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Do You HATE Paper?

My husband walked into my office one day, years ago, and said “I hate paper!”

Really I said, I kind of like paper. I’m one of those people who like hard copies of some things and I’m happy to label manila folders and file things away in drawers. But I understand not everyone feels this way.

Why do some people hate paper?

Because they don’t know what to do with it.

It’s left on top of kitchen counters, dressers, desks, and basically any flat surface.

It clutters people’s homes and when they need one of those pieces of paper they can’t find it.
So frustrating!!

If you’re like my husband and hate paper you may find the following tips and products helpful.

I’m not going to try to convince you to file your papers in a drawer because most paper haters think putting papers in a drawer is like throwing them away – you don’t remember you have them as soon as they’re out of sight.

Go ahead, continue to pile papers but in an organized fashion.

The key to keeping your papers in order is understanding why you’re keeping them in the first place.

The only reason to keep papers is because you think you’ll need to look at them someday right? If you can’t think of one reason you’d ever need that paper again why are you keeping it?

Ask yourself when and why you’ll retrieve these papers. Your answer will determine the next steps.

  • You’ve got to decide where you’re going to keep papers. Keep it all in one place if possible.
  • Assign each pile a category.
  • How many piles/categories do you have?
  • Choose an organizing tool. You may consider:
    • Clip like papers together with tabbed clips. The ones pictured are from Staples.
      Label them using a pencil or an erasable pen and get twice the use out of them.
      These are best used for things that need action, not long term storage.
    • Develop your own document retention policy. 

Hopefully these tips will encourage you to think about why you keep some papers and help you find them easily when you need them.

I’m happy to help develop a custom retention policy for you that makes retrieval easy. Call, email or text me to learn more.

Lorraine

Copyrighted Naturally Organized L.L.C. 2021

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