Why do all of those papers have the power to cause so much anxiety for many of us? My theory: in spite of technology, those of us who were born before the computer age have brains that are still wired to think printed material must be important, therefore, it shouldn't be thrown away. A lot of us are perfectionists who are terrified we'll make a mistake, throw the wrong thing away, or put it in the wrong place and when some unknown scarey person demands that we come up with it, we'll lose everything because we can't find it. Some of us have been traumatized by bad surprises (usually financial in nature) that have come in the mail. So it piles up.
The truth is, most of this stuff won't ever be needed. There are very few documents that can't be found or replicated. Some of them might require a little more time or effort to recover, but it can be done.
The other truth is that if it's piled up or in boxes or bags, you won't be able to find what you need anyway.
Having said that, it is important that documents be kept in an orderly way, so you can find them IF you need them, thus making your life easier and more serene. It's easier to grab your birth certificate from a file than to go through the process of getting another one.So, the first thing you want to do when tackling that huge pile of backed up mail is to gather it all together on one spot. If you have more than a year's worth, pull out the current year as best you can to get started. Take a deep breath and grab the recycling bin. If you feel anxiety starting to tighten its grip on you, set a time for ten minutes and KEEP GOING ANYWAY. I recommend three piles: keep, recycle, shred. Those are the only decisions you're making right now...don't worry about sorting yet.
Get a good letter opener and open every piece. ALL junk mail goes into the recycling or shred pile! As do newspapers, (anything earlier than today) magazines (keep no more than the TWO latest issues), flyers, and newsletters.
Even if you see something that interests you, something you want to donate to or buy, get rid of it! You'll hear from these people again, and if you don't, you can find them online. (Helpful article: What to Shred and What to Keep.) DON'T save envelopes the mail came in, don't save a flier for a place you may want to tell your friend about, or information you think your kids or friends will want: DON'T DO IT! You don't need to save any but the most recent of most monthly bills. If you think you want to use envelopes as note paper, there will be plenty more coming in. Right now your goal is to get the stuff out of here! If it's not a record of something you've actually done or paid, you don't need it.
I recycle all junk mail and only shred if it contains account numbers or other personal information. I figure anyone can find my name and address with just a couple of clicks, so I don't worry about it, but some people prefer to shred anything that has a name or address on it.This process can take days, or even months. You're not going to do it all at once, so get over the idea that it's going to go quickly. Grab a batch to do while you're watching t.v. or bribe the kids to help you. If you can get in 30 or even 20 minutes a day, you can make some good progress.
When you're done getting rid of all the junk, you'll be left with a relatively small amount of stuff in the "keep" pile. Next, you'll be setting up files.
And if you find yourself getting bogged down, remember, your friendly professional organizer is only a click away!
Resources for finding an organizer:
National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO)
NAPO Wisconsin , click on "Find an Organizer"
NAPO: How to Hire an Organizer
NAPO Organizer Directory
Also: Find My Organizer
For solutions to your organizing challenges,
to schedule a free consultation,
or have a conversation about your organizing needs:
at Create Order
Home Organizing and De-materializing Service
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