Drowning In A Sea Of Paper

I am a paper magnet. Paper is attracted to me like bears are attracted to honey. Even as I write this there is a small pile of paper on my desk that seems to grow with each keystroke. To paper, I am a beacon, a lighthouse in turbulent sea. Paper heads toward me only to be dashed to pieces on the jagged rocks of my shredder.

Seriously, paper is pretty cheap so people abuse it. That's why you see an endless stream of advertisements in your maibox. Despite the fact that I generate next to no paper at all, I have papers from work, papers from school, and the dreaded mailbox to contend with daily.

Life Preservers

I can't possibly emphasize how important a shredder is. Get one that is rated to shred staples, credit cards, and compact disks. It's so gratifying to see all those odd bits and pieces go bye-bye. If it's all paper, afterwards, you can dump it in a recycle bin.

If you're like me, you probably have old installation discs from antiquated software programs. Trust me, Windows 3.1 is not making a comeback. Let it go. Then there are all those free AOL CDs. Just make sure to shred the discs separately from your paper trash if you plan to recycle.

Multifunction printer/scanner/copiers are cheaper than ever. If you watch for sales, you can get a good quality, brand name machine for around $50. Even when they're not on sale, a nice one is very reasonably priced. For three products in one that's a bargain. If you don't need to have the original document but still need a copy, scan it and save a copy to your hard drive. It's also a good idea to make a backup copy--one on your hard drive and another somewhere else like a USB or ZIP drive.

Make sure you name the electronic document clearly so you can find it easily. It's probably a good idea to set up electronic folders on your computer for different things like Income_Tax or Utility_Bills 2004. You can plug the numbers into a spreadhsheet and track your costs over time. If you're the type that feels guilty when you toss your kid's refrigerator art, go ahead and scan that too. At the graduation or wedding you can do a slideshow retrospective. Your child will love you for it.

A must have is a file cabinet. If you're thinking of the old-fashioned metal file cabinets found in offices, think again. These days file cabinets come in various wood tones to match your home decor. This trend started because of the popularity of home offices. As more and more people were able to work from home, they wanted office equipment that fit in with their home surroundings and manufacturers have obliged.

Go ahead and get some hanging folders and file folders. If there is a page in a catalog you want to keep, tear off the cover of the catalog and the page you want to keep. Staple them together, and file in your file cabinet. Toss the remainder. When you're ready to order, you'll know what catalog it came from.