Personal Matters - Stopping the Paper

Introduction: Do you feel overwhelmed by papers in your home? If so, you are not alone. "Dealing with" home papers is one of the top reasons why people contact Minding Your Matters® Organizing Consultants. This month we begin a three-part series that will address handling papers and related home and personal items and concerns.

Featured Article: STOP Papers in Their Tracks

Do you know that you can decrease and in some cases stop papers from entering your home? Yes, it will take a little effort on your part. But a little effort will go a long way. Even if you throw out junk mail without opening it, you are still using up a minute of you time and those minutes add up. Here are two sources that can assist you in eliminating unwanted mail:
• Single source to eliminate credit card offers: 888-567-8688 or https://www.optoutprescreen.com/
• Eliminate other mail through the Direct Marketing Association: http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist. Make sure to send in a form for each variation of your name.

There are additional steps that you can take to reduce certain types of mail. Evaluate the magazines that you subscribe to. One weekly and one or two monthly magazines are the maximum amount most people have time to read. Keep those magazines that you read and discontinue the others. Remember, you can always buy a single issue of a magazine that has an important article in it. If you find it difficult to read the newspaper every day, subscribe to the Friday - Sunday papers or better yet, just the Sunday edition. Don't be tempted to sign up for store credit cards at each store that offers you a % discount for the first purchase you make with the card. Not only will you receive mail from the store, but you will also be placed on additional mailing lists.

Now it is time to decide what to do with the papers that you still have in addition to papers from other sources, such as work or school. First, it is important to designate a landing spot for these papers. The next article will address this issue in more detail. Once you have landing location, you may find it helpful to set up pre-file sort options. These are action folders to help you be more efficient in your use of time when you are ready to actually do something with the papers. Some suggestions for action categories include:

To Pay
To File
To Read
To Do
To Call
To Delegate
To Attend
To Enter (into the computer, your planner, etc.)
To Buy
To Write
To Copy
To Discuss

I recommend setting up three to six of these action folders. Do not place them in traditional in/out bins. Items get lost in those, never to be found again! Instead, place them in a sorter that keeps the folders in a vertical position (found in most office stores). Then designate a time in your schedule to take action on these papers. If you do not make time to act on the papers, all you have is organized papers that never get processed and this leads to bills that are late and parties you didn't get to attend.

If you have taken the steps mentioned in this article, congratulations! You are now on your way to becoming more organized with your papers.