Scary image right - piles and pile of paperwork hanging around. This will frighten most of us and a lot will admit defeat right at the start. However, there are ways of getting this under control and steps to put in place to keep it under control, Whether this is for work or at home, you never need to reach the same point again.
First tasks, understand the problem. Get is all out and in one place. Look in drawer, cupboards and under furniture. Find paperwork that looks tidies away, but in reality is just in boxes. Own the issue, then go about tackling it. Again, you don’t have to do this all at once, but it helps.
Here is how to start to tackle your paperwork issue:
Open up ALL envelopes - you need to know what is in there.
Separate out all books/magazines from paperwork, they can be dealt with separately.
Start sorting into rough piles - bills and invoices, medical, letters, receipts, statements etc
Don’t be overly precious, but a quick sort out between 5 or 6 major subject.
Then start to tackle each major pile - pick the smallest one first so you can feel you have achieved something.
Unless legally required to or for warranties, don’t keep items more than 12 months old.
I sort between companies for the more detailed split, also by month.
Think about how to file away your paperwork (a subject I will pick up on in another post) and use that as a guide for sorting it out.
File it away and move onto the next largest pile
If you don’t have a category for something, leave it aside and see how much of that you have, you can then review all the oddities later and see if they have a common thread.
The most fun bit is to make sure you have something pretty and practical to use to file your paperwork away. Co-ordinate with your interior design, choose something different for each subject, or make them look business like. There are alot of options out there, you just need to find the one that suits you best. Some suggestions are:
Concertina files for the business like look - the cheapest option but not much fun!
Pretty files for you shelves - a bit more formal, but can look good on-show
Stunning storage boxes to hold your items - good for photos or sentimentl items.
A proper storage unit for your office - doesn’t have to be grey or boring.
You can use a combination of all to store away all your paperwork that you need to keep.
Whilst I can’t say that this process will be fun and a joy to do, you can make it easier by distracting yourself whilst doing the organising by listening to music or an audio book, and using pretty things to store them away. A glass of wine or your favourite drink and maybe burning incense will also help to soothe the way.