Dealing with paper clutter: a foolproof system

I don't remember how I came across the LifeClever guys' system for maintaining a tidy desk, (43Folders? Lifehack.org? Lifehacker?). It's nothing new really, but somehow it felt fresh and encouraging and worthy of passing along. I'm constantly battling paper clutter, what with the daily deluge of mail, school papers, coupons, flyers, order forms, permission slips, newsletters...

Much of what they suggest falls in the Getting Things Done camp, which is no surprise given its popularity among bloggers and tech-inclined. In fact, I wrote up a brief review of GTD back in January. What I most appreciated about the LifeClever approach, though, was its relative simplicity. As powerful and worthwhile as GTD is, I find myself getting overwhelmed by its scope. Because my life is so interrupted, it's difficult to take on a new "system" in its entirety. Even when the kids are occupied, I'm prone to be distracted by the odd Playmobil figure under my foot, or the phone call I only just remembered I had to make.

Baby steps, baby steps (the Flylady mantra) help me organize myself, bit by bit, year by year. The LifeClever article feels like a baby step -- just start with your desk, then move on to the rest of your life.

Tags: Flylady, Getting organized, GTD, Parenting

Comments

[Rob]

#6 should be revised. If pens work, no need to throw them away! Instead donate them to back to the supply closet (if at work) or to the non-profits/schools/etc. that take office supply donations.

[Cynthia Samuels]

I loved the book and a colleague of mine completely renovated her life through it. It does, however, have a flaw. And boy do I fall into it's clutches: If you don't do the legwork right and then follow-up EVERY TIME, things get out of control anyway. It requires time to set things up to save time.

[T-Shirts]

What is "fullproof"? ;) Anyway if you have a shredder then why do you need a recycle bin?

[hedra]

fullproof: folders never fill up.
fullproof: evidence that last night was another bad one for sleep? ;)

[sam]

Interesting site, Thinking about buying a paper shredder to destroy sensitive documents in order to prevent identity theft? Do you already have a paper shredder in your home or office? There’s no doubt that paper shredders are mighty useful devices, but they warrant a big caution. If you have kids or pets, an article in the current edition of Pediatrics brings a frightening trend to light…

[Paper Shredders]

I think a lot of organizations are exploring new ways to become more cost efficient these days. Many big companies often use large amounts of paper in their everyday environments.So they need a paper shredders because Paper shredders are a simple solution to destroying many of the documents and materials that hold private information.Taking simple steps, such as purchasing a paper shredder, can help you avoid a lot of pain and suffering in the future. That seems well worth the small investment.Wanted to compliment on your site, it looks really good.

[http://thethinpinkline.com/2009/04/21/one-of-my-favorite-networking-tips/#comments]

This was a really cool trip to your blog keep up blog master. The need of every office and banks and other places is shredder and its true.