Cut the paper clutter

For those interested in tackling those piles of personal paperwork as a spring cleaning project, today is the day! Actually, it doesn't matter what season it is, says Deb Harvitt, clutter consultant and a longtime professional organizer. Today is always the day. Harvitt, owner of De-Clutter with Deb, of Findlay, has been helping her clients get organized for about 21 years. And in this pandemic time of increased work from home, it's especially important to keep all that paper organized. "If you don't have time to keep up, why would you think you have time to catch up?" she asks. That's one of Harvitt's favorite quotes, gleaned from a client years ago, in the quest to control those perennial piles of paperwork. "Start with the incoming mail, today. Don't let junk mail hit any flat surface in your house, where it can accumulate," she said. Mail should be sorted immediately, even if it does land in "short-term" storage. Unwanted junk mail should be immediately shredded or "filed" in the trash or recycling bin. Stackable trays work well for short-term storage and can be used to separate bills, correspondence and other mail that will take time to address. "I would imagine about 70% of the paperwork that is piled around someone's house is trash," Harvitt said. Hanging file folders, with general labels like "insurance," "taxes," or "receipts" work best for long-term storage. Maintaining long-term files could be as simple as thumbing through the file any time something new goes in, to see if something old can go out. "It doesn't have to be perfect. It just needs to be done," she said. While Harvitt stressed the importance of a fast, easy response to today's paperwork, she does recommend sorting through old paperwork carefully — page by page. She recounts finding savings bonds in one client's piles of old paperwork. "There could be treasure in there. People tuck money into books. One client had money hid in plain white envelopes, all over the house. If you are helping someone else or a family member, then it's vitally important that you go through it carefully," she said. "That's why people avoid it. Looking at every piece of paper you have collected over 30 years is very time-consuming." And, she said, about 80% of the paperwork that is stored away is never looked at again. Large piles of paperwork, she said, are best tackled in small blocks of time. "The reason people procrastinate is the time involved. No one wants to spend hours sorting through paperwork. It's not fun," Harvitt said. She suggested doing a little sorting while waiting on the microwave, or while dinner is on the stove — or even when waiting for hair dye to take, for example. Little by little, she said the effort will add up. While technology hasn't ended the paperwork shuffle, it can be used to chip away at the amount of paper that is collected. Paperless billing can help keep those piles at bay. Digitizing important paperwork for storage can cut down on the need to keep physical files, too. Recipes or ideas from the pages of magazines can be photographed and kept electronically. The same is true with children's artwork, she said. "That article out of a magazine might be really cool, but is it worth taking up space in your house?" she asked. Harvitt said it's up to each individual to answer those questions for themselves. "When I work with clients, I ask a million questions," said Harvitt. "Ask yourself, 'Do I need this? Do I love this? Do I have room for it?' Those are all personal questions. I've worked with people who some would call hoarders. I call them collectors. Some had a 12-inch path to walk through their house, with stuff piled to the ceiling. When we have our declutter discussions, I ask 'How much is too much?' and the answers are always fascinating. 'It's too much when I feel overwhelmed.' 'It's too much when I can't function.' 'It's too much when I can't find my cupboard.' It really does depend on the individual's personality." Again, don't aim for perfect. Aim for done. "There are really only three steps to being organized: sort, purge and store. That's it. But there are thousands of ways to get it done. Pick a system that works for you. It should be fast and easy," she said. "Wanting it to be perfect can slow you down. If you want color-coded file folders with pretty labels, that's fine. But you still have to take the first two steps: sort and purge. Do that first. And then you can go back and make it pretty, and you'll know how many folders, how many colors, and how many labels," she said. Harvitt can be found online at http://declutterwithdeb.com, or on Facebook at De-Clutter with Deb, where she hosts regular "De-Clutter Discussions."