Lose ten pounds (or more) in one hour.
January is the perfect time to start.
I can promise immediate results!
Open your file drawer.
Start at the front.
Purge.
Set aside all the papers you’ll need for your 2012 taxes.
Toss the receipts you were keeping ‘just in case’.
Weed out the out dated policies and accounts.
Get rid of evidence of paid off monthly bills.
Ditch the manuals for products you no longer own.
Shred or recycle all the paperwork that is no longer relevant or necessary.
(If the shred pile seems daunting for your home machine, Staple and Office Max will shred it for you for less than $1 a pound. How much is your time worth?)
Rethink your filing needs.
Consider on line bill paying to reduce the paper that comes into your home.
Scan important documents and eliminate whole categories of filing.
Decide if a file drawer is the best place to be storing paperwork for you.
Should some things be in a safe or safe deposit box?
Could some items go in a Sentimental or Memorabilia Box and be stored in less prime real estate?
Could you find the information on line? Users manuals, recipes, travel information, benefit explanations, etc.
Make filing as fast and easy as possible by filing in broad categories.
Chances are you’re never going to go back for the paper anyway.
But if you do, you can spend your time then looking through the papers.
Oragnize your files in a way that makes sense to you.
Some people prefer alphabetical.
Others prefer frequency of needed access.
Perhaps you’re a color coded kind of person.
No matter your preference, simple is best.
Every step you add makes it that much less likely you’ll follow through with the process.
By eliminating the unnecessary, out dated, redundant, and really should or could live else where, you will be able to reduce your four drawer file cabinet to a two, your two to a one, and maybe your one to a small case.
Talk about weight loss you can see immediately!
If you have questions or concerns about which papers you need to keep and for how long, I have list I can email you.
Or talk to your accountant to find out what your specific needs might be.
There will always be paper coming into your life and house.
By developing some simple strategies for dealing with it, you can keep it managed.
Here’s to having less weigh on us in 2013.
Karen