Paper Clutter - More Ideas to Cut Down on Paper - continued...

 Here are a few more tips to get you started on the road to overcoming the paper overwhelm ---

 ·    Touch it only once rule. This means that you should make a decision about each piece of paper once you touch it. Don’t put it back into the pile – or another pile to decide later.

·        Newspapers, catalogs and magazines tend to pile up and get out of control. Today most newspapers, catalogs and magazines are online. If you can change to the online edition you will cut down on piles of paper clutter in your home. But – remember to clear out your computer files out. If you still want to get hard copies – make a one in one out rule. Only have one copy of the magazine on hand. Read it and toss it (or recycle to a friend who doesn’t get the magazine). Or keep two months if you really need to (but no more than that!).

·         Kids and paper. Schools – are tree haters. They must be – because schools generate a ton of paper. Kids constantly come home with permission slips, announcements, school work, fund raisers, school picture requests, artwork and more. All on a daily basis! You can’t keep everything. So, deal with each piece of paper right away – and give it back to your child (put it in their backpack so they won’t forget it). Keep only a few pieces of their artwork – and take a picture or scan the rest into your computer (if you must). This way you can still keep their work but not have a pile of paper everywhere.

·         Coupons. If you have to keep coupons – make sure that you only have ones that are not expired. Be sure to keep them in a coupon folder (a small one in your purse or glove compartment – where you won’t forget them). Go through them at least once a month and get rid of the expired ones. Also, consider downloading the coupons to your phone instead of keeping a hard copy.

·         Cards & letters. It’s hard to get rid of special cards and letters from people that you care about. Make a rule that you will only keep X amount of cards (depending on the size of your keepsake box). Or make a rule that you will only keep the last few cards from that person.  Or that you will only keep cards for a certain amount of time. By limiting the amount of room, you give to items you will decrease the amount of paper that you accumulate.



Less Clutter = Less Stress ^SM     in your home, your business and your life

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