http://unclutterer.com/discuss/tags/paper The community for people interested in home and office organizing. en-US Mon, 13 Feb 2012 11:23:05 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://unclutterer.com/discuss/search.php http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45722 Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:57:40 +0000 ninakk 45722@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Hi "spacecadet"! Long time no see, hope you're not going away again. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45691 Sat, 28 Jan 2012 21:09:31 +0000 spacadet 45691@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I'm really resonating with grey's comment "give yourself permission to start small and quit when it gets overwhelming."</p> <p>I thought I had (mostly) conquered my paper monster. Then we moved across the country, and my "current" piles got a bit overwhelming because of all the paperwork that comes from a big move. And as we were unpacking, my boyfriend said "where do you want me to put this plastic tote?" I said "that's not mine." Turns out, it was. And it's full of paper from 2005 - two moves ago. Oops.</p> <p>My strategy is to do an initial sort into three piles: Obvious Trash, Obvious Shred, and Take a Second Look Later. On the first day, I opened the plastic tote and found another box for Second Looks. Then I got overwhelmed. Today I sorted through an inch of paper - luckily, most of it was Obvious Trash. I might even try for another inch before I go to bed tonight. I'll just do an inch whenever I get the urge, and I'm sure it will be gone before my next move ;) </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45547 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:33:43 +0000 Rosa 45547@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Once you're caught up with shredding (so not while you're going through the giant pile) you can shred one page a time as it comes in, just by tearing it up small. It's only the giant amounts that are a real barrier. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45510 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:54:28 +0000 ninakk 45510@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Conny, the ideas of how nasty it will be keep building way past the pile height. Amazing how we keep fooling ourselves into believing that voice, over and over. Nicely done, you are soon paper clutter free! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45508 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:51:17 +0000 Conny 45508@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I couldn't sleep through for the past 2 nights, so I took a tray that was piled high with all sorts of papers snippets, cut out articles, addresses, e-addy changes etc etc. and a block of post its and began sorting, at our dining room table, that was the only clear BIG surface. I even used the floor and all the dining room chairs. In 3 hours i had sorted that tray into about 15 categories, Each got its own file. Tomorrow i will do the same with the next tray. </p> <p>Soon my desk will be clear. Why did i procrastinate 3 years? </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45492 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:49:27 +0000 Zora 45492@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I cut old paper (printed on one side only; usually stuff that I've printed myself) into four quarters and keep it in a little cardboard tray I made. The quarter-pages are just the right size for notes, shopping lists, etc. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45481 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:15:39 +0000 ninakk 45481@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Haha, chacha! :D </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45480 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:15:05 +0000 ninakk 45480@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Welcome Barb/Aanony! It's this discussion thread:<br /> <a href="http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/atad-january-2012/page/48" rel="nofollow">http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/atad-january-2012/page/48</a></p> <p>Re Aanony's two-sided printing:<br /> I reuse paper which has printed stuff on one side only; usually for movie tickets printed at home and such (there's normally just two or three of us, which means they fit on one page of an A4 paper - four in total go on one side). On few occasions I also like to print out a recipe from my template in Bento.</p> <p>I also reuse while keeping track of which receipts belong to whom and to which card (it's way too complicated and I complained to my husband about this only the other day). One sheet is folded in half, into which the receipts are then tucked. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45471 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:43:30 +0000 Aanony 45471@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I'm new to this board, but it looks great.. How do I find the atad thread?</p> <p>I recycle at work and at home. Paper and cardboard go there4. If I print anything out, I print front &amp; back to save paper. I keep a cardboard box at home and I throw the shred items there. A few times a year my credit union offers free shredding day and I get rid of all of it at once. </p> <p>I read all of my books, took 1 1/2 years, and decided which to keep, the rest I took to a used book store for credit on my next purchase; the rest was donated to my library. </p> <p>Barb </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45129 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:43:44 +0000 EraserGirl 45129@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>there are other ways to shred without buying a shredder. get a 5 gallon bucket or a trash can put it in the tub...put the pages with personal data in the bucket.<br /> cover with water and a smidgen of bleach to the container, heck add some detergeant if you like. you only need to cause the inks to run. leave it for a few hours or over night, then drain it out and put the pages in a trash bag. tada. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45127 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:34:44 +0000 chacha1 45127@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>500 pounds of paper is ... actually not all that much. For $150 you can buy a pretty good shredder!</p> <p>(had to post on this one in order to meet my goal of topping 5 threads. take that, ninakk!) </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45124 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:23:17 +0000 JayEff 45124@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>I suggest another option (for anybody, not necessarily the original poster) that is clutter-free: hire a company to shred your papers.</p> <p>A friend talked to a local company about shredding boxes of business papers that he is no longer required to keep. For $150 dollars, the company will come to him and shred up to 500 pounds of paper in its truck while he watches. For $50, he can drop off up to 500 pounds of paper at the company's office, where it will be shredded later in the evening after the truck returns to the office. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45115 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:43:41 +0000 lindsay4 45115@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! @JayEff- I have a plan in place that is doing a pretty good job of handling incoming stuff - it's the backlog that is overwhelming. Unfortunately, I can't swing a heavy-duty shredder or high-price scanner right now (nor do I have the space) but I think slow and steady will win the race.</p> <p>Thanks again! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper/page/2#post-45107 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:44:08 +0000 EraserGirl 45107@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>@ella - i agree about documenting your purge...perhaps keeping a running total of how much you have recycled. I started using my tumblr blog to take an image of incoming and outgoing objects. it has forced me to THINK a third time about acquisitions - and i like the visual aspect. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-45100 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:10:11 +0000 JayEff 45100@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>There are two problems: the old paper and incoming paper.</p> <p>I would suggest coming up with a system to handle incoming paper and implementing it NOW. Receive bills electronically, shred, scan, file better, etc. </p> <p>Then, tackle the old paper. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-45091 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:40:22 +0000 Ella 45091@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Such good suggestions and encouragement here. I'll be revisiting this thread when I start purging my backlog of papers for February's goal/project. I like the idea of working each day with just a small stack of papers in a tray. I have a shallow basket tray that will work nicely and will keep things neatly confined to my little table. Plus a pot of tea to help reduce the stress. I also like the idea of weighing/measuring the daily purge and posting it on ATAD. I've always wanted a food scale, and this might be the right time to get one. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-45074 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:16:22 +0000 Irulan 45074@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>Dining or coffee tables work well for staging areas because they force you to limit yourself to dealing with the amount of paper that fits on the table. If you don't have any decently sized tables or they're snowed under with stuff, your bed will do in a pinch. You'll be forced to clear it off before the end of the night. </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-45054 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:11:13 +0000 pkilmain 45054@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>A went to a conference a couple years ago where they gave us all the handouts on a flash drive! So cool, and once they were moved to the work PC, I had another flash drive, albeit a small one (storage wise). </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-45034 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 21:27:07 +0000 EraserGirl 45034@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>i have spent many decades in your spot. don't let the paper intimidate you! show it who's boss! just because it exists and it is in your house doesn't mean you need to keep it! and you don't HAVE to let paper in your house because someone gave it or sent it to you.</p> <p>It is your house and paper is only a guest in it. 90% of the time is only a vehicle for transmitting data. once you have the data you can loose the paper. Digitize as much as you can...buy an external hard drive.... if you can get to the data online..you don't need to a piece of paper to remind you of it. </p> <p>I love my scanner... Epson 4490 which recently died and i am replacing it with the next model I digitize as much as i can. I shoot pictures of business cards and then toss the cards. I use my smart phone to take pictures of handouts and NOT BRING the handouts home. </p> <p>Don't let the paper push your around! </p> http://unclutterer.com/discuss/topic/overwhelmed-by-paper#post-44956 Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:57:49 +0000 chacha1 44956@http://unclutterer.com/discuss/ <p>This topic has come up in numerous threads and it does seem a foundational principle for coping with Paper is "stop it from coming in." Change to e-billing, pay bills online, get statements online, shop online, cancel paper catalogs, change paper magazine subscriptions to online versions.</p> <p>Some stuff we can't really control (like healthcare paperwork, until/unless the world goes to electronic records we are stuck with it) but for that a scanner is an infinitely better tool than a file cabinet. So easy to "save as" Summer 2011 GYN and it's *done*.</p> <p>All that said, of course, if you are starting with a giant pile, or boxes, or cabinets full of paper, IMO the best thing to do is sit down with a box at a time in front of the TV and just zip through it. And restrict yourself to three sorting categories: 1) Throw Out Now; 2) Scan, then Toss; 3) file with tax returns.</p> <p>Paperwork from past schooling is so, so hard to get rid of but my recommendation is to save ONLY your own finished papers (with bibliographies) and to simply discard everything else. Don't keep notebooks, textbooks, workbooks, collections of index cards, class handouts, or any of that stuff. It has no monetary value and won't help you move forward. Even if you go on to study again in a related field, you will need to work with new resources. (My M.A. was awarded in 1994 and scholarship has definitely moved on without me.) And frankly I don't know anyone whose collegiate or post-grad work was so well-indexed that it could fairly be described as a "resource."</p> <p>Flip through it fast. Find those finished papers. Don't even look at everything else. Good luck! </p>