Follow these simple steps to demolish those piles, and keep all your household
papers under control.

1. Separate the papers into groups such as:

CURRENT - things that require action: bills to pay, forms to sign, letters that
need a reply, birthday cards to be mailed

PAID BILLS AND RECEIPTS - utility bills, telephone bills, credit card statements,
store receipts

Many grocery receipts can be donated to charities who will in turn cash them in at
the grocery stores. These can be saved in an envelope until a sufficient quantity is
collected.

Gas receipts should be recorded in a log book and saved if you can use vehicle
expense for income tax purposes, otherwise there is no sense in keeping them.

FINANCIAL - income tax, investment reports, bank statements, insurance
policies

RECORDS - medical, dental, veterinary, workplace, military

CHILDREN'S PAPERS - school work, report cards, group activities, art

REFERENCE MATERIALS - charts, internet research, informational brochures,
decorating and gardening ideas

PROJECT MATERIALS - patterns, recipes, business plans,  community responsibilities


2. Create a permanent home for each group.

You may end up with several groups in one file cabinet drawer, you may keep
some in a box in the basement, you may keep some in a basket in the kitchen.
Once there is a definite place to put them, it becomes much easier to put them
away. Of course they will land on the kitchen counter if nobody knows where to
put them. This can become very messy and important things get lost in piles of
papers. Use labels on the boxes and file drawers until it becomes automatic that
you put the papers in the right place.


3. Develop habits that will get those papers into their rightful homes.

The best habit is to put it away while it is in your hand. When you open the bills
put the outside envelope in the recycling bin and the bill in the unpaid bills file, or
basket, or box. When the kids come home, help them unpack their backpack and
put the papers that come out of them where they belong. Create a routine for
dealing with each paper that comes into your home, and weed them out frequently
to keep them down to a manageable quantity.

Here are some other helpful habits to practice:

+ Assign a temporary holding bin (maybe a large plastic basket) for the times
that you just can't put them away.  It will still be a pile, but at least all the
loose papers will be in one place. Make it a habit to empty it every day. Take
the top piece of paper and look after it on the way by. Deal with them one at
a time and it won't take any time at all.

+ Pick a time every day, maybe right after dinner, to deal with the Action group.
Sign those consent forms and put them in the backpacks. Address the birthday
card and stick a stamp on it.

+ Make an appointment with yourself to pay bills and look at your budget once
a week. Turn it into a game and see if you can be finished faster than the previous
week.

+ Every time you take out a file flip through it to see if there is anything outdated
or unnecessary that you can dispose of.

+ Make sure everyone in the household knows where the papers belong and