Organize Papers and Books

What IS it about figuring out how to organize papers and books that throws us into a tizzy?

In a era where we have more technology than ever before, and more opportunities for storing things electronically and virtually, we still have an epic love affair with paper.

I understand.

I completely, wholeheartedly love paper, too...the smell of paper, the feel of paper under my fingertips, the way it crinkles...ahhhhhhh.

But I also recognize that paper is one of the most insiduous forms of clutter - it just keeps coming at us!

We can easily get overwhelmed by piles of paper if we don't keep up with it, because it walks right in the front door uninvited, in the form of mail, junk, bills, fliers, magazines, catalogs, books...you name it, it's coming in.

Let's start with the paper clutter, then move on and talk about how to organize paperwork, and then get into one of my favorites, how to organize books.

Toss as much as you can first. Seriously. Most of the paper you keep and organize and file away is not worth keeping in the first place.

If you can easily find the information somewhere else (on the internet or at the library), throw it out.

If you keep it because you mean to go through it someday, set a date and if you haven't gone through it by that date, throw it out.

When you get down to the smaller piles that you will actually keep, the easiest way - by far - to organize papers is to get yourself a good filing cabinet (or bankers boxes) and some hanging file folders. Create simple categories (like "phone bills" or "insurance" or "clients"), and then put the papers in the appropriate files.

Keep it really simple. Truly, it doesn't have to be complicated.

Books are a challenge for many people (and I completely understand...I love books, too). But books take up a lot of room, both in our homes and offices, as well as in our heads.

When you keep books that you no longer read, that you read but didn't agree with or like the ideas in them, books that are outdated, books whose ideas you liked but have already fully integrated...well, you can see how quickly you could have way too many books.

It's OK to let them go.

In fact, it's probably past time to let them go. So you have my complete permission to get rid of the books that are cluttering up your space.

And here's the very best part: when you organize papers and books in your home and office, you get an immediate creativity and energy boost.

Better than caffeine, and it's perfectly legal.

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