I LOVE to sort paper! But I know even the strongest man will break out in a cold sweat at the thought of sorting a mountain of paperwork.
This week in the podcast, I am walking you through how I think about paper and where it all goes.
Step 1: Sort
You have 3 choices for sorting paper: Shred, Recycle {trash}, or Save. When I am working with clients, we use my paper filing clips to label which box is which.
Step 2: Save
OK, here is where I think I lose you. WHICH papers go in WHICH system?!
In the podcast, I talk a LOT about how to decide if a paper is a Sunday Basket paper, Binder Paper, or File/Scan Paper.
Here are the basic “rules.”
- If you need to take ACTION on the paper or will FORGET where you put it, it goes in the Sunday Basket.
- If the papers are related to a larger project and you will use them as a reference or take them to a meeting, they go in a binder.
- If you are saving this paper because “you might need it someday” but it is not a CURRENT project or task, it gets filed or scanned.
Here are pictures of how I sort papers at a client’s house.
Step 3: Maintenance
Each system needs to be maintained. The Sunday Basket gets checked every… Sunday. 🙂
I tend to go through my binders every season and my file cabinet at tax time each year.
DOWNLOAD HOW TO PROCESS PAPER PRINTABLE
