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Papers, Papers, Papers
Can't find your desk? Your floor? Your dining table? Whatever surface is
paper-infested, it's time to clean up:
Sort according to one principle: TRAF. Toss - most things fall in this category.
Read - if you have time, do it now and then do one of the others. Act on - make a box of
these, and they should have some action taken on them as soon as possible. File - file away if they're
important papers. Taking a while to sort your piles will help you see how much stuff you really have
to do.
Immediately toss the T pile - into the recycling bin. Have folders,
trays or bins for the other 3 categories. The reading should be done when you can, and
resorted into one of the other bins or else tossed.
Every paper you get, whether it's junk mail, office memos, or a note from your
friend, should be sorted in this way.
Keep an electronic organizer, an organizer on your computer, or a rolodex/address book. That way,
you won't have lots of slips of paper with phone numbers and addresses, but instead one
consolidated place you can put that information as soon as you get it. Never let such things
pile up because you'll lose them. Do it immediately.
Email is great for keeping information - so don't always print it out. This adds to the paper trail
and kills lots more trees.
Stop buying magazines, newspapers and other things you don't read. Instead, subscribe online
where you can read what you like, print what you need for later, and not have papers lying around after.
Whenever possible, tell someone or send email when you need to send a memo, instead of sending it on paper.
Stop keeping a million old things of sentimental value. You probably will never use those notes from
6th grade english class or ALL your quizzes from college. Keep one for the memories and stop piling up the rest.
If you have the time, make a scrapbook choosing only the important items.
Your files shouldn't have lots of categories. Useful ones are: bank statements, credit info, investments, car&insurance, health/medical,
academic information, receipts. Other things like torn movie tickets, grocery receipts, bus passes, or whatever really don't belong and should be
removed.
Now you'll know where your papers are when you need them, and you won't have to sift through piles to find just the ones you want!
promise@geocities.com
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