The Intrepid Declutterer

Sometimes even divas have more paperwork than they know what to do with. And who wants to deal with all those nasty paper cuts anyway? But the same thing happens every year: stacks and stacks and boxes and boxes and drawers and drawers of papers. How do you keep track of bills, statements, receipts, charitable donations, and end of year tax records? The key to turning that paper chaos into paper control is identifying what is important, eliminating what you can, and having a good system for the paperwork that is staying around.

Getting started is often the most difficult step. Almost anything is better than dealing with papers, so make it as enjoyable as you can. Invest in some pretty tools to help you do your job. Decorative file folders, a smart looking box, colorful markers and a label maker go a long way in making your work something nice to look at. Remember to limit your time spent on filing, because 15 minutes every other day is more productive than always putting it off until tomorrow.

Determining what you really need will help you to feel more in control. How do you know which paperwork is really important? A great resource is the IRS website: www.irs.gov. There you will find guidelines for determining how long personal or business paperwork should be kept. A good rule of thumb is to keep paperwork for 3 years, tax applicable items for 7 years, and tax returns for your lifetime.

Sometimes an excess of paperwork is not really our fault. Everyday the mailbox greets us with a bulging stack of great deals, credit card offers, catalogs, and other miscellaneous papers. Is there a way to eliminate unwanted paper before it even reaches your doorstep? At www.the-dma.org you can unsubscribe from the largest junk mail data base in the country. Simply click on the yellow box that says “Remove my name from mailing lists.” Fill out the form, mail in your dollar, and start enjoying that trip to the mailbox. If you do nothing else to simplify your life this year, stopping junk mail is an easily attainable goal.

Developing a system for handling what is left can be tricky. We deal with twice as much paperwork today than we did 10 years ago. And 80% of what we file never is looked at again. Avoid overcomplicating your system, or you will be discouraged from using it. Fighting your natural organizing style can cause difficulties as well. Very few people are natural born filers. If you are a stacker, stack. But have good tools to keep your stacks in order. There are really cute desk top cubby holes that will keep your piles neat, separated, and contained.

This year is just beginning and it is a great time to implement some solutions. So, get that dollar out, stop junk mail, and start sorting what’s really important!