How to Minimize & Organize Paper Clutter in Your Workspace 2023 (Simple & Quick!)

[@SherryBorsheim]

How do you organize your papers? P.S. Want to learn what's your organizing style? Take the FREE quiz here: www.simplyproductive.com/quiz/

[@kimberleymansfield1099]

Hi Sherry, I needed this video, so thank you for your calm and easy direction. I have been finally tackling my oh...40 or so bins and bankers boxes stuffed to overflowing after almost 40 years. What a huge and at times overwhelming task. Today is day 9 at this. I mean really what did I need with tax returns from 1990 anyways? lol I am having the most difficulty with every single thing my daughter made since 1987( she is now 40) that I kept. Goodness! I have decided to load up car with those treasures after chatting with her and let her decide what she would like to keep and what she can part with....or rather, what I can part with. This is Swedish Death Cleaning on steroids. But I won't stop until I am done. Thanks again.

[@SherryBorsheim]

Hi Kim, thank you and I'm so happy that this video helped you tackle the mountain of bins and banker boxes 🙂🙌🏻💖 Love how you are loading up your daughters keepsakes and having her make decisions on what she wants to keep. My father did the same thing. Loaded up his truck and drove 5 hours to drop it all in our carport. I didn't keep much of it because I didn't have space to store it. Congratulations on accomplishing this huge decluttering project!!!

[@ImjustKim]

Taking a picture and scanning is a good idea for some old paperwork.

[@LaPetiteUne]

Very good advice! Please consider doing a separate video where you go into more details about setting up a filing system based on how each individual wants to RETRIEVE the information, perhaps with 3 or 4 examples.

[@JanelleA.]

This was extremely helpful. Thank you!! 😊

[@SherryBorsheim]

I'm so glad! Thanks for watching and enjoy your new organized bookmarks!

[@DeeDee-zg2dh]

Thank you so much! The FAST approach is a good one, and thinking about how I want to retrieve papers is also very helpful. I feel motivated now!

[@SherryBorsheim]

Wonderful! Let me know how it goes :)

[@Megan6772]

your blouse is lovely, the color really suits you 🧡

[@LindaMills-u4j]

Wow, just wow!!! I found this so helpful, thank you so much. I do about 50% of what you suggest already, but am now motivated to get the whole lot sorted! I’m not so bad on contemporary stuff, my problem is mainly the historic stuff in boxes….🤷‍♀️(I’m 73 and have papers from nearly fifty years of marriage and life events). I’ve also been concentrating on filing stuff ‘in case of my incapacity/demise for my kids and I think that has distracted me from keeping up with other stuff….Anyway I am now re motivated. It’s past midnight in the UK where I am but I’ll be scheduling and planning tomorrow to move to the FAST system. Thank you again 😊x

[@SherryBorsheim]

Yay! You’re so on the right track. Keep important historical info in a way that you can access it easily. They secret is to keep the best of the best and papers that connect the dots of heritage and travels. I’ve narrowed it down to one archive magazine holder per family, meaning each of my parents family history and my husbands. I was ruthless with what I actually kept as I don’t have the space. Now it’s easy to refer to and share with others.

[@amydillardGypsySoul]

Helpful tips- thank you Sherry!

[@SherryBorsheim]

Glad you like the tips 😊

[@rebeccabieri354]

Shred. 😊

[@SherryBorsheim]

Yes! Shredding feels sooo great🙂

[@natalinoraso9227]

Thank you so much!

[@SherryBorsheim]

Awe, thank you 😊

[@dobycorder3206]

?? I have 30+ years of paper for retirement investments , I keep for FIFO calculations. Can I toss those?? Love this! Will set up now .

[@SherryBorsheim]

I’d ask your accountant or someone who prepares taxes. Once you know that, it’s easy to make decisions year after year.

[@nadinefrandsen6087]

Do you have any advice about what to keep as far as medical information. I have huge piles of EOB ‘s, for example.

[@SherryBorsheim]

When determining how long to keep a certain type of information, doing a little research and talking to your insurance provide, you accountant, financial planner, or other advisor is best practices. From there you can make an informed decision based on your circumstances. Google "how long to keep ______________ papers/information. When I did this, two sites came up and in only a few minutes of reading, you'll likely have your answer. Check out this resource www.trueshred.com/blog/how-long-to-keep-eobs as they have some helpful links as well

[@TranscendingTrauma]

In the fast system what is the difference between Action and Schedule?

[@SherryBorsheim]

Great question @transcendingTrauma - Action is a task that you need to take action on and likely takes longer than 2 minutes to deal with. Schedule simply means schedule the appointment, meeting, errand, call, reminder right into your calendar. Often times the next action is to schedule it on the day or specific time and the piece of paper, note, or email can be dealt with. Does that make sense?

[@JayJr.]

I scan all my papers and file them using a file cabinet and standard file system (taxes, bills, insurance, school, etc...) I review my files once a year and shred documents I no longer need, such as the vehicle and house insurance from the previous year, but I keep my scanned copies forever. My scanned documents are encrypted on my HD using VeraCrypt, and I have an online and local backup of all my files. I opt for soft copies as much as possible, like gas and hydro bills, bank statements, etc, which I always download to my computer and save to my encrypted drive.

[@SherryBorsheim]

This sounds like a great system. Good on you for backing everything up digitally! 👏🏼

[@jessicahelene23]

I have trouble determining what papers are important to keep. Some papers come with a disclosure at the bottom saying “keep for your records” and more often than not, those are the papers I’d be more apt to toss otherwise. Same goes for documents needed to be kept for tax purposes (non-business related). If only the school systems in the US actually taught us what the government would be expecting from us. 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@SherryBorsheim]

Papers that you claim for tax purposes need to be kept for certain amount of years and that’s different for the area you live in. Highly recommend you ask your accountant what you need to keep then make a note and keep on hand for quick reference.

[@jennyp4934]

Really great advice. I'm pretty good on current paper stuff, but I do have a question. I'm in my 60s and have recently retired due to health issues. I was an accountant and I attained my education level for that in my late 30s and as a result I still have all my textbooks, which are all neatly on the bookshelf. My real issue is all the personal paperwork I created in studying. I know it's an emotional issue that has made me hang onto all of them. Do you have some wise words that can help me get out of that mind-set? I was considering scanning them all, but there's just too much to even consider doing that and I'd rather try and be a little bit more pro-active.

[@SherryBorsheim]

Thank you for your kind words. I really appreciate it! You're not alone with this question. Sounds like you had a very successful career for several decades and now that you're retired, what would you like to display on your bookshelf instead of textbooks? Something inspiring, new books, photos in frames, keepsakes from your travels? Take a couple days to dream up what you'd like to display on your bookshelves. Then, from there you'll have a clear vision of what you need to keep and what not to keep. I'm sure you spent a lot of time creating all your personal paperwork when studying and I'm curious, when was the last time you referred to your notes to do your work? Often times we hang onto paperwork and textbooks because we think we may need to refer to them "someday" but someday doesn't come. Ask yourself "What's the worst possible scenario if you didn't have your notes and textbooks? You could Google your question. And ask yourself, "How much are these papers and textbooks weighing you down?" On a scale of 1-10 and 10 being extremely heavy weight/burden. Let's get you to a place of lightness, freedom, and a bookshelf that inspires you. Hope that helps, and let me know how it goes. You've got this! And I'm here for you 😀 Sending you lots of feel good vibes your way ❤❤❤

[@jennyp4934]

@@SherryBorsheim great questions. You've given me something to think about and to focus on. Thank you.