How to handle paper

Paper can be the most pervasive thing we encounter on a daily basis. You deal with it at work and then get attacked by paper when you come home. It is easy to become overwhelmed and not do anything. But as we all know this leads to piles and further sensations of having no control. Eventually everything just sits there and then important information starts to get misplaced.

To avoid this scenario, sort papers over a shredder and recycling bin. Right out of the gate you can get rid of any junk or obsolete information in the recycling, or shred documents with important information. By doing it at that moment you prevent build up of big piles that are harder to go through later on.

Have a home for everything. All paper should get trashed, go in a folder or basket for temporary holding or go on a memo board for easy access. If you have an upcoming event and get a postcard for it, record the event in your calendar and then place the postcard with directions in an “events” folder or tack it to a memo board. If you get a document at work pertaining to a specific project put it right with the related papers, either in a binder clip or folder and set it aside until you are ready to work on it.

As soon as you receive relevant paper distribute it to its proper home and watch the piles slowly go away!

How to clean a buried desk

Tired of looking at a desk covered with papers? Afraid you may have lost important documents in a pile? Purchase manila folders and an ascending wire file rack from your local office supply store. Sort the papers on your desk by project and place them in a labeled manila folder. This will keep your current work visible and easily accessible on your desk.

An alternative is the Pendaflex PileSmart® Desktop Organizer Tray. This tray and divider system allows you to lay papers on the tray and place a divider over them, piling everything up in an organized fashion! The dry erase tabs on the dividers let you to reuse the dividers over again. Check it out at Pendaflex.com