Clutter Focus – Things to Consider When Making Decisions About Paperwork Clutter

1. The panedmic helped speed up the shift away from having to keep hard copies or originals of legal documents, to being able to provide digital copies. This means there are a lot of legal documents you no longer legally need to keep a hard copy original of in old fashioned filing cabinets. Check, and only keep hard copies of documents you HAVE to keep a hard copy of.

2. Scan any documents / receipts you want or NEED to keep.

• It will be quicker to find what you NEED when you need it, because you can search on your digital device for them in a matter of seconds because your digital device will search the content of scanned documents for keywords. You no longer have to remember what you named the scanned document to be able to find it.
• Scanning and keeping digital paperwork will also save you physical space in your home.
• Scanned documents are not a fire hazard – and you’ll still have a copy of it if you DO have a fire.
• It will be easier to share or send if you need to in the future. Many online applications require you to upload digital copies now, so scanning as you clear your clutter means it will be quicker and easier to complete online applications / forms in the future.
• You can always print a copy of your digital copy if you NEED a physical copy in the future.

If you can’t be bothered to make extra time to scan your paperwork, and you don’t want to delegate the scanning to someone else, REALISTICALLY, you probably don’t need to keep them.

3. Until you get into the routine of doing your weekly Paperwork Clutter Clearing Sessions, and checking bank / credit card statements so you become familiar with your income, expenses and monthly bills pattern so you can spot fraud quickly and easily, switch ON paper statements so that they act as a physical reminder (then shred once you’ve checked them). Online banking apps only show you what is in the account / the balance of credit cards NOW – they don’t show you what bills and payments you have between now and you next injection of income i.e. your cash-flow. A physical monthly statement arriving in the post / mail every month will help you get into a routine.

4. If you know you have a lot of paperwork clutter to go through, invest in a good shredder that has a feeder tray. Don’t be driven by the price. A feeder shredder will save you valuable time because you won’t have to feed it one piece of paper in at a time. You will then have more time to make more decisions, so you can get more clutter off your conveyor belt in the same amount of time.

5. If you know you have a lot of paperwork clutter to go through, make sure your shredder is a cross-cut shredder to protect your identity. Identity theives will go through your recycling and piece together strips of paper from a straight-cut shredder – what patience they have to defraud you!     

6. If you have a lot of shredding (i.e. 50 pieces or more in each Clutter Clearing Session) delegate it. Even with a cross cut shredder that has a feeder tray it can be time consuming. Friends, family, children, grandchildren can all help. Unless of course you WANT to spend more time on your clutter!

7. If you worry you would feel lost without your paperwork (fear of the void) or like me you’re simply of an age where you associate filing with organisation / efficiency, take part in the paperwork reward challenge to shift the association of letting go and shredding to saving the environment. You’ll have a tree planted for every 5 sacks of shredding that you share a photo of in the VIP Circle.

You can clear your clutter fast, or you can clear your clutter forever, but you can’t clear your clutter forever, fast.

To find out how Clare can help you clear your clutter Forever, without the need for an expensive home visit, click here now: https://www.clutterclearing.net/clares-help-centre/