How many pieces of paper do you think are in your home right now? Do you even need them? The trouble is that we have a paper problem. We are unsure what papers we should be keeping and what we can be getting rid of. Because getting rid of the paper can be the trickiest thing. We were never taught what papers were important, and what we don’t need. And if we were taught what to keep, most of the recommendations have changed since then. So we are going to be looking at what old papers you should keep and what you can recycle.

Stopping More Paper From Coming In

The first step towards dealing with old papers is to stop new papers from coming into your house. Now why would that matter? Because when new papers come in, your “new” papers become old. 

In order to stop more paper from coming into your home, you need a game plan. I suggest unsubscribing from those junk mailers. You can find the email address or website to request the mailers to stop. You can also put a garbage or recycling can near your mailbox or where you bring the mail into your home to dump those junk mailers in immediately…before they can make their way to your counter. 

You can also switch bills to electronic. This will stop the paper bills from piling up, and you missing a payment because you can’t find that bill!

Also, deal with mail daily. Don’t let things pile up. Instead come up with a system for stopping the clutter.

More Tips On Dealing With Paper Clutter

Organizing Paper Like a Professional

Clear Paper Clutter With A Plan That Works

12 Ways To Overhaul Paper Storage

Organizing Papers

Once you deal with the clutter of old papers, you can figure out effective ways to organize the papers. 

Now, did you know that it is estimated that roughly 80% of the paper we hold onto we never look at again? And do you know where most of that paper is stored? In a filing cabinet. So if you are going to continue to use a filing cabinet, let’s make a game plan. Start by organizing your files. I prefer alphabetical as it makes it easy to find. Once you put the files in alphabetical order, you should make a key. That key should be a piece of paper that lists all the files that are in that filing cabinet. Add that key to the outside of the cabinet. This way you know exactly what is inside. No guessing! If you don’t want the paper on the outside, then add it as the very first folder inside the filing cabinet. This will be very useful as you file your papers.

Another useful tool to organizing old papers is to use magazine holders. Give each magazine holder a purpose and only keep the papers that match that purpose. I like to keep them out so I can drop the papers directly inside the magazine holder. Then I can also grab the papers I need easily because I am not hunting for them in a filing cabinet.

My Favorite Products For Organizing Paper

While I love using what you have, sometimes you may need to add something to keep your old papers organized. These are a few of my go-to’s when it comes to tackling paper clutter.

Tackling Paper Clutter For Real

Paper can really be tricky to organize. There are so many things that you feel like you should hold onto but really don’t need to. That is why I created the Foolproof Plan To Tackling Paper Clutter. This plan walks you through decluttering your paper, storing your paper so you can easily keep it tidy, and lists out important papers you should keep and for how long. This plan has been a culmination of all my work with in-home clients. I collected all the information they asked and created this plan for you. To help you tackle the paper clutter. And stop the piles of paper.