What you need to do to prevent piles is to give paper a home.

Papers pile up faster than any other type of clutter. Other than toys. The way to prevent piles is to know what to throw out and when and to make sure each type of paper has a home. The bottom line is you've got to sort through it when the mailman brings it and have it in either a tickler or mail sorter (like the picture above) where it sits until you act on it!

There are two types of paper categories. Papers requiring Action and reference material.

Action items are just that. Any papers that are time sensitive or require any action are action files. They belong in an "in your face" location. Bills, invitations to RSVP, phone messages to call back, papers to sign or send.

For action files, one idea is to put up a clothes line in your office and hang papers from the line. That is the most "in your face" suggestion. Other action file organizers are tiered paper trays sitting on the desk or tickler files.

A tickler file is a notebook with 1-31 dividers and monthly tabs. You can put bills to be paid a few days before they are due in the section under the appropriate date. I do this with any paper requiring action. Get yourself a notebook with dividers for every month of the year and day of the month 1-31. Put papers under appropriate sections.

You may also consider Mvelopes which is financial software that retrieves all of your bank statements at once, remembers the passwords to all of your different accounts, and pays your bills automatically. You won't waste time going to each bank website, needing to enter in a password, and find out how to download the activity.

Addresses and Phone Numbers
Scraps of paper with addresses and phone numbers are easy to take care of with a palm pilot If you use the palm pilot for nothing else, use it for addresses and phone numbers. The beauty of the palm is your ability to change numbers easily, without having to scratch out old numbers.

To do Lists/Planner
To do lists and notes to self of tasks and chores you can keep by writing in a plain spiral notebook. Use one notebook to get all of your thoughts down. If you want to seperate your thoughts into well divided categories, for example-books to read, calls to make, groceries to buy, an easy organizer already created and color coded by professional organizer, Maria Gracia.

Mail
Now you know what to do with the mail. Sort the mail (click on the picture at the top of the page to get the sorter) when you get it, weeding out the trash and sorting bills, to file, and pending papers. Papers sit in your mail sorter temporarily until you can move them to where they need to go. Bills get paid with your bill organizer, addresses get entered in your Palm, to-dos go in your easy organizer.

File Box for Taxes
During the year as you get tax forms, receipts, and other papers that are tax related, file the papers in a seperate file box you have strictly for tax purposes. Get out your past years return and use the categories such as "1099s", "donations" to use as a guide for what categories to create. Make seperate categories and throughout the year, put related papers inside. When tax time comes, your papers will already be organized.

Receipts
Prevent piles of receipts from scattering all over the house. Keep your receipts in the car and you'll always remember where your receipts are. I like to label each pocket according to my favorite store. That way I can always find my Nordstroms receipts!


Reference Files
Use a total of 4 drawers to organize all of your papers that can be referenced and put away. No papers requiring action go in your file cabinet until they have been acted upon. Use two small file cabinets and put away your paid bills, home maintenance records, report cards, medical papers, bank statements, warranties, etc.

Here is a list of filing equipment system supply and everything else you need to set up a space saving filing system!

-A File cabinet or box made for filing

-4 different colored hanging file folders

-manila file folders

-clear 1/3 cut hanging file tabs with inserts

There are variations to the type of filing system you can set up.

First let me say that the reason you need some kind of filing system (whether it is in an actual file cabinet or not) is to store all the papers that do not require action.

For example, bank statements already reconciled, health insurance statements requiring no action, and other records. We all have tons of paper that can be put into the filing system.

Papers that you need to fill out or complete do NOT go into the filing system. Only after you've taken action on them do the papers go in the filing system.

That is why you need to set up a filing system, and I'm going to tell you the way I find works best for people.

(There are people who are nervous when it comes to a file cabinet because they feel once their papers go inside, they'll never come out. I call these people "pilers" because of the large amounts of paper piles seen everwhere) A standard 4 drawer filing cabinet is perfect for the filing system that I like to use.

I mentioned in my earlier list of filing system equipment supply that you will need 4 different color hanging files, labels, and clear tabs.

Come up with 4 large categories that apply to your life. Let's say "Home", "Office", "Taxes", "Financial"

Each drawer will hold one of those main categories and all of the file folders in there will be one color.

Once you have your main category, then you can put in as many subcategories as you wish. So "Home Maintenance" can be a subcategory of "Home". Within "home maintenance" you can put a file for "plumber".

All of the smaller sub categories like "plumber" will take the form of manila folders within the hanging file folders.

He, hates to file! There were piles of papers all over his office until he decided that there has got to be a way to organize people who prefer "piling" instead of filing. This way does not prevent piles, it encourages piles.

Many people will tell you to conquer your habit of piling but I say that if you really have a strong hatred of filing, then work with your natural preference and find a way to go along with what comes naturally to you.

Blair created the Pile Cabinet , a way to keep papers organized in piles while knowing what every piece of paper in the pile is. You will be able to find papers within the pile in minutes.

As far as filing equipment system supply for the Pile cabinet, I believe all you need is a box to stack your papers and the software. You can download the Pile cabinet.

Research shows that 80% of what we file away is never referenced again. Be brutal in determining what papers you want to keep. Remember, you want to prevent piles (unless you get the Pile Cabinet)- every paper you decide to save contributes to paper clutter.

Here are some basic paper retention guidelines: (always consult with your accountant for more involved questions)

Hold on to utility and phone bills for one year to assess rate fluctuations. Anything tax related such as tax returns, W-2 forms, bank statements with tax-deductible expenses, and receipts for tax-deductible items, should be kept for seven years, in case of an audit. For large and expensive purchases, such as cars, antiques, large appliances, or artwork, keep the receipt, cancelled check, and warranty for as long as you have the item. Keep credit card statements for 3 years as long as there are no tax-related purchases. Daily credit card receipts and atm transactions should be shredded once the monthly statement comes. Keep investment records for 6 years after the sale. Shred monthly mortgage, investment, or medical explanation of benefit statements once you receive the annual summary. Minor medical records can be shredded after 1 year. For a serious medical problem, keep the relevant record forever.

FILE: If you choose to save it, the paper goes into your filing system. So, make a file for your coupons, addresses, and electric bills.

ACT: Place it in your paper flow system or tickler system to act on at a future time. That's where those handwritten chore lists can go.

TOSS: The garbage can, the best way to prevent piles!
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