the same labels in digital files as you do in your paper filing system.
This will help you maintain your paper system better and easily.
Consider using your local library system for books,
Magazines,
And movies.
This will help you reduce the clutter.
And finally,
Have a home for all the papers that comes in,
Goes out to deal with.
Having a command center could be an idea.
Make sure to involve everybody in the system.
And make recycling easy and convenient.
All these tips are coming from our experience of helping hundreds of clients organize their paper world in our one-on-one sessions.
Yes,
We went to their homes and businesses and helped them conquer the paper monster.
The longest paper session that we have done was 8 hours in a dentistry.
We went through 12 years worth of paper and clients' documents.
By the end of the 8 hours,
Our clients had full control of their paper and they were ready for tax time.
Such a relief.
The average paper session is between 3 and 5 hours.
More than that,
Our clients start feeling very fatigued.
As always,
Follow your own judgment and know your own limit on how long you can work for and how much energy you can dedicate to paper at once.
I hope these tips help you conquer your paper monster.
If you follow all the steps,
You will be in very good shape.
Now it's time to plan your paper project and schedule it on your calendar.
