Expert: Jamie Novak - 1/1/2006

Question
Hi! My wife and I have a home office set up in a room in our home. I have a nice sized "U" shaped desk with a few computers underneath and a small filing cabinet. It has a big monitor on top, a printer, scanner, etc. My wife has a more standard desk with computer, monitor,etc. Our problem seems to be paper. Lots of it. I get a lot of industry related publications. I read all of them and refer back to them from time to time. THey are expensive as well. I also have a large collection of books related to my profession. My two book shelves are beginning to max out. Additionally, my wife's desk  is covered with paperwork. Stacks of it (mine too). Business and family related.

I know a chunk of stuff in that room could be thrown out, but there would still be a lot of stuff left with out a home(currently in piles all over). Any thoughts on how we can clean up this space and keep it clean as new stuff comes in? Any yes... the toys are mine....

Here are some pix:
http://www.creativehaze.com/officeClutter/

Thanks for any help!
-M

Answer
NO FAIL PAPER SOLUTION

    This is a foolproof system for dealing with all the pending papers in your life. This is the exact one I’ve used for years, and the one I set my clients up with. So this is the real McCoy, don’t be fooled by imitations.

    What this system is good for is all the pending papers in your life. You know, the ones that sit in a pile on your tables and countertops waiting for you to do something with them. The trick is to keep them out an accessible with out having them scattered every which way from Tuesday. How you are going to do this is by using a desktop file box. This desktop box will most likely sit on the kitchen countertop since you want to have the papers on hand.  

    This type of box has no lid and accommodates about twenty, letter size hanging folders. The boxes come in a wide variety of styles and colors and are available at office stores and most home goods stores. They range in price, but most are under twenty dollars. You’ll want to find one that blends with your décor, since it will be sitting out.

Here’s what you’re going to need to whip your paper piles into shape:

·   A desktop file box
·   Set of hanging folders (any color)
·   Pad of 2� x 2� sticky notes  
·   Pen
·   Calendar

To deal with any backlog of papers that may be sitting around:

1.   Set your kitchen timer for eighteen minutes and jump in. No you will not finish, but you’ll make a serious dent.

2.   Gather up all your pending paperwork from the countertops and tables

3.   Sit down and separate it into piles of like papers for example: all the bills, all the items to read, photos, coupons, receipts, and so on.

4.   As you sort into piles toss the no brainer stuff like expired coupons. But do not get caught in decision making about the papers. This is not the time to decide to keep it or toss it. It is also not the time to think about if you do or do not want to go to the party you’ve been invited to. Instead, toss the invitation in the invitations pile and move on.

5.   Once you have the large pile sorted into smaller piles with specific categories you are almost done.

6.   Next, grab a hanging folder and put all of a kind paper in the file.

7.   Use a post it note to label the file. Do this by sticking the sticky part of the note to the file and leave the rest sticking up as the label. There are no perfect label names, just write something that will help you remember what is inside. Important, pending, this week and urgent are not the best choices, since so many of the papers potentially fall in those categories. Instead use names like, sports schedules, social invitations, scouts and so on. A more complete list is below.

8.   The final step in the process is to note anything that needs your attention on the calendar. Since you are not going to want to have to sift through each file every day to see what needs you attention, you want to be prompted. So let’s say for example you need to sign your child up for swim lessons by the 20th of the month. On the calendar write in a box about a week earlier ‘swim sign up- paper in swim folder.’ When you look at your calendar that day you’ll be reminded not only to sign up, but where the paper is. And since it will be about a week before the deadline, there will not be a last minute rush.

    Here is an example of how a paper might flow through your new system.

    The mail comes in today and you receive a community school brochure that you’d like to flip through. You may or may not register for a class; you need to read the brochure first. Open the brochure to the registration page to see what the date is to register by. Go to your calendar and write in a note about a week before the deadline to remind yourself to read the brochure and that it will be in the community school folder. Then take a sticky note and write community school on it. Put the label in the file, put the brochure inside, and tuck it away. When the date rolls around you will see the note on the calendar reminding you that you need to read the brochure. At that point, carry the brochure with you so you can glance at it in your spare time. If nothing catches your eye then toss the brochure. If you see something you want to register for then either fill out the form and send the check in. Or if you have enough time put it in the bill file to be paid next bill paying session. Write the date of the class on the calendar. Then, place the brochure back in the community school file, since you’ll want to have it on hand to refer to the day of the class so you have all the pertinent information. Done!
     
These files live here a short time, the summer camp files stays only until you register for summer camp or camp is ended. But no longer. Other files, like bill and receipts stay but the contents only stay a little while. That is why you use the post it notes instead of the plastic tabs. Since the file is temporary, no sense wasting time making a file tab. Although for the files that are long term categories, like ‘bills’ and ‘receipts’, you may choose to use the tabs, since the post it notes will eventually fall off.
    
Here are some examples of what belongs in which basic folder:   

§   Household: warranties and instruction manuals
§   To Read: magazine articles, newsletters
§   Receipts: receipts
§   Recipes: recipes
§   Pay stubs: pay stubs or direct deposit statements
§   Travel: brochures, other ideas
§   Entertainment: tickets to events and newspaper clippings of upcoming ideas
§   Bills: bills to be paid
§   To File: select papers that will be moved to a permanent file
§   Taxes: items needed for the upcoming tax filing
§   Contacts: business cards and scraps of paper with names and numbers
§   Photos: to be put into an album
§   Family Meeting: topics to be discussed
§   Babysitter: things your babysitter needs to know
§   Schedules: sports schedules, recycling calendars, event calendars
§   Health: kids medical records, prescriptions, physician referrals
§   Directions: either printed off line or written down
§   Social Engagements: party invitations, directions to the events
§   Restaurants: restaurants you want to try and reviews
§   Coupons: coupons and gift certificates
§   Grocery Shopping: sales flyers, shopping list, food store coupons
§   Discussion: things to ask your spouse about
§   Day Trips: brochures and ideas of day trips to take
§   Books to Read: lists of books you’d like to read one day and book reviews
§   Movies to See: a list of movies you’d like to see and reviews of them
§   Gifts: ideas of gifts to buy for others or a wish list for yourself, pictures clipped from catalogs stapled to the order information
§   Instructions: clippings of a craft pattern, decorating a cake or other directions
§   Take Out Menus: menus for the local restaurants and corresponding coupons
§   Banking: deposit and withdrawal receipts, monthly statement to be reconciled
§   Clippings: newspaper or magazine clippings that do not fit another category but would be good to refer to at some point
§   Online: websites that have been recommended to you or that you would like to check out one day
§   Investments: brokerage house statements
§   School: lunch tickets, school work in progress, school calendar
§   Spiritual: schedules of events
§   Memory Box: artwork and other items to be saved in a treasure box
§   A file for each family member

§   Ã¢â‚¬Å“hairstyle ideas,� “places to visit,� “landscaping,� “PTA,� “Cub Scouts,� “Bake Sale,� “Kitchen Remodel,� “Birthday Party,� “Halloween Costumes,� “Holiday Card Writing,� “Getting Organized� and so on.

§   Give each family member their own file

    Remember however, your box will be personalized since every person has different papers. You may have some or all of these categories and others like hairstyles, places to visit, landscaping, and so on.