The Paper Pool

Pretty much all of us, at one time or another, have been swimming in that ugly pool of feeling, like you are drowning in a concrete pool of paper.

This isn't just a problem confined to the clutter bugs of the world. It's also symptomatic of too much information, too much advertising, and too little time to sort and process the paper clutter of our lives.

Everyone in the pool wears the same swim suit of being neglectful, inconsistent, or deficient in time management. The solutions to paper clutter is simply a problem of learning some time management skills, and time management strategies.

Many of us have the best of intentions, and can tread the water of our piles of paper, for short periods of time. However, most of us will need help from time to time, in reaching the side of the pool, where being organized is more the rule than the exception.

Time management in organizing our paper clutter can mean more time to do the things you really want to do, while at the same time enjoying a whole lot less stress. All of us can zap considerable stress in our lives, by both de-cluttering and organizing the paper in our lives.

The saving, hoarding or pack ratting of papers is deeply rooted in the following behaviors:

• Saving unnecessary mail and advertisements knowing that you'll likely never look at them
• Saving unnecessary papers knowing that you'll never look at them again
• Not recycling magazines and newspapers once you've read them
• Not recycling books once you've read them, or are done studying the subject (with reference books and antique book collections being the exceptions)
• Not being able to decide what to keep and what to discard
• Not knowing how long to keep possibly important papers
• Being afraid of getting rid of something you might need later

If you spend the time learning and implementing the time management strategies for dealing with the paper in your life, you will have above all, more time to live your life in a more pleasurable manner.

Certain tried and tested. time management strategies for reducing paper clutter, can greatly eliminate your personal paper pool of disorganization.

Here are a few of the time management techniques:

The tickler file system has been around for generations, however, today thanks to the booming industry of organizing products -- they are a good mesh for complimenting our online calendar reminder systems, such as Outlook. By merging this old time system with reminder flags on your computer, PDA, etc. you can eliminate a lot of stress.

In case you are not familiar with such systems, they have file separations (or slots) -- one for each month and one for each day in the current month. What sorts of things would you put inside such a system?

• Bills sorted by due date
• Event tickets by date
• Special events information and directions
• Children's events, RSVPs, and directions
• Doctor appointments (tests, test results, questions to take to the appointment)
• Claim stubs and receipts (film, prescriptions, dry-cleaning)

This is an area where most of us are afraid we don't know what to save and what not to save. The first thing to remember when dealing with your tax documents is that they don't belong in an old shoe box, envelopes, or stuck in a drawer. Furthermore, not keeping your tax records organized can cost you big money at tax time.

To help us know what we should keep and how long to keep our various tax related papers, the IRS has spent our tax dollars on creating IRS Publication # 552 (Record Keeping for Individuals).

Depending on who you talk to or what you read, the general rule is to keep your tax documents a minimum of three years. That said, however, the IRS can come back on you up to six to ten years, depending upon circumstances.

Furthermore, if you own any assets, have any long term investments, etc. you can find yourself with the IRS demanding information dating back years ago. To solve this never ending pile of papers, here are some tips:

• Keep this year's tax related documents in an expanding "multi-pocket accordion file system (the better ones expand from the bottom and top).
• Keep all previous year's tax related documents and tax returns in three ring binders with the year clearly marked on the outside, in one or more file totes.

Saving non-tax financial records is the second biggest worry of those who can't decide what to keep and what to throw out. Here are some guidelines for those documents:

• Bank Deposit Slips - Discard after reconciling statement, unless they are for larger than normal amounts and of possible tax consequence
• Check Registers - One year
• Check Statements - One year
• Receipts- (1) Discard after you've reconciled any related billing statements for credit card purchased items that aren't necessary for tax purposes; (2) Keep receipts for anything that has a warranty until it expires; (3) Keep tickets for high end electronics and other purchases for the first four months; Keep receipts for tax related items for seven years.
• Retirement Statements - Three years
• Social Security Projection Statements - Keep for two year

Keeping the papers pertaining to your credit has changed a lot due to concerns about identity theft. So for that reason alone, every home should have a paper shredder. Additionally, the following suggestions are in order:

• Never put anything that has your personal account numbers, social security number, birth-dates, or other usable identifiers, in the trash.
• Check and reconcile all bank statements, credit card statements, and other statements promptly when they arrive -- so that you can have mistakes or problems reported in a timely manner.
• Don't give personal information out over the phone, or online -- unless you have initiated the business transaction.
• Check your credit every four months by getting a free copy of your credit report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (alternate). Dispute any discrepancies.

Perhaps no papers are more important than those that have to do with your health, medical insurance, medical bills, and medical records.

This is even more important if you or any member of your family has a chronic disease or illness. Here are some basic document rules:

• Separate files need to be kept for each member of the family.
• Insurance statements and bills need to be scrutinized upon receiving.
• Insurance statements and bills need to be filed immediately after examining them.
• Insurance statements can be discarded after two years.

Generally, a relatively easy way to keep these records, are in 3-ring binders. Clearly mark them on the outside for each member of the household. Use of 3-ring binders helps to be able to grab the right one for trips to the hospital or physician's office.

Floating in our pool of paper clutter (especially true of those of us who like to write) are all the notes we make. There are two thought for eliminating this area of paper clutter.

The first is to keep a notebook, or one central place for these notes. The second, more reasonable is to make your notes online when you intend to use them online later on anyway.

It's sad but true, some of us just hate to open up the mail box. Aside from depressing fact that the box contains far too many bills, it's also stuffed with the same old advertisements that very few look at.

For many busy people, you thumb through it, rescue the very ones you hate to get, and "save" the balance for another day.

Here's the best way to deal with incoming mail:

• First, put your name and the names of the other members of your household on the Do Not Mail List
• Also, put your name and the names of the other members of your household on the Privacy Rights List
• Have a designated mail tray, bin, or basket for incoming mail that is urgent, for other members of the household, or that needs further attention
• Immediately place all bills into your "bills-to-pay" folder

Some statistics to ponder:

• One million trees are crying this year, as they end up dying for a lost cause -- bulk mailings of junk mail advertisements. Advertisements and offers that result in only fifty percent being opened, the rest trashed without reading. Everyone needs to do their part to put an end to the practice of unsolicited junk mail.
• Then, think about the fact that it takes approximately 754 recycled newspapers to save one lone tree. The average person uses the equivalent of forty-three trees in their lifetime -- all just to read a newspaper everyday. There is a good reason to only read the newspaper online.
• Finally, think about the printer paper you use with your computer -- It takes 8,333 of paper to eliminate one tree from this planet -- at 500 sheets per ream, you only have to use 17 reams of paper before another tree has disappeared. How many times do each of us waste printer paper?

In a world of natural and not so natural disasters, keeping the original copies of your important documents is vital.

Furthermore, they need to be in a fireproof, waterproof, locked box that can be easily gotten to in case of an emergency. Fires, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes are all very real things that can happen to anyone, anywhere

What needs to be inside your personal portable safe?

• Passports
• Bank statements with account numbers
• Investment and retirement papers
• Family immunization records
• Copies of insurance papers
• Lists of every credit card number and any associated pins
• Social security records
• Computer passwords, user-names, and any associated
• Banking pins and passwords
• Photos of each family member for identification
• Photos of any pets for identification
• Copies of pet vaccinations and licenses
• All insurance policy papers of any kind (auto, home, life, health)