organizing paper Archives • Page 2 of 4 • Helpful Organizer

A Paper Minimalist – Not

July 15, 2016/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

In June 2016 my husband and I played the 30-Day Minimalism Game. We each got rid of 930 things. (See how we did it.) For me, one of the most challenging things was to get rid of paper. We agreed that it wouldn’t be fair to count one sheet of paper as one item. So, we counted 25 sheets of paper as one item. Guess how many sheets of paper I got rid of?

I got rid of 1300 sheets of paper! (In addition to other things!) Shocking. Right? Where did it all come from? I’m an Organizer. I shouldn’t have this much paper. This was important paper that held important knowledge. Wasn’t it?

No, not most of it. Are you wondering how I got rid of all that paper? I did it with a 4 step plan.

Step one of my plan was to carve out some time to get rid of paper. I know from working with my clients that paper always takes the most time to organize. That’s why I dedicated 10 hours to get rid of paper. I gave myself at least one hour a night to work. I picked my starting point, my business files, all my business building suggestions, conference notes, marketing tips, networking strategies, business cards, and organizing statistics. Then got to work.

Step two was to get rid of all my easy-to-toss papers. Papers in this category were the duplicate business cards, the outdated business cards, the multiple copies of business cards, the outdated information, and the information in which I was no longer interested. These papers were easy-to-toss, because letting them go didn’t require a lot of thought or effort. Once all the easy-to-toss papers were out of the way, I could look at the rest.

Step three was to decide what to keep from the papers that remained. This paper held information that was, at one time, important to me. But was it still important? How could I decide? What questions would help me? How could I make myself answer honestly. Would guidelines help? This is what I came up with:

On a scale of 1-10 how important is this information to me, now? Anything below a 7 goes.
Could this information be found more quickly and easily on the internet? If yes, let it go.
On a scale of 1-10 how usable is this information now? Anything below a 7 goes.
How soon will I act upon this information? Action must be taken in the next 3 months, or it goes.
Am I holding this information to pass along to someone else? Pass along in 1 week, or it goes

These questions were very helpful. I was able to let go of a lot of paper that I had previously kept. However, there was still more to do. I wanted to get rid of more paper. It was necessary to carve out more time. Another deadline was in order.

Step four is reading through the remaining papers. It’s still happening. I’m taking two hours each week to read and decide. Some I have kept. Others I have tossed. The questions and guidelines in step three help me. It’s an ongoing process, but organizing always is.

Piles Happen

October 1, 2015/0 Comments/in Tip of the Month/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

While having lunch with a friend, she proclaimed “piles happen”. I readily agreed, and shared that the best way to combat piles is to store paper vertically, not horizontally. For example, instead of setting the mail down on the counter, and letting it pile up, sort it into a divided vertical container. Another example is to put newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and in a container that holds them upright.

Reclaiming Order

August 5, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

While looking for a list of skincare products that I wanted to share with a friend, I realized that it was time to reclaim order in my Fashion File. I knew I had tucked the list into my file somewhere, but when I went to look for it, I couldn’t find it. I quickly deduced that the main reason for this was that there was a surplus of irrelevant information in the file. It held current and relevant information, but also held some outdated information that was no longer of interest to me.

Therefore, I allowed myself 15 minutes to reclaim order. I did this by pruning each category of the Fashion File and making decisions on what information was worth keeping, and what was to be discarded. Here is a list of what I discarded: 8 outdated or duplicate business cards, 1 outdated jewelry catalog, 12 magazine clippings on products, tips, and ideas (I’m a bit embarrassed to admit I clip from magazines, but in my opinion, it’s better than keeping the whole magazine.), 1 outdated skincare catalog, 5 old purchase receipts (shred them), and 8 notes of websites to look at or items to try. At the end of a very productive 15 minutes I had located the list of skincare products that I wanted to share with my friend, and reclaimed order in my Fashion File.

By taking the time, at that moment, to reclaim order, I stopped the accumulation of paper, and prevented my Fashion File from turning into a huge, inefficient mess. This is what I call preserving the natural flow of the organizing process. The natural flow of the organizing process looks like this:

One very important factor to keep in mind when preserving the natural flow of the organizing process is to keep the duration between creating order and reclaiming order short enough, so that the act of reclaiming order doesn’t take too long, and isn’t an overwhelming task. If we wait too long, or allow too much build up, the act of reclaiming order becomes overwhelming, stressful and frustrating. If you reach this point, reclaiming order may no longer be a do-it-yourself task. Just remember, it’s okay to ask for HELP!

Proud member of NAPO

Fashion File

June 29, 2015/0 Comments/in Blog Posts/by Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

One of the reasons we hold onto paper is because we need or want to reference the information (on the paper) in the future. However, what happens when we can’t put our hands on a piece of paper quickly and easily? We waste time hunting and searching for that paper, or we attempt to find the information from another source. Is there really any need to save paper that we can’t find quickly and easily? No! So, what will help us find specific papers when we need them?

An organized paper storage system will help us locate what we want, when we need it, and help us remember where paper is stored. Creating an organized system can be quite an undertaking. The initial step in this undertaking is to have a paper storage container (ie. file cabinet) that holds alphabetical files that are labeled with file names. It is essential to customize the file names to reflect our specific, personal retention needs. The best way to do this is to create file names that uniquely describe what information is stored inside the file. This is much more efficient than using generic or standardized names. For example I use the file name “Kia Soul” instead of Auto, Car, or Vehicle.

Another example of a customized file that I have is my “Fashion File”. It holds all the girly things that I want to reference, look into, check out, or use. It contains 5 separate categories, hair, jewelry, nails, skincare, and wardrobe. The types of papers that I store in each category are as follows:

Hair – contact information for my current stylist, pictures of hair styles that I like, products I want to try
Jewelry – receipts of jewelry purchases, business cards for jewelry consultants, jewelry catalogs
Nail – business cards for local nail salons with times and directions
Skincare – business cards for skincare consultants, products I want to try, lists of chemical free products, skincare catalogs
Wardrobe – contact information for image consultants, tips for my body type, fashion styles I like

By establishing and using this unique file name, and other personalized file names, I have created an organized system that helps me remember where my papers belong and where I can find them when I need them. This approach could work for you. If you do use it please share with me what file names you use.

Proud member of NAPO